Having network profiles is causing so many problems with applications

Question

Perhaps someone could explain this to me, because i must be doing something wrong.
We have 10.4.6 client machines, and a 10.4.6 server. They login and their profiles are on the server and accessed via AFP, ok all is well there.
But ever since Tiger (Panther never had this problem) having network profiles causes so many problems with applications. Here are just some examples:
1. MS Office 2004 programs will sometimes say all the system fonts are corrupted when they are not. The only way to fix this is to log the user out and delete the Microsoft preferences folder from their network profile from the server. Doing it from the client doesn't work unless you get them to logon in safe boot.
2. Office 2004 will also randomly not save documents or autorecovery files, claiming that "too many files are open" or that the disk is full, when their profiles have 100s of megabytes left.
3. Safari will randomly stop working. When you load up Safari it will load up websites all distorted, and then eventually give up and force quit. The only way to fix this is...again deleting the Safari preferences from the server whilst the client is logged off.
4. Adobe Photoshop files will randomly corrupt, causing "End of file" errors when files are opened.
Now i've narrowed it down to the basic fact that the clients are using network profiles via AFP. I've experimented them logging onto the server and using local profiles and the programs all work perfectly. My setup is exactly the same as it was on Panther, and panther had none of these problems.
Surely i am not the only one who is experiencing this?

Answer 1

Do you have the "Inherit Permissions" option via POSIX access enabled for the home directory share point? If so, disable it, as home directories need standard POSIX permissions.
I've seen some problems with third-party applications - namely Adobe CS2 - when using network homes mounted via AFP. Others have reported problems with Office 2004. There are other oddities, even observable in the Finder, mostly due to changes that enabled metadata (Spotlight) for AFP. However, never have I seen Apple applications like Safari not work correctly with network homes; thus, there might be another problem here.
I'd check the filesystems for all volumes on the server using Disk Utility and repair any damage found.
You may want to consider using Portable Homes for better compatibility with Office 2004 (unfortunately).
--Gerrit