Mail/folders missing - Databases in place

S

Stephanie

I'm using Entourage 11.2.3 (yes, I now see that it's up to 11.2.6)...
the only problem I've had before today is that Entourage will sometimes
freeze -- as in: you're in the middle of typing an email and suddenly,
nothing is typing into the document. You can't do anything in the
program at all... it's unresponsive. And until the next run of the
schedule (sometimes more than 5 minutes) nothing will bring it back.
You can leave the program to do something else and then click back into
Entourage (or use the dock) and nothing happens. It won't get focus.
FINALLY, while you're doing something else, Entourage will jump back to
the front like it's ready to work again, Till now, that was the only
problem.

Today however, bigger awful things are happening. This morning, I got
my mail and none of it sorted into its respective folders using the
rules I've set up. Odd. I put the mail where it needed to go as I read
it. I went down and checked a couple newsgroups and while trying to
reply to a third NG post (the first two were fine), I got an error
message (I wish I'd written it down, but I didn't know it would be this
severe). Anyway, the error was saying it couldn't complete that command
or something (and, of course, had a number). Then, I could no longer
read any of the NG posts. They were all giving an error.

I thought maybe there was a problem with that newsgroup, so I left it
to answer mail in another folder. When I clicked another mail folder I
got an error saying that couldn't be done either. I figured I'd better
reboot Entourage. I used the menu command to quit the program and got a
box asking if I wanted to report this crash/problem to Microsoft. I
said sure (though I had quit, not crashed).

After the little reporting box did its thing, and all was actually
quit, I restarted Entourage. It started as if it was the first time the
program ever opened. :-O With the "set up your acccounts" helper box,
no folders and no messages. Uh-uh. I went to "Switch Identities" (I
have a second, older identity) and I could see the names of both there.
I quit and restarted -- same thing. I went ahead and switched to my
other identity -- same issue. No mail and no folders. Nothing. Just
like brand new.

I went to the Microsoft User Data folder and saw that both Office 2004
identities are there. The old one (that I only use for reference) is
3.74GB (big, I know) and the one I use day to day is 1.64GB (that's not
bad for Entourage)... I made a copy of the smaller one just in case...
but now I'm not sure how to proceed to have the highest chance for
recovering all my mail, rules, contacts, accounts, schedules, folders,
etc. I want it just like it was. <sigh>

I've downloaded the 11.2 5 update (which it says I should install
before the 11.2.6. Should I upgrade first to see if that helps? Or
should I try to compact the database (instructions I read said to only
rebuild the database if you must). Should I go straight to a rebuild?
Or maybe there's something I can do to force mail to SEE the mail in
the databases (I know they're not BOTH corrupt!)?

I'm scared to death because in early June, my Entourage DB became
corrupted and was unrecoverable. In trying to import it into Apple's
Mail program as a last ditch effort to recover at least some of it, the
import lasted over a weekend and crashed my entire HD. I lost 6 weeks
of unbacked up mail as well as a week of my PB being in the shop. I'm a
web developer. I can't do this again -- not the crash or the lost mail.
So any input will be highly valuable to me.

Thanks!
Stephanie Sullivan
 
M

Michel Bintener

Hi Stephanie,

this is most likely a case of severe database corruption. Hopefully,
rebuilding the database will solve the problem; just follow the instructions
listed on this website:

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/database/rebuild.html>

If that doesn't solve the problem, post back!


I'm using Entourage 11.2.3 (yes, I now see that it's up to 11.2.6)...
the only problem I've had before today is that Entourage will sometimes
freeze -- as in: you're in the middle of typing an email and suddenly,
nothing is typing into the document. You can't do anything in the
program at all... it's unresponsive. And until the next run of the
schedule (sometimes more than 5 minutes) nothing will bring it back.
You can leave the program to do something else and then click back into
Entourage (or use the dock) and nothing happens. It won't get focus.
FINALLY, while you're doing something else, Entourage will jump back to
the front like it's ready to work again, Till now, that was the only
problem.

Today however, bigger awful things are happening. This morning, I got
my mail and none of it sorted into its respective folders using the
rules I've set up. Odd. I put the mail where it needed to go as I read
it. I went down and checked a couple newsgroups and while trying to
reply to a third NG post (the first two were fine), I got an error
message (I wish I'd written it down, but I didn't know it would be this
severe). Anyway, the error was saying it couldn't complete that command
or something (and, of course, had a number). Then, I could no longer
read any of the NG posts. They were all giving an error.

I thought maybe there was a problem with that newsgroup, so I left it
to answer mail in another folder. When I clicked another mail folder I
got an error saying that couldn't be done either. I figured I'd better
reboot Entourage. I used the menu command to quit the program and got a
box asking if I wanted to report this crash/problem to Microsoft. I
said sure (though I had quit, not crashed).

After the little reporting box did its thing, and all was actually
quit, I restarted Entourage. It started as if it was the first time the
program ever opened. :-O With the "set up your acccounts" helper box,
no folders and no messages. Uh-uh. I went to "Switch Identities" (I
have a second, older identity) and I could see the names of both there.
I quit and restarted -- same thing. I went ahead and switched to my
other identity -- same issue. No mail and no folders. Nothing. Just
like brand new.

I went to the Microsoft User Data folder and saw that both Office 2004
identities are there. The old one (that I only use for reference) is
3.74GB (big, I know) and the one I use day to day is 1.64GB (that's not
bad for Entourage)... I made a copy of the smaller one just in case...
but now I'm not sure how to proceed to have the highest chance for
recovering all my mail, rules, contacts, accounts, schedules, folders,
etc. I want it just like it was. <sigh>

I've downloaded the 11.2 5 update (which it says I should install
before the 11.2.6. Should I upgrade first to see if that helps? Or
should I try to compact the database (instructions I read said to only
rebuild the database if you must). Should I go straight to a rebuild?
Or maybe there's something I can do to force mail to SEE the mail in
the databases (I know they're not BOTH corrupt!)?

I'm scared to death because in early June, my Entourage DB became
corrupted and was unrecoverable. In trying to import it into Apple's
Mail program as a last ditch effort to recover at least some of it, the
import lasted over a weekend and crashed my entire HD. I lost 6 weeks
of unbacked up mail as well as a week of my PB being in the shop. I'm a
web developer. I can't do this again -- not the crash or the lost mail.
So any input will be highly valuable to me.

Thanks!
Stephanie Sullivan

--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP
Office:Mac (Entourage & Word)

***Always reply to the newsgroup.***
 
S

Stephanie

Michel said:
this is most likely a case of severe database corruption. Hopefully,
rebuilding the database will solve the problem; just follow the instructions
listed on this website:

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/database/rebuild.html>

If that doesn't solve the problem, post back!

Thanks Michel -- so you would NOT recommend first updating Entourage to
11.2.6 (just in case there are some new tools/fixes that might help in
there)? Just verifying...
Stephanie
 
M

Michel Bintener

Thanks Michel -- so you would NOT recommend first updating Entourage to
11.2.6 (just in case there are some new tools/fixes that might help in
there)? Just verifying...
Stephanie

Hi Stephanie,

no, that should not make any difference; if your database is corrupt in
11.2.3, it will stay that way under 11.2.6. If I were you, I'd try
rebuilding the database *before* proceeding with the updates.

--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP
Office:Mac (Entourage & Word)

***Always reply to the newsgroup.***
 
S

Stephanie

no, that should not make any difference; if your database is corrupt in
11.2.3, it will stay that way under 11.2.6. If I were you, I'd try
rebuilding the database *before* proceeding with the updates.

Thanks for hangin' with me here Michel... I just solved my issue. It
was MY stupidity (imagine that)... Last evening, I was cleaning up my
desktop (it's cluttered) and I noticed that my Documents directory was
sitting right there smack dab in the middle. I still have no clue how
that happened... I certainly didn't move it on purpose.

I knew it needed to be in the right place so I opened my HD folder and
THOUGHT I dropped it into my user. Nothing untoward happened
immediately... I closed Entourage at bedtime and opened it again this
morning.

What I can't figure out is -- WHY did it not open weird this morning
(meaning the "clean slate" version) to start off with? Why did it open
as my normal user, NOT sort to folders and then start erroring.... and
only THEN did it open clean. I certainly didn't do a thing to the
Documents directory today.

VERY, very odd.

I realized it when I went to open it to write someone about this -- and
wanted to be sure I was using the proper name for the MUD.... and saw
that there was nothing ELSE in the docs folder except the MUD. Then
looked at the HD and saw the Docs folder I normally have in the main
directory -- not the user directory. <sigh>

Moved it to the proper place, rebooted, everything's back to normal.
<deep breath>

I think while this is the case, I'll upgrade, compact and back up!!
Thanks all (and especially Michel)...
Stephanie
 
B

Barry Wainwright [MVP]

Hi Stephanie,

no, that should not make any difference; if your database is corrupt in
11.2.3, it will stay that way under 11.2.6. If I were you, I'd try
rebuilding the database *before* proceeding with the updates.

I certainly concur with that - there were database updates in between those
versions, and it is far better to let entourage update a non-corrupt
database!
 
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