Bad Block and can't access database

K

Kevin O'Hanlon

Hi list,

I recently experienced a problem with my database file in Entourage. On
running Tech Tool Pro 4 I found I have a bad block on the drive containing
the data file and am now unable to access my Entourage info and also unable
to copy the file elsewhere. I get an "unable to read error - I/O."

Would anyone know if I have any options here? While I think I have lost
some info forever on that bad block, is there anyway I can retrieve and make
functional the remainder of my Entourage data file?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks and warm regards,

Kevin O'Hanlon
 
B

Barry Wainwright

Ouch.

Best you can probably do is try dragging information from entourage to the
desktop. There is no way to know in advance which messages/contacts/events
etc are using that bad block, so it¹s going to be trial & error I suppose.

Once you have dragged out as much as possible (or , more likely, as much as
is important) repair the disk, set up a new identity and drag the saved
stuff back in.

Also, take the time to find a backup regime that works for you!

--
Barry Wainwright
Microsoft MVP (see http://mvp.support.microsoft.com for details)
Seen the All-New Entourage Help Pages? - Check them out:
<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/>



From: Kevin O'Hanlon <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.mac.office.entourage
Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2005 19:23:09 -0400
Subject: Bad Block and can't access database

Hi list,

I recently experienced a problem with my database file in Entourage. On
running Tech Tool Pro 4 I found I have a bad block on the drive containing
the data file and am now unable to access my Entourage info and also unable
to copy the file elsewhere. I get an "unable to read error - I/O."

Would anyone know if I have any options here? While I think I have lost
some info forever on that bad block, is there anyway I can retrieve and make
functional the remainder of my Entourage data file?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks and warm regards,

Kevin O'Hanlon
 
K

Kevin O'Hanlon

Ouch.

Best you can probably do is try dragging information from entourage to the
desktop. There is no way to know in advance which messages/contacts/events etc
are using that bad block, so it¹s going to be trial & error I suppose.

Once you have dragged out as much as possible (or , more likely, as much as is
important) repair the disk, set up a new identity and drag the saved stuff
back in.

Also, take the time to find a backup regime that works for you!
Click to expand...

Hi Barry,

Many thanks for posting back and for your advice on my problem database.

Unfortunately I am not able to copy the database file anywhere as I get a
³can¹t read² error. Nor am I able to open Entourage.

I can copy everything else in the MS Userdata folder, but not the db file
itself. One minute I was receiving mail, the next the program quit and I
haven¹t been able to access the db since.

I guess my quest now is to find a utility that can rescue as much of the db
as possible (if at all). If you have any insight on any of that, I¹d love
to hear it.

I¹m not sure even if I can recover most of the file, will it remain
functional as a db

I wonder is there a way to divide up the DB and rescue data from within it
separately (like the calendar, e-mails, to-dos etc?)

Thanks again for your feedback.

Many thanks and warm regards,


Kevin
 
B

Barry Wainwright

Hi Barry,

Many thanks for posting back and for your advice on my problem database.

Unfortunately I am not able to copy the database file anywhere as I get a
³can¹t read² error. Nor am I able to open Entourage.

I can copy everything else in the MS Userdata folder, but not the db file
itself. One minute I was receiving mail, the next the program quit and I
haven¹t been able to access the db since.

I guess my quest now is to find a utility that can rescue as much of the db as
possible (if at all). If you have any insight on any of that, I¹d love to
hear it.

I¹m not sure even if I can recover most of the file, will it remain functional
as a db

I wonder is there a way to divide up the DB and rescue data from within it
separately (like the calendar, e-mails, to-dos etc?)

Thanks again for your feedback.

Many thanks and warm regards,


Kevin
Click to expand...

Sorry to say that I think you¹re hosed :(

If you can¹t open entourage, or even copy the database to somewhere else I
don¹t know that anything will help you.

About the only utility I have come across that claims to Œrecover¹ databases
is an app called Œentouraid¹. However, I have heard a lot of mixed reviews
about this ­ it has helped some, but made matters worse for others. In your
case, I don¹t think they can get any worse, so I would advise taking a look
at this.
 
K

Kevin O'Hanlon

Sorry to say that I think you¹re hosed :(

If you can¹t open entourage, or even copy the database to somewhere else I
don¹t know that anything will help you.

About the only utility I have come across that claims to Œrecover¹ databases
is an app called Œentouraid¹. However, I have heard a lot of mixed reviews
about this ­ it has helped some, but made matters worse for others. In your
case, I don¹t think they can get any worse, so I would advise taking a look at
this.
Click to expand...


Thanks Barry. I¹m not sure Entouraid would work as it can access the db now
anyway to do whatever magic it does.

The db is probably fine, it¹s just because some of it¹s data is on a bad
block, it not possible to read or move it.

Seems like the direction I should be going in is a recovery program that
that perhaps wrest the file from it¹s current location on the HD.

If anything comes to mind, please post back and I will do likewise if I have
any success.

Many thanks and warm regards,

Kevin
 
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