Clear SharePoint Configuration Cache Files

Whenever my farm gets out of whack, I'll clear the cache files. A lot of times it helps straighten out issues with search. Below are the instructions I have to clear the files. I've done it on SharePoint 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can clear the configuration cache on one server or all of them in your farm.

I got these fantastic steps from this article http://blogs.msdn.com/b/josrod/archive/2007/12/12/clear-the-sharepoint-configuration-cache-for-timer-job-and-psconfig-errors.aspx

1. Stop the OWSTIMER service on ALL of the MOSS servers in the farm.
2. On the Index server, navigate to:                          

Server 2003 location: Drive:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\SharePoint\Config\GUID and delete all the XML files from the directory. 

Server 2008 location: Drive:\ProgramData\Microsoft\SharePoint\Config\GUID and delete all the XML files from the directory.

3. Delete all the XML file in the directory. NOTE: ONLY THE XML FILES, NOT THE .INI FILE.
4. Open the cache.ini with Notepad and reset the number to 1. Save and close the file.
5. Start the OWSTIMER service on the Index server and wait for XML files to begin to reappear in the directory.
6. After you see XML files appearing on the Index server, repeat steps 2, 3 & 4 on each query server, waiting for XML files to appear before moving to subsequent servers.
7. After all of the query servers have all been cleared and new .xml files have been generated, proceed to the WFE and Application servers in the farm, following steps 2, 3, 4 and 5 for each remaining server.

Note: if you don't see the ProgramData folder, you have to adjust the settings on the folder to be able to view hidden files and folders.