Entourage 2004(11.3.5) missing contacts---using exchange server 2003 sp2

M

mike.leone

We have lot of Mac users in our office all running Entourage 2004
(11.3.5) and few folks seem to have missing contacts, or parts of
contacts missing, e.g. phone numbers or the changes to contacts revert
to an old copy .
The only common thing is they have 1000+ contacts. I have run the
rebuild DB, checked the DB, emtpyed cache, checked file perms, checked
time, removed delegates, checked for items sync'ing with exchange,
e.g. ical, and checked OWA but when they are gone, its gone.


I think they never got sync'ed with exchange after
the change and when they close Entourage it dumps them from temp
files.

Also all of the users have 4 or more computers connected to their
accounts, home laptops, work laptops, administrate asst, and personal
asst, their desktops, admin laptops, plus blackberries. Crazy I know
but they want this.

Has one seen this? We are at a total loss here.

-Mike
 
W

William Smith

We have lot of Mac users in our office all running Entourage 2004
(11.3.5) and few folks seem to have missing contacts, or parts of
contacts missing, e.g. phone numbers or the changes to contacts revert
to an old copy .
The only common thing is they have 1000+ contacts. I have run the
rebuild DB, checked the DB, emtpyed cache, checked file perms, checked
time, removed delegates, checked for items sync'ing with exchange,
e.g. ical, and checked OWA but when they are gone, its gone.


I think they never got sync'ed with exchange after
the change and when they close Entourage it dumps them from temp
files.

Also all of the users have 4 or more computers connected to their
accounts, home laptops, work laptops, administrate asst, and personal
asst, their desktops, admin laptops, plus blackberries. Crazy I know
but they want this.

Has one seen this? We are at a total loss here.
Click to expand...

Hi Mike!

I don't have any definitive answers for you but maybe someone else will.
Based on your assessment I believe you suspect Entourage as the culprit.
It may be but with multiple computers, delegates and devices I just
cringe. Personally, with my Outlook and Palm I've never been satisfied
with synching two-way because of the potential duplicates, triplicates,
quadruplicates, etc.

My first piece of advice is to make as much read-only as possible to
avoid sync problems. I suggest any device such as a Palm, Blackberry or
phone always be set to be updated by Exchange, Entourage or Outlook (a
one-way sync). For me, I'm very unlikely to add or update a contact on a
device. If the assistants only need to view a calendar but not do
schedule for them, then don't make them delegates but rather share the
calendars as read-only or Reviewer.

Next, I would advise you test all the scenarios where problems can
happen. With one of the problem accounts quit all possible syncs (other
applications, devices, etc.) and create a new contact with some complex
information and using some of the custom fields. (Not all custom fields
will sync, by the way.) Quit immediately. Relaunch and let Entourage
sync with Exchange. Check what happens in OWA. Quit Entourage and then
sync each application (Entourage and Outlook on other computers) or
device one at a time. Is everything synching as you expect? Gradually
add to the mix without quitting anything at all and check after
launching each additional application or enabling additional devices.

Another suggestion comes from a priority management class I took years
ago. I learned a very simple way of managing and organizing all my
information and I apply it to synchronization as well. Have one place to
trust for your information and stick with it. In your case that would
mean each user uses one machine with either Entourage or Outlook and
uses it all the time to modify contacts. Let everything else update its
information from the Exchange Server at that point. This small change in
habit has been a great thing for me.

Finally, your users should have their expectations reasonably set.
Synching between like systems will typically be fine while synching
between disparate applications and devices may result in data loss
because they simply don't see data and metadata the same way. If you're
familiar with the movie "Office Space" you'll recall the employee who
had eight managers. Just imagine having eight managers telling you (or
in this case your Exchange Server) what to do. Not very efficient and it
can be a tug-of-war. This is how I see your scenario.

Hope this helps! bill
 
D

Diane Ross

Do you have Sync Services turned on in Entourage? Some users have reported
problems with lost data using Sync Services. These "glitches" are a result
of problems in Apple's Sync Services. They're still working at it. Keep
regular backups!!!
 
M

Mike Leone

Do you have Sync Services turned on in Entourage? Some users have reported
problems with lost data using Sync Services. These "glitches" are a result
of problems in Apple's Sync Services. They're still working at it. Keep
regular backups!!!
Click to expand...
Nope we have turned off sync service.
 
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