entourage 12.1.5 update password problems

[MarkJ]

Fix posted on the Entourage Talk list:

<quote>
I finally gave up and deleted the Office 2008 folder & copied over an older
version (12.1.1) of Office 2008 I had on a backup hard drive. Then I
followed Diane's instructions to startup with the Shift key down to disable
all applications (including the hidden ones). Then I ran the 12.1.5 updater.
Then I restarted the computer.

Upon opening Entourage, it asked for the password for each email account. I
entered the info and checked the box to save the info in Keychain. I then
quit and re-opened Entourage. Voila! I doesn't ask for the password anymore.
I used Keychain Access to check the entries and the passwords are now in the
Keychain. (After I had reset the Keychain it remained empty no matter how
many times I entered the passwords in Entourage.) All is working well again.

This is the fix that worked for me. Good luck.

Jim

</quote>

Let me know if this works.

Removed Office 2008 (12.1.5) and restored directory immediately prior to
12.1.5 update (12.1.4) and followed the same procedure (used the
standalone disk image - Office2008-1215UpdateEN.dmg) - however, still
have the problem.

Will try to restore back to something earlier than 12.1.4 and see if
that's any better...

 

[Throski]

used Remove Office from Additional Tools to completely uninstall Office, then reinstalled from the original release, then ran the 12.1. 0 update... then 12.1.5.

Maybe I didn't make it clear enough that this fixed the problem for me. It did. I think it may be the fastest robust solution, if you have the original release installer as well as the 12.10 and 12.15 updates. No customization is lost, I think.

 

[MarkJ]

Removed Office 2008 (12.1.5) and restored directory immediately prior to
12.1.5 update (12.1.4) and followed the same procedure (used the
standalone disk image - Office2008-1215UpdateEN.dmg) - however, still
have the problem.

Will try to restore back to something earlier than 12.1.4 and see if
that's any better...

OK - this time I reverted back to 12.1.2 (which would have been before
my upgrade of Mac OSX to 10.5.5) - and then performed the upgrade to
12.1.5. This appears to work fine (didn't even ask for my password -
just for access to the keychain, since the Entourage application had
changed...).

Couple of things I notice:

- in my 12.1.4 restore, the same key file
(Contents/_CodeSignature/CodeResources) was present - however, 12.1.4
could still access stored passwords

- when I upgraded 12.1.4 -> 12.1.5 this obviously preserved the key file
- however, somehow broke access to the keychain

- in my 12.1.2 restore, the key file does not exist (so either it was
introduced by Office upgrades 12.1.3 or 12.1.4, or maybe a Mac OSX
update...or a combination of both...

- when I upgraded 12.1.2 -> 12.1.5 no key file appeared...


Here's hoping the next upgrades aren't so painful !!! (And thank
goodness for backups !!!)

Thanks all,

Mark

 

[MarkJ]

OK - this time I reverted back to 12.1.2 (which would have been before
my upgrade of Mac OSX to 10.5.5) - and then performed the upgrade to
12.1.5. This appears to work fine (didn't even ask for my password -
just for access to the keychain, since the Entourage application had
changed...).

Couple of things I notice:

- in my 12.1.4 restore, the same key file
(Contents/_CodeSignature/CodeResources) was present - however, 12.1.4
could still access stored passwords

- when I upgraded 12.1.4 -> 12.1.5 this obviously preserved the key file
- however, somehow broke access to the keychain

- in my 12.1.2 restore, the key file does not exist (so either it was
introduced by Office upgrades 12.1.3 or 12.1.4, or maybe a Mac OSX
update...or a combination of both...

- when I upgraded 12.1.2 -> 12.1.5 no key file appeared...


Here's hoping the next upgrades aren't so painful !!! (And thank
goodness for backups !!!)

Thanks all,

Mark

One last thing - I compared the successful (12.1.2 -> 12.1.5) upgrade
with the first unsuccessful (12.1.4 -> 12.1.5) upgrade - apart from the
absence of the key files, the Entourage binary was different:

$ diff *cksum
1d0
< 1010300622 72107 ./Contents/_CodeSignature/CodeResources
10c9
< 3812323173 31287760 ./Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Entourage
---

780382714 31133752 ./Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Entourage

....and that's all.

Regards,

Mark

 

[Diane Ross]

Maybe I didn't make it clear enough that this fixed the problem for me. It
did. I think it may be the fastest robust solution, if you have the original
release installer as well as the 12.10 and 12.15 updates. No customization is
lost, I think.

Could someone marked this as Solved or whatever on the forum? Thanks

 

[William Smith [MVP]]

Could someone marked this as Solved or whatever on the forum? Thanks

That would be (e-mail address removed) who should mark the problem
as solved. This is his question.

But while this may be a solution for someone else it may not necessarily
be *his* solution.


I posted these instructions a long time ago. I would appreciate knowing
if someone finds these useful or not for this issue...

If after an update to Entourage its passwords are not getting properly
stored in the user's keychain then do the following:

1. Launch the Keychain Access utility found in /Applications/Utilities.
2. Locate each of your mail accounts from Entourage and use the option
to display their passwords. Record these on paper or somewhere else for
reference.
3. Return to Entourage and select Tools --> Accounts...
4. Double-click each account and completely erase its password.
5. Close the Accounts window and initiate the Send/Receive process by
selecting Tools --> Schedules --> Send & Receive All or just type Command-K.
6. Re-enter your passwords from your reference for each account when
asked. Select the option to remember your passwords.

I've had luck with making these stick after an update by doing the above
procedure.

Hope this helps!

--

bill

Entourage Help Page <http://entourage.mvps.org/>
Entourage Help Blog <http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/>
YouTalk <http://nine.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/youtalk>
Twitter: follow <http://twitter.com/meck>

 

[Tom Jancauskas]

I had the same problem after updating to 12.1.5. I couldn't get the passwords to stick in Entourage. It kept erasing the entries in the keychain!

What I did to fix it that worked is:

1. Downloaded the 10.5.5 combo update.
2. Installed & restarted.
3. Repaired permissions.
4. restarted
5. I went to the keychain internet password entries and added entourage to the programs that access the accounts listed.
6. opened Entourage & it WORKED!

 

[Throski]

I know for a fact that simply logging out and back in fixes the problem for some. That is not a step that is required by the installation, so it's appropriate to list it here as a possible solution.

Reinstalling an OS update would only be indicated as a possible solution if after the 12.1.5 update other applications in addition to Entourage were failing to properly use the keychain. Performing that action when the scope of the problem is limited to the behavior of one application could be compared to asking who manufactured the lunch tray in use at a cafeteria after discovering you had been given a bad cup of coffee.

Installing 10.5.5 again is quite moot if other applications could continue to robustly use the keychain.

Anyway, it has already been established that fixing permissions, restarting, reinstalling an OS update, and repairing the keychain itself has not fixed the problem for some, and it has not been established that in those situations where any of those actions helped that simply logging out and back in again wouldn't have been just as effective.

It would still be useful to discover if the problem could be fixed by taking less drastic measures than any of these, including going through the process of removing Office and replacing it with a release older than 12.1.4 before updating to 12.1.5, which appears to have solved the problem for anyone who has gone to the trouble to perform that action.

 

[Diane Ross]

I know for a fact that simply logging out and back in fixes the problem for
some. That is not a step that is required by the installation, so it's
appropriate to list it here as a possible solution.

I recommend restarted rather than simply logging out/in. This clears caches
and does a general cleanup.

Reinstalling an OS update would only be indicated as a possible solution if
after the 12.1.5 update other applications in addition to Entourage were
failing to properly use the keychain. Performing that action when the scope of
the problem is limited to the behavior of one application could be compared to
asking who manufactured the lunch tray in use at a cafeteria after discovering
you had been given a bad cup of coffee.

No one mentioned reinstalling the OS or did I miss something? Doing a combo
update is easy to do and often fixes odd problems.

Installing 10.5.5 again is quite moot if other applications could continue to
robustly use the keychain.

Anyway, it has already been established that fixing permissions, restarting,
reinstalling an OS update, and repairing the keychain itself has not fixed the
problem for some, and it has not been established that in those situations
where any of those actions helped that simply logging out and back in again
wouldn't have been just as effective.

The first step in troubleshooting is to restart. It would be interesting to
see what percentage of problems are fixed this way. The other is reading the
directions.

It would still be useful to discover if the problem could be fixed by taking
less drastic measures than any of these, including going through the process
of removing Office and replacing it with a release older than 12.1.4 before
updating to 12.1.5, which appears to have solved the problem for anyone who
has gone to the trouble to perform that action.

I also advise users to archive (zip) their Office folders prior to updating.
This makes it easy to revert if necessary.

Revert to a previous version after a bad update (The Entourage Help Blog)
<http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/2008/10/revert_to_a_previous_version.html>

 

[Mike]

I too now have this same problem after updating to 12.1.5

Could someone please spell out the instructions for solving this clearly for me. I'm new to Mac and Mac Office. I would have delayed upgrading to "a more stable" update if I had known this. Thanks

 

[Throski]

I recommend restarted rather than simply logging out/in. This clears caches
and does a general cleanup.

That's not bad advice, but I was simply stating that for some people the problem goes away as a result of doing nothing more than logging out and back in.

No one mentioned reinstalling the OS or did I miss something? Doing a combo
update is easy to do and often fixes odd problems.

The post immediately previous to my last post suggested reinstalling the 10.5.5 OS update. I don't see how you interpreted what I said as a reply about reinstalling the OS. But any time spent reinstalling a system update when the problem being considered exists in one application only is potentially a waste of time. If you have evidence that the 12.1.5 update to Microsoft Office 2008 harmed the functionality of any application other than a Microsoft Office 2008 application, please present it to us here.

The first step in troubleshooting is to restart.

I strongly disagree with that statement. The highest priority in troubleshooting should be given to determining the scope of the problem. Any other steps potentially both waste time and risk further harm. You wouldn't want to restart if, for example, the /System/Library folder had somehow mistakenly been moved out of the /System folder.

I'll repeat what I tried to explain before. Unless you can demonstrate that the harm done to the robustness of Entourage's keychain functionality after the 12.1.5 Office update exists in any other application, then you obfuscate the issue by presuming that a system-wide fix (such as reapplying a Mac OS combo system update, or concerning oneself with fixing problems related to the Mac OS keychain) may be needed.

I was able to determine that the scope of the problem on my system has nothing to do with the condition of the system software or the keychain, it was entirely limited to the functionality of Entourage 12.1.5. It's Entourage's problem, and nothing can fix it but fixing Entourage.

As requested by a subsequent poster, here are clear steps, which, although not easy and quick, provided a robust repair for the problem with Entourage 12.1.5 on my system.

1. Remove Microsoft Office 2008. (I used the Remove Office program supplied with the Microsoft Office 2008 installation, but there are presumably other ways to do it, such as dragging the Microsoft Office 2008 folder from the Applications folder to the trash and emptying the trash).

2. Reinstall the initial release of Microsoft Office 2008.

3. Before launching any Office applications, apply the Microsoft Office 12.1.0 update.

4. Still before launching any Office applications, apply the Microsoft Office 12.1.5 update.

5. Restart.

It's quite likely that these steps will solve the issue for anyone who diligently carries them out. But I still hope we can discover an easier method that works for everybody. What I am sure of is that it will involve fixing Entourage and not fixing the Mac OS or the Mac OS keychain.

 

[Tom Jancauskas]

Sorry to start a storm of controversy on what should be done. I had searched all over the web to fix this problem. I spent about 5 hours trying to get this one thing figured out. I hadn't run across the log out/in scenario until after I posted. I tried all of the different fixes that I ran across. The only thing that worked without reinstalling Office was what I posted.

I have a backup using time machine, but after the first hour, I was determined to find out what the heck had happened.

It seems there is no one fix for all. This was so un-mac like. The combo update wasn't a big deal to do. It actually took less time than it would've to uninstall/reinstall office.

It shouldn't be this difficult to "undo" an update that breaks some people's application.

Oh well... back to work.

 

[Les_Bonney]

I am experiencing exactly the same problem after updating to 12.1.5.

Starting with a new and verified login keychain then updating the Preferences>Account Settings> - by entering an Authentication password and checking 'Save password in my Mac OS keychain' this is reset to 'blank' when you return to the 'Account Settings'.

The keychain is not updated.

When Entourage attempts to receive mail it requests a password for each of the email accounts in turn. I have three accounts one Exchange account, one POP and one IMAP. The above 'blanking' of passwords and not updating the keychain occurs for all three accounts. Having manually entered the passwords Entourage correctly receives and sends mail for each account. But when you quit Entourage and then subsequently run Entourage again you need to again manually enter the passwords.

At no point is the keychain updated and the keychain remains unlocked throughout this process.

I will now try reinstalling Microsoft Office 2008 hopefully this will resolve the problem.

 

[William Smith [MVP]]

I strongly disagree with that statement. The highest priority in
troubleshooting should be given to determining the scope of the
problem. Any other steps potentially both waste time and risk further
harm. You wouldn't want to restart if, for example, the
/System/Library folder had somehow mistakenly been moved out of the
/System folder.

I'll repeat what I tried to explain before. Unless you can
demonstrate that the harm done to the robustness of Entourage's
keychain functionality after the 12.1.5 Office update exists in any
other application, then you obfuscate the issue by presuming that a
system-wide fix (such as reapplying a Mac OS combo system update, or
concerning oneself with fixing problems related to the Mac OS
keychain) may be needed.

First, I'd like to say that I don't disagree that something somewhere
may be wrong. We have six reports of this problem here and I've seen two
others.

But we don't have 20-30 reports or more. That's not to say we won't but,
keeping things in perspective, we only have relatively few reports of
the problem so far.

I searched Google as well as Google Groups for "Entourage 12.1.5
keychain" and "Entourage password" and I've only seen those reports we
see here. Haven't yet seen anything on the MacFixIt, MacOSXHints or
other forums I frequent.

Not many folks report success with an install but we'll certainly hear
about the problems. And with almost every Entourage update we've seen
this exact same behavior. It's not new and it's not limited to the
12.1.5. update.

So, when dealing with only a few people with this problem we must first
assume the problem is with those users' systems. That could be a botched
install, a certain Mac OS patch level, a problem with the OS or a
strange combination of software that those folks have installed.

Diane is offering advice for the individual, not the masses. The first
step in troubleshooting any two applications that should work together
but are not working together is to restart. A restart brings the Mac OS
X system into a "known" state. It removes a variable and it's reasonable
to assume that non-system installers, like the Office 12.1.5 updater, do
not affect system components such as moving the /System/Library folder.

Like you, I would like to see a simple method to correct this problem.
I'm just not yet 100% convinced that Entourage is what needs fixing.

--

bill

Entourage Help Page <http://entourage.mvps.org/>
Entourage Help Blog <http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/>
YouTalk <http://nine.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/youtalk>
Twitter: follow <http://twitter.com/meck>

 

[Throski]

Like you, I would like to see a simple method to correct this problem.

I'm just not yet 100% convinced that Entourage is what needs fixing.

I didn't say that nothing else on my system could have contributed to the problem I experienced after updating my Entourage 12.1.4 to 12.1.5, what I said was that the problem I encountered affected nothing but Entourage and nothing fixed it but getting up to the 12.1.5 version of Entourage through an alternative route to installing 12.1.5 over 12.1.4. The best evidence that Entourage is what needs fixing is that it's the only thing broken.

 

[Corentin Cras-Méneur]

I deleted my login keychain just so I could more readily demonstrate
that it appears to be only Entourage that is not able to save keys to
the keychain.

I would really *NOT* do that!!!
Many applications use the login keychain. That's heading for some
serious trouble.

FYI, we have about 12 Mac here and we didn't have this problem on any of
them.
I've seen it in the past and deleting the corresponding entries in the
keychain to let Entourage re-create them fresh did the trick,


Corentin

 

[glasgowd]

I had the same problem--no Entourage passwords "sticking" after updating to 12.1.5. I tried:

1. Logging out & back in.
2. Restarting.
3. Repairing Keychain.
4. Repairing permissions (+ restart)
5. Re-installing 10.5.5. Combo Update (+ restart + repair perm + restart)
6. Re-installing Office 2008 from CD & downloading two updates to get back to current version.

Only step 6 worked.

 

[Throski]

wrote:

I would really *NOT* do that!!!

I already explained that I took this step as a temporary measure to illustrate that in my situation required replacing office, and that nothing else related to the Mac system (keychain or otherwise) had any effect. I subsequently restored my full keychain from backup. The restored keychain was once again in use at the time I was able to fix the problem (by reinstalling Office from scratch and applying the two necessary upgrades to bring it to the current version).

I'm going to submit the following as a summary of my contribution to this topic and then I will make no further submissions unless someone comes up with an easier fix that I was able to find.

There seem to be two ways of fixing the problem of Entourage's inability to write to the keychain after upgrading to 12.1.5. The first way, which worked for some, did not involve replacing Microsoft Office with a previous release then upgrading again. For this group of users, it is possible that, although many other individual and combined measures were taken, the problem was solved simply by logging out and back in or rebooting after the update was applied. For the users who complained of the problem after restarting or logging out and back in, the only measure that has been agreed upon to work has been to reinstall Office from scratch and apply the two upgrades necessary to bring it to the current version. I hope that a simpler fix for the problem can be discovered to help the second category of users who are victims of this problem.

 

[Joseph]

6. Re-installing Office 2008 from CD & downloading two updates to get
back to current version.





Only step 6 worked.




The same worked for me (re-installing from CD & downloading updates), though I had to install versions 12.1.0, 12.1.1, 12.1.2, 12.1.3, 12.1.4, and finally 12.1.5. That was an hour-long process on a Core2Duo MacBook 2ghz. Sheesh.

I wish there was some solution more elegant than a complete re-install to this problem. Also wish you could download cumulative updates for Office 2008 as well as all these delta updates. In this scenario (or in a fresh install) it would save a lot of time!

 

[Diane Ross]

That's pretty close to the strategy I used except that I used Remove Office
from Additional Tools to completely uninstall Office, then reinstalled from
the original release, then ran the 12.1. 0 update (I tried 12.1.5 before
12.1.0, but no appropriate version of Office was located by the 12.1.5
updater) then 12.1.5. Thanks.

The 12.1.5 updater requires 12.1.0. Both are combo updaters. Some users have
a DVD with 12.0.0 installed but later a DVD with 12.1.0 was released.
Consequently, if you have the later release version, you only need the
12.1.5 combo updater.