Bad database hangs Ent. at launch, affects monitor

[tom.k]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel
Email Client: pop

A work colleague has experienced some form of corruption of her database. Behaviour is as follows:

- Launch Entourage. Splash screen appears for approx 5 seconds.
- Monitor suddenly renders the entire screen with crazy colours. Imagine a heavy application of the 'noise' filter in Photoshop. Barely readable, however the desktop and splash screen can still be discerned.
- The system is still running but Entourage appears to have hung. Splash screen stays there, cmd+opt+esc suggests that Entourage is Not Responding.
- Force quit Entourage. Splash screen goes away. Select sleep from the Apple menu (all of this is accomplished through the incredibly garbled display).
- Upon waking from sleep the monitor displays the desktop normally (the colour and noise have not recurred) and the computer appears to be perfectly stable.

I have narrowed it down to the identity (specifically the database file) through the usual procedure - new identity, trash prefs/cache, new user etc. The program is perfectly stable until you try to load this specific Identity.

The behaviour described above is reliable and replicable on the original machine (MacBook Pro). While troubleshooting I tried opening that identity on a Mac Pro (same OS & Office versions) and the behaviour was similar - launching Entourage affects the video output of the system. In that case it also froze the system.

Updates to system and Office suite haven't helped. The MacBook Pro was up-to-date already and the Mac Pro presented similar behaviour before and after updates.

Database utility hasn't helped. Verify finds no errors; performing a rebuild has no effect on the behaviour.

 

[Diane Ross]

I have narrowed it down to the identity (specifically the database file)
through the usual procedure - new identity, trash prefs/cache, new user etc.
The program is perfectly stable until you try to load this specific Identity.

Try holding down the Shift key when you launch this Identity. Does that
allow Entourage to open?

The behaviour described above is reliable and replicable on the original
machine (MacBook Pro). While troubleshooting I tried opening that identity on
a Mac Pro (same OS & Office versions) and the behaviour was similar -
launching Entourage affects the video output of the system. In that case it
also froze the system.

Database utility hasn't helped. Verify finds no errors; performing a rebuild
has no effect on the behaviour.

1) What type of accounts are used with this Identity? (POP, IMAP, Exchange)

2) What size is the database?

3) What happened when you tried to rebuild? Did it complete? Did you get
any errors?

4) Do you have any backups?

Recovering data from an Identity that will not open is extremely difficult.
It's possible the data could be recovered using scripts.

 

[tom.k]

Diane,

Thank you for your quick reply and sorry for my slow one! Was moved on to another project.

To answer the last question first: Yes there was a backup from a week prior, so I got her working in that setup immediately. There is a week's worth of correspondence to be recovered from the busted database however.

Holding down shirt - no success. On the MacBook Pro it causes Entourage to 'shut down unexpectedly' (standard system dialogue with option to report, ignore). On the Mac Pro it still crashes the system colourfully as described before.

1) POP account, 1 only.
2) Database file around 900MB, I've seen bigger!
3) Verify and rebuild run with positive notifications, no errors. And no change to the behaviour when launched.

I'm still flummoxed by the way it affects the system video output... But recovery is more pressing than understanding, so would you please elaborate on the possibility of extracting data using scripts.

 

[Diane Ross]

I'm still flummoxed by the way it affects the system video output... But
recovery is more pressing than understanding, so would you please elaborate on
the possibility of extracting data using scripts.

Recovering data depends on whether you can open Entourage in that Identity.

Since you are getting such weird behavior, let's eliminate the User's
folder.

1) Drag the Problem Identity (named Main by default) to the Shared folder.

"/Users/Shared"

2) Go to System Preferences --> Create a New User in Accounts. Switch to the
New User by logging out/in or use Fast User Switching.

3) Open Entourage and let it create a Microsoft User Data folder

4) Drag from Shared (it actually copies) to the Office 2008 Identities
folder.

5) Open Entourage (you might need to use Switch Identity to view the
Identity)

Do you have the same problem in the new User?

If you can open the Identity, then try using File --> Export as Entourage
archive (.rge) file. I would do individual items at a time. You can use a
custom view to just get the newest mail.

Create a custom view. For example, mail in the last two weeks (use the time
period between the backup and when this Identity crashed)

Assign it a category. Suggestion Archive Mail.

When you go to export, select category "Archive Mail".

(You could also drag the custom view to the desktop as an MBOX file too)

Depending on the problems involved, you can either drag out individual items
or use the file export. If that fails, you can buy the Export/Import scripts
and use those to get out the remaining data.

Paul Berkowitz's scripts Export-Import gets everything. Entourage exports
doesn't carry over categories, rules etc.

Export-Import Entourage (shareware) They do work in Leopard. You just have
to enter the code for each script. The "unlock all" script will not work in
Leopard.

<http://scriptbuilders.net/files/exportimportentourage1.3.10.html>