E2008 Upgrades identity on re-lauch

[LaForce]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)

Hi there,

I work on multiple Macs (Intel, PPC) with multiple mail-accounts (POP, IMAP), so I carry my Office-Identity with me on an external drive. For that to work I have symlinks to the external Microsoft Office Data folder on all machines. I used to do that since forever and it worked fine (also in Office 2008).

Since a week or so, Entourage is 'Upgrading' the identity every time I change the machine. Could it be that the 12.0.1 upgrade broke something?
- If I option-launch Entourage and verify database integrity it reports that verification succeeded, db is fine, but the problem persists.
- If I rebuild the database, DVB utility reports everything is fine, but Entourage then refuses to launch, because it can't access the database.
- If I go back to the original db (before rebuilding), everything works again (with the upgrading identity thing above).

Any hints/help appreciated.

Please keep in mind:
- My setup worked flawlessly since Outlook-Express times.
- I didn't change machines
- I did no system upgrade or changes
- I didn't install anything (except office 12.0.1)

 

[Diane Ross]

Since a week or so, Entourage is 'Upgrading' the identity every time I change
the machine. Could it be that the 12.0.1 upgrade broke something?

I have seen a couple of reports from users where they were not using your
system. Not sure what is going on here. Will see what I can find out for
you. In the mean time be sure to keep backups.

You might need to look at a workaround until this is resolved.

 

[andy_fuchs]

Hi Diane,

thanks for your reply. I looked for a workaround, but got stuck so far... Rebuilding the whole thing makes things worse...

BTW: I'm on 10.5.2 (latest rev.). And this happens on both, my MacPro, MacBook and Dual-G5 (PPC).

The unfortunate thing is that I use a *very* complex Email-structure (A bunch of different addresses, mailboxes, rules, etc...) Therefore I am quite reluctant to upgrading the identity manually.

Any hints very welcome. If you need further information, please let me know.

Andy

 

[Diane Ross]

Hi Diane,

thanks for your reply. I looked for a workaround, but got stuck so far...
Rebuilding the whole thing makes things worse...

BTW: I'm on 10.5.2 (latest rev.). And this happens on both, my MacPro, MacBook
and Dual-G5 (PPC).

The unfortunate thing is that I use a *very* complex Email-structure (A bunch
of different addresses, mailboxes, rules, etc...) Therefore I am quite
reluctant to upgrading the identity manually.

You can copy over the Rules and Signature files. This makes the process a
bit easier. You have to reset the rules folders, but you don't have to
recreate all the rules.

Any hints very welcome. If you need further information, please let me know.

Andy

I'm trying to get some help with this issue. Would it be possible for you to
burn your Identity to send to the developers for testing?

 

[Hui Nee Chin]

Hello,

Did you start experiencing this right after you installed the 12.0.1
update? Also, did you experience any data loss or notice any differences
after your identity is upgraded each time? Thanks!



Regards,
Hui Nee Chin - huchinATmicrosoftDOTcom
Microsoft Entourage Test
Disclaimer: This mail is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers
no rights.

 

[andy_fuchs]

Hi,

Did you start experiencing this right after you installed the 12.0.1
update?

I think not - I am not quite sure when exactly the 12.0.1 update appeared, but IIRC the problem occured a little later.

Also, did you experience any data loss or notice any differences
after your identity is upgraded each time? Thanks!

No - everything works fine then. The strange thing is, that rebuilding the database makes things worse (renders the identity unusable by Entourage). So there's definitely a problem in there.

If you want me to test something, please let me know.

andy

 

[andy_fuchs]

I'm trying to get some help with this issue. Would it be possible for you to

burn your Identity to send to the developers for testing?

Hi Diane,

thanks for your help - much appreciated.

The problem with my identity is, that it contains tons of confident information. So maybe there's a better solution?! Maybe your developers have a profiling tool which logs some more info? If nothing helps, I could try creating a version of the identity with confident data removed, but this would be a tedious operation....

best

andy

 

[Diane Ross]

The problem with my identity is, that it contains tons of confident
information. So maybe there's a better solution?! Maybe your developers have a
profiling tool which logs some more info? If nothing helps, I could try
creating a version of the identity with confident data removed, but this would
be a tedious operation....

From what you are saying, I think you need to manually move to a new
Identity. Some users are able to import to Entourage 2008 but then
experience problems that rebuilding does not fix. Once you get in a new
Identity, you are very stable.

How to manually move your data:

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

 

[andy_fuchs]

Hi Diane,

hm... thanks for the reply, but that's not a good option - really. My database is 1.5GB in size and consists of tons of folders and subfolders (along with accompaniing rules and scripts).

If I have some more spare time, I'll try to see, if I can fix the problems otherwise. Or maybe Microsoft will eventually provide a tool that re-creates an identity. Until then the situation is somewhat odd...

Nevertheless I appreciate your fast help and ideas. Please feel free to sent in any hints you may have in the future.

best

andy

 

[Diane Ross]

Hi Diane,

hm... thanks for the reply, but that's not a good option - really. My database
is 1.5GB in size and consists of tons of folders and subfolders (along with
accompaniing rules and scripts).

1.5 GB is not huge. When you export as Entourage archive (.rge) it saves the
folders. See this movie:

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

You can drag over your rules files and scripts just work in any Identity.
All Identities use the same script folder.

If I have some more spare time, I'll try to see, if I can fix the problems
otherwise. Or maybe Microsoft will eventually provide a tool that re-creates
an identity. Until then the situation is somewhat odd...

Well when h**l freezes over there will be a tool to do this.

 

[andy_fuchs]

Hi Diane,

here's a short follow-up:

What I found out was, that it doesn't even require to change computers - the same problem happened, when I just rebooted my MacBook. Same thing: Upgrade identity, upgrading messages... It also happened when I restarted and switched to a different user-account.

I then removed office *completely* from my disk (not only choose the 'Remove office' tool (which is lame, btw, because it just removes the Office folder...). I also removed all office related files from Preferences, Application support, etc...

Then I just dragged over a Office 12.0.0.1 from my backup disk - restarted and the problem is gone.. I'll see what happens if I'm in the office tomorrow. Keep fingers crossed everything's fine there too (I'll let you know anyway).

Hope this helps somebody experiencing the same problem.

Best

Andy

 

[andy_fuchs]

OK - that joy was too simple

After using Entourage as usual and another restart, the problem is back again :-(
I also tried to remove the whole hell again and downgraded to 12.0.0, but the same thing there... It seems that I really have to recreate my identiy manually. (Well I remember when I did that last time it was a major headache...)

Still - that's really disappointing, since there's nothing special in the database (especially if I remind myself, that I just bought the 2008 update because Entourage isn't sold standalone - I don't use the other parts). Keeping this commercial aspect in mind, I must say, here should definitely a tool to find out what's wrong.

Over and out

andy

 

[Diane Ross]

I also tried to remove the whole hell again and downgraded to 12.0.0, but the
same thing there... It seems that I really have to recreate my identiy
manually. (Well I remember when I did that last time it was a major
headache...)

Instead of doing the whole thing. Set up a test Identity and see if that
helps.

Still - that's really disappointing, since there's nothing special in the
database (especially if I remind myself, that I just bought the 2008 update
because Entourage isn't sold standalone - I don't use the other parts).
Keeping this commercial aspect in mind, I must say, here should definitely a
tool to find out what's wrong.

The developers are working on it. If they could get one of these databases
to work on maybe they could figure it out. You can imagine trying to create
this scenario in the lab is almost impossible. IF there is any way to burn
your Identity to DVD they would love to get it for testing.

 

[andy_fuchs]

Instead of doing the whole thing. Set up a test Identity and see if that

helps.

Hi Diane,

sorry, I don't understand. What do you mean by 'set up a test identity'?

The developers are working on it. If they could get one of these databases
to work on maybe they could figure it out. You can imagine trying to create
this scenario in the lab is almost impossible. IF there is any way to burn
your Identity to DVD they would love to get it for testing.

I have a burning software ;-) - where would I send it? (Or I can put it on one of our servers).

andy

 

[Diane Ross]

sorry, I don't understand. What do you mean by 'set up a test identity'?

Under Entourage in the menu bar, select Switch Identity. In the window,
select "New" name it Test or anything you want. Enter your account info. In
the Options Tab, select to leave mail on server.

Now you can test Entourage in a new blank Identity to see if the account
works. This eliminates any corruption in your database.

I have a burning software ;-) - where would I send it? (Or I can put it on one
of our servers).

Contact me off list for details. Send me an email:

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/support_options/email.html>

 

[Hui Nee Chin]

Hello Andy,

I'd like to set up a file transfer process with you and would need your
email to send you information. Can you please email me directly at
huchinATmicrosoftDOTcom? Thanks!




Regards,
Hui Nee Chin - huchinATmicrosoftDOTcom
Microsoft Entourage Test
Disclaimer: This mail is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers
no rights.

 

[Diane Ross]

I use SuperDuper and have never seen this. Have you tried the fix for the
looping Setup Assistant?

Install and Update Errors
<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/error/install_update.html#fails2>