Emails don't find contacts in restored Outlook

[Mike Row Soft]

My hard drive burned up, so I replaced it, reinstalled, and imported
everything into Outlook. The contacts are there if you click contacts.
However, when sending emails, there is no way to connect to my contacts.
It's like they are invisible.

 

[Russ Valentine]

You never import Outlook data to restore it. You just open the Outlook data
file.
When you do, you will be able to configure your address book view to display
your Contacts the same way as always:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;287563&Product=ol2002

 

[Mike Row Soft]

I followed these instructions:

Step 2: Mark your contact folder for use with your address book
On the File menu, point to Folder, and then click Properties for your folder
name.
On the Outlook Address Book tab, click to select the Show this folder as an
e-mail address book check box, type a descriptive name, and then click OK.

"Show this folder" was already checked. When I am in my Inbox or an email I
am writing and I click the Address Book icon, it STILL says I have no Address
Book. A window pops up and I can choose between a useless, empty Contacts
and the second one, which works. All this is extremely time-consuming and
annoying. I need Outlook to go IMMEDIATELY to my Contacts without all this
confusion.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]]

"Show this folder" was already checked. When I am in my Inbox or an email I
am writing and I click the Address Book icon, it STILL says I have no
Address
Book. A window pops up and I can choose between a useless, empty Contacts
and the second one, which works. All this is extremely time-consuming and
annoying. I need Outlook to go IMMEDIATELY to my Contacts without all this
confusion.

You don't state yor Outlook version. For Outlook 2003 and 2002, click
Tools>E-mail Accounts>View or change existing directories or address
books>Next. Select Outlook Address Book and click Change. Select the bogus
folder and click Remove. Close the dialogues, stop and restart Outlook.

For Outlook 2007, click Tools>Account Settings and select the Address Book
tab. The rest is similar.

 

[Mike Row Soft]

It's Outlook 2003.

OK, so I went into Email Accounts/View or Change Existing Directories or
Address Books/Change. I see two options, both Contacts: Personal Folders.
Regardless of whether I choose the first or the second, I STILL get the error
message when I launch the Address Book from the Inbox or an open email.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]]

OK, so I went into Email Accounts/View or Change Existing Directories or
Address Books/Change. I see two options, both Contacts: Personal Folders.
Regardless of whether I choose the first or the second, I STILL get the
error
message when I launch the Address Book from the Inbox or an open email.

Did you restart Outlook afterward? Remove them both, then stop and restart
Outlook. Then go back to the Contacts properties and reenable it as an
address book. The Address Book interface should be OK after that.

 

[Mike Row Soft]

I did the whole process twice again, this time going into properties. It was
never disabled. It just doesn't work.

 

[Russ Valentine]

Then you corrupted your profile. That's what happens when you import your
Outlook data.
Do as I suggested. Create a new profile and migrate your data properly by
opening it, not importing it.

 

[Mike Row Soft]

It was done by a computer "technician."

Please explain it to me again, in simple, "for-dummies" steps.

Thanks!

 

[Russ Valentine]

That information is posted here daily:
Take a look at these pages for info on Outlook data backup or transfer:
http://www.slipstick.com/config/backup.htm
http://www.howto-outlook.com/Howto/backupandrestore.htm
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010771141033.aspx

Note that some of the information on the Microsoft page is outdated and
contains errors, particularly when applied to Outlook 2003 or 2007.
Specifically:
1. Ignore any advice to copy your PST file to Outlook's default location to
connect it to your profile. Doing so will often corrupt your Outlook
profile. Copy it
anywhere BUT the default location and then open it within your Outlook
profile.
2. Ignore any advice that tells you to use export or import to transfer
Outlook data. That has never been sound advice, but the process has become
too deeply flawed to be of any use.