This is usually related to SYSVOL replication issue. If the staging folders do not get cleaned up when the backup is generated on check in, those extra staging folders get recreated in the SYSVOL folder for the working copy during a check out. If the folders already exists, GPMC will create a new folder by injecting the word staging which only proves to compound the issue as the cleanup code in GPMC will only remove the original MachineStagingOld folder.
For example:
When you check in a GPO GPOADmin will generate a backup to the GPO and store it. First few time work fine. Then there an issue with the SYSVOL replication occurs during the backup generation and the MachineStagingOld folder fails to be removed. The backup.xml file will include this file (which it shouldn't) but because GPMC failed to remove it - it does. The backup succeeds and the next time you check out that GPO, the import process will recreated the MachineStagingOld folder as part of the pre-import process. Once all the directories are created the actual import process begins. Now since the MachineStagingOld folder already exists GPMC will create a new folder by injecting the word Staging in MachineStagingStagingOld. The import process continues and at the end the GPMC APIs prepares to delete the MachineStagingOld folder but detects that this is not the name of the folder it created during the import process and bails out leaving both the MachineStaingOld and MachineStaingStagingOld folders. The next time you check in the GPO both of these folders get added to the list of folders that need to be created in the pre-import process. So the next time the GPO is checked out the GPMC APIs will create a MachineStagingOld folder, a MachineStagingStaingOld folder, and a MachineStagingStaingStagingOld folder. This will continue until the multiple staging folder grows beyond 260 characters at which point the imports (Check-outs) will fail because the path exceeds the path length limit.
Note:
This will happen any time a GPO is imported - this includes actual imports, Check-outs, and Deployments.
Here is a KB article on it. It is the fifth cause for the issue. The article references the UserStaging folders but the same applies here. Sometimes it's the User folders that are affected other times it's the Computer folders and sometimes both.
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