Compress DataBase - Can Backup Be On External Disc?

[pnoble]

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

My Air 128GB drive is nearly full. I tried to free up space by 'archiving' a sub folder containing my 2007 mail (using MBOX), but of course it makes no difference! The Entourage database size remains unchanged.

The only way to free up space, from what I understand, is to compact the database using the MS utility. However, the utility first creates a back up database. Only problem: my database is 33GB (still) and my drive only has < 4GB of space left. So I won't get past go, according Entourage Help.

Can one direct that the backup be created on an external disc?

Otherwise, any other practical ideas?

 

[Diane Ross]

Can one direct that the backup be created on an external disc?

I gave you several suggestions earlier.

You can move the entire Microsoft User Data folder to an external and use
and alias or symlink back to the Documents folder.

If all your mail is on your Exchange server, then delete the current
Identity or copy it to your external, create a new Identity and let
Entourage sync back up. You'll need to move your older mail out of the Inbox
on the server first.

Optimize Entourage to better work with Exchange

<http://tinyurl.com/56ea7k>

 

[pnoble]

Diane,

Thank you for your input, though I honestly did not understand your instructions re 'symlink' or 'alias'. Beyond my Mac experience as a recent refugee from Windows!

Anyhow this week, while in Japan, my Entourage database somehow got corrupted and I was forced to act. Repair was not possible with the 3GB left on my drive.

I purchased a little USB HD and transferred my 35GB iPhoto library. I could then repair and compact. Result: over 30GB (!) additional space on my HD (after transferring back my iPhoto library).

I truly appreciate your and your colleagues' responsiveness on this site.

Entourage itself is truly awful, but you guys are great!

PS: even after DB reconstruction, Entourage is still crashing daily though this was suggested as a fix. Any other suggestions? Also, I still can't search my contacts, a problem that suddenly occurred a while back.

 

[Diane Ross]

PS: even after DB reconstruction, Entourage is still crashing daily though
this was suggested as a fix. Any other suggestions? Also, I still can't search
my contacts, a problem that suddenly occurred a while back.

Glad you were able to rebuild, but often what rebuild does is just give you
the opportunity to salvage your data for export.

It's possible your problems are a combination of problems in your User's
folder and your Entourage Identity. If creating a new Identity does not
solve the crashing we need to move your Identity to a new User's account to
eliminate the User's folder as part of the problem. Fonts are often the
cause of crashes that aren't often obvious.

How to manually move your data. (when import fails and/or you need to move
to a new Identity same version or revert to an older version)

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/install/manual_install.html>

When I'm recovering databases for clients, I first try the export as
Entourage archive (.rge) file because it's the quickest. Depending on what
kind and where the problems are located, I often have to export some as .rge
others as a text file using a script and messages as MBOX files. It can be a
bit complicated if there is severe corruption. If it's minor then exporting
all as .rge will be the quickest and easiest way to move into a new
Identity.

BTW, if you try exporting as Entourage archive (.rge) file and it fails,
this indicates corruption. Try selecting one item at a time (mail, contacts,
events, notes, tasks). You should be able to export some of the data this
way. If it's mail that fails, use the export as MBOX method.

See these movies for dealing with MBOX and .rge files.

Thank you for your input, though I honestly did not understand your
instructions re 'symlink' or 'alias'. Beyond my Mac experience as a recent
refugee from Windows!

Symbolic links are simply files that point back to a file located at a path
contained inside the link. Aliases are files created by the Mac OS X Finder
using either the "Make Alias" command, or by holding down Command and Option
while dragging a file.

Symbolic links have a few advantages over aliases. For one, they don't break
if you create a symbolic link to a file and then replace the file with a
file by the same name. Also, every Unix application can resolve symbolic
links; some Unix applications have trouble resolving aliases. File servers
in particular usually can't resolve aliases, but they have no problems
resolving symbolic links. Symbolic links do not track a file if the file is
moved from its original path, so moving a file will break any symbolic links
pointing to it.

In case I didn't give you this link before:

New to Mac and Entourage

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/new2mac/index.html>