Entourage 2004 and FileVault

[wm_walsh]

Hello all...

I've got a user running an Aluminum PowerBook G4 (1GHz, 15 inch) with
Mac OS X 10.4.10 (fully up to date) and Office 2004 (also fully up to
date). For security purposes, FileVault is enabled for their user
account.

Recently, Entourage 2004 has been starting the database repair tool.
Running a verification against the database and saving the log file
returns the following message:

"ERROR: BlockID #<number varies> has an unknown checksum"

A little investigation shows that the database can be repaired
succesfully and Entourage operates correctly afterward. Verifying the
database again finds no problems. But the database trouble comes back
after logging out of that user account and after FileVault has been
allowed to reclaim unused space in the encrypted disk image file. At
next login, the Entourage database repair tool is back.

The reported block number has been left out as it has never been the
same number twice.

Not allowing FileVault to reclaim unused space when it asks results in
no corruption of the Entourage database. I've verified the disk, the
FileVault disk image and looked for file permissions issues only to
find that everything seems to be OK. The hard disk SMART status is
good. I even did some searching of the group archives to find that
while problems with FileVault and Entourage have been reported, none
are like the problem that is surfacing on this system. It would seem
that FileVault is doing something that Entourage doesn't like to have
done to its database file.

Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas as to what may be going wrong?
I'd really appreciate any help or suggestion.

William

 

[Diane Ross]

Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas as to what may be going wrong?
I'd really appreciate any help or suggestion.

I see this as a multiple part problem.

1. Rebuild database,
2. FileVault,
3. Encrypted disk image file.

The first thing you need to do is determine where the problem is located so
you can take the appropriate steps to correct the problem.

I can address #1 on the rebuild database. Are you getting a constant
reminder that "Your Office database is damaged. You need to rebuild"? We
need to first determine if the database actually does need to be rebuilt.
Are you seeing signs of database corruption, or are you relying on a
notification from Entourage?

The "Verify database" has been known to give false reports. One option that
can cause these false reports is a corrupted preference. Try deleting this
preference file in your User's --> Library Preferences:

com.microsoft.OfficeNotifications.plist

To see if the background verify option is giving a false report, try running
the Database Utility and having it do a verify operation. If it gives you a
clean bill of health, you know you are safe in turning off the background
checking. (Note that deleting the plist file might solve the problem.)

Some users have had to uncheck this preference to stop the constant
warnings. If you are not experiencing any problems turn off the "Verify
database". I do recommend that you run regular backups of your database. Use
Tasks to set up a reminder.

Other options to check:

Bad RAM.
Being low on disk space. To check your disk space, use the Activity Monitor.
(this could be related to your disk image file size)

Click on Disk Usage in the bottom menu bar and select the volume where you
have Office installed. You can also use Disk Utility to see detailed
information about a disk or volume. To learn more, open Disk Utility in the
/Applications/Utilities folder and refer to Disk Utility Help.

We have had very little feedback on FileVault so please let us know your
results so we can add the info to the FAQs.

 

[wm_walsh]

Hi!

The first thing you need to do is determine where the problem
is located so you can take the appropriate steps to correct
the problem.

I think I can say with a lot of confidence that the FileVault's
SparseImage is OK. It passes a verify run with Disk Utility when
booted from an external volume. And the things inside it seem to be
fine as well.

I can address #1 on the rebuild database. Are you getting a
constant reminder that "Your Office database is damaged.
You need to rebuild"?

I would be inclined to say no, but in the interest of accuracy, it's
not my computer and I have yet to be in front of it when this happens.
As far as I'm aware, the database tool just appears. The last time it
happened, the user was working in Safari. (I'd have to think that an
Office app was open somewhere, though.)

Are you seeing signs of database corruption, or are you relying
on a notification from Entourage?

Entourage seems to behave just fine. I've not been able to detect any
sign of corruption just by using it. The database tool just appeared
on the screen per the user.

One option that can cause these false reports is a corrupted
preference. Try deleting this preference file in your User's -->
Library Preferences:

I will definitely try that and report back.

Bad RAM.

It checks good with Memtest for OS X when booted single user. This
machine gave me fits with bad RAM a long, long time ago...but it
really was RAM that someone had installed and it didn't meet the
appropriate specs.

Being low on disk space. To check your disk space, use the
Activity Monitor. (this could be related to your disk image
file size)

There is lots and lots of disk space free...over 40GBs worth. I don't
know about the FileVault SparseImage, but it surely must be
dynamically resized as needed.

We have had very little feedback on FileVault so please let us
know your results so we can add the info to the FAQs.

I will definitely post back. A corrupted preferences file hadn't
crossed my mind, but that is a good possibility!

William

 

[Diane Ross]

I will definitely post back. A corrupted preferences file hadn't
crossed my mind, but that is a good possibility!

Keep us posted. Let's hope it's the simple fix of the corrupt preference
file.