All of my sub-subfolders in Entourage are gone

[CBDC]

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

I had under "folders on my computer" in addition to the obvious (inbox, sent, deleted items etc.) a large number of folders some of which had many subfolders under them (for example, Messages before 06/2005 - all organized in subfolders). They've all gone - none of the folders that had subfolders now have them - they're empty. It happened sometime in the last few days. I can rebuild the data base using time machine, or using one of my more recent backups using export, but does anyone know why it happened and what could have triggered the problem?? While my Entourage file is large, I've never had a problem until now. I know there was a recent update to improve some calendar functionality - could it have messed up other things.

All the subfolders were there last night.

 

[CBDC]

NEVER MIND - I just restarted Entourage (closed it down and then opened it again) and they all reappeared. I would like to know why what happened, happened.

 

[Diane Ross]

It would be a guess as to what happened. Weird things can happen during an
update. This is why it is always advised to backup before updating. Quitting
ALL Applications before updating is also a good idea as well as restarting
after each update.

You mentioned using Time Machine to backup Entourage...

It's advised not to let Time Machine backup your Entourage database. If the
database is copied while being used, the backup could be corrupt. You can
set the Time Machine to exclude the Microsoft User Data folder and create an
iCal event to copy it over at night while not in use so you get one backup
daily in Time Machine.

Alternative method to use Entourage and Time Machine (does a once a day or
whatever time period you select)

<http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/2008/01/alternative_method_to_use_entourage_
and_time_machine.html>

Entourage and Time Machine (creates chronological backup of Identity can be
used by both Tiger and Leopard)

<http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/2008/01/entourage_and_time_machine.html>