Backing Up Entourage Library

[Lynn Q]

Hi there,

I would really appreciate some advice. I have a 12+ GB database that I need
to back-up to DVD. As I'm short of hard drive space I want to be sure that
if I do back this up that the backed-up version (on DVD) will still allow me
to search for messages. If I put the DVD into my system will I be able to
look for messages as though they were resident on the hard drive. A key
element is that I have to be able to search for specific messages. Sorry to
say I don't have TimeMachine which I suppose could have been an alternative
solution for backing-up data. I might have to consider it!

Suggestions on how to proceed and whether this is even a feasible idea would
be most welcome.

As another option can I move at least the most recent data over to MobileMe
(I have a paid account) and would I be able to use MobileMe to search for
these backed-up older messages? What problems would I be likely to
encounter? Would using Mail as the back-up be better in this scenario? In
either case (Entourage or Mail) which file format would be best for storage
and retrieval on MobileMe?

Any ideas and suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Lynn

 

[Diane Ross]

I would really appreciate some advice. I have a 12+ GB database that I need
to back-up to DVD.

A DVD will only allow you to burn around 4GB of data. This is not a good
option for you for backup.

As I'm short of hard drive space I want to be sure that
if I do back this up that the backed-up version (on DVD) will still allow me
to search for messages. If I put the DVD into my system will I be able to
look for messages as though they were resident on the hard drive.

No!

Let's get some more info so we can offer the best options.

What size is your HD and how much free space. Open Activity Monitor in
Utilities. Click on the Disk Usage tab. This will give you the info we need.

Open Entourage and under File --> Export, select all items as Entourage
archive (.rge) file. Save this file to your desktop. Tell us the size of
that file. This will give us the true size of your data and not the wasted
space it contains.

How many years of data do you have? If you use a custom Mail view --> All
messages you can sort by date and this will help to see what you do have.

(If All Messages is not a default view, you can create one by adding
criteria "Date Sent" "Any Date")

Do you have any external drives?

 

[Lynn Quinlan]

A DVD will only allow you to burn around 4GB of data. This is not a good
option for you for backup.


No!

Let's get some more info so we can offer the best options.

What size is your HD and how much free space. Open Activity Monitor in
Utilities. Click on the Disk Usage tab. This will give you the info we need.

Open Entourage and under File --> Export, select all items as Entourage
archive (.rge) file. Save this file to your desktop. Tell us the size of
that file. This will give us the true size of your data and not the wasted
space it contains.

How many years of data do you have? If you use a custom Mail view --> All
messages you can sort by date and this will help to see what you do have.

(If All Messages is not a default view, you can create one by adding
criteria "Date Sent" "Any Date")

Do you have any external drives?

Hi there,

Sorry for the delay... After posting this original message I eventually
discovered that my Pictures folder was taking up way too much hard drive
space and I increased space by removing much of this as there were many
duplicates. I think this problem occurred when Picasa was installed (now
removed) and copies of my entire iPhoto library were made. I have also now
backed up my iPhoto Library to DVD. That allowed me to increase from about
15 GB available to 72 GB. That made a huge difference, but I still need to
back up Entourage anyway.

After running the archive above I now have, on my 232 GB hard drive, 60 GB
free. My Entourage archive is 8 GB. There are six years of data in there;
however, I would like to keep just this year active. Everything is sorted
into folders by topic, of course some folders are way bigger than others.
The largest topic is also sorted by year as well.

Therefore, what I need to do is back up and store everything up to the end
of last year. I also need to back up this year to date as well (just in
case). I am looking for options that are transportable like a DVD..

Sorry to say I don't have any external drives, nor do I have Time Machine
(but I'm considering it). However, I do have a large amount of storage
available on my paid MobileMe account. If I could store the mail messages
on that (if possible) in a data format so that it is searchable when I need
that odd message that is old. The MobileMe would be in addition to the
backed-up data.

Other suggestions would also be much appreciated. I thank you once again
for your assistance.

Lynn

 

[Diane Ross]

After running the archive above I now have, on my 232 GB hard drive, 60 GB
free. My Entourage archive is 8 GB. There are six years of data in there;
however, I would like to keep just this year active. Everything is sorted
into folders by topic, of course some folders are way bigger than others.
The largest topic is also sorted by year as well.

Duplicating your Identity for an archive and then trimming your current
Identity of the exported mail would be an easy way to do this. You would
need to Compress your Identity to recovery the "wasted space."

For help and other options to archive see:

Therefore, what I need to do is back up and store everything up to the end
of last year. I also need to back up this year to date as well (just in
case). I am looking for options that are transportable like a DVD..

In addition to the link above, see this article:

Backup individual items (The Entourage Help Blog)
<http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/2009/02/backup_individual_items.html>

This would break the files down into smaller sizes that would be easy to
burn to DVD or store on your MobileMe server.

Hope this helps!