Entourage Freezes in Calendar Mode

[michael.mcclary]

I'm using Entourage 2004 on my MacBook Pro and have had lots of
crashes and hangs using it. Some seem to come and go but the one
consistent problem is moving from email, tasks, notes or Project
Center to the calendar.

Whenever I click on the calendar icon, the application hangs and I
have to Force Quit. Worse yet, I have to restart the computer for
Entourage to launch again. If move among the other functions - email,
tasks, notes or Project Center - I have no problems.

I have disabled all Sync Services functions.

Any suggestions (other than avoiding the calendar, of course)?

Mike

 

[Joel McIntosh]

Hi Mike,

I might try a couple of approaches.

The problem might be caused by a corruption in your Entourage database. You
can verify your database by quitting all Office applications and then
holding down the "option" key while starting Entourage. This will take you
to the database verify and (if needed) repair screen.

Verify your database to see if you've got a corruption that needs to be
repaired.

If the database is fine, you might have a corrupt preference file. These are
stored in your homefolder-->Library-->Preferences-->Microsoft. Close all
Office applications. Then, try to delete all of the preference files for
Entourage (and the one named "com.microsoft.Office.prefs.plist" for good
measure). Restart Entourage and see if the problem persists.

If the problem persists, you may have to delete all of your Microsoft
preference files in that Microsoft preferences folder.

 

[michael.mcclary]

Hi Mike,

I might try a couple of approaches.

The problem might be caused by a corruption in your Entourage database. You
can verify your database by quitting all Office applications and then
holding down the "option" key while starting Entourage. This will take you
to the database verify and (if needed) repair screen.

Verify your database to see if you've got a corruption that needs to be
repaired.

If the database is fine, you might have a corrupt preference file. These are
stored in your homefolder-->Library-->Preferences-->Microsoft. Close all
Office applications. Then, try to delete all of the preference files for
Entourage (and the one named "com.microsoft.Office.prefs.plist" for good
measure). Restart Entourage and see if the problem persists.

If the problem persists, you may have to delete all of your Microsoft
preference files in that Microsoft preferences folder.

Thanks, Joel.

I took all the steps you outlined for me but am still having the
problem with the calendar. I deleted all the Microsoft prefs in the
folder to no avail.

Interestingly, I noticed that I can create calendar events from email,
tasks and notes, and I can accept meeting requests as they come in.
Just can't get to the calendar.

I know the next version of Office will solve these PPC/Intel issues
but I rely so much on Entourage that I don't want to switch to another
application.

Any other bits of advice?

Thanks again for your help.

Mike

 

[Joel McIntosh]

Mike,

Those steps I just described usually solves most weirdness I experience on
the client machines I manage.

Here is an idea ... if you create a new identity in Entourage (Entourage -->
Switch Identity and then create a new identity), does the problem persist in
the new identity?

If not, then you know it's something corrupted in your old identity's
Entourage database.

If the trouble does persists ... try creating a new user on your computer,
log-in as that user (System Preferences --> Accounts to create the new
user), and try using Entourage. Does the problem persist with the new user?

If not, then the problem is probably some preference or other library file
for your old user.

If the trouble does persist, it may be a corruption with your Office 2004
installation. I would Remove Office using the Office 2004 CD. This will not
remove your Microsoft User Data (in Documents); however, it would not hurt
to make a back up that folder anyway. Then, I would reinstall Office 2004.

 

[michael.mcclary]

Mike,

Those steps I just described usually solves most weirdness I experience on
the client machines I manage.

Here is an idea ... if you create a new identity in Entourage (Entourage -->
Switch Identity and then create a new identity), does the problem persist in
the new identity?

If not, then you know it's something corrupted in your old identity's
Entourage database.

If the trouble does persists ... try creating a new user on your computer,
log-in as that user (System Preferences --> Accounts to create the new
user), and try using Entourage. Does the problem persist with the new user?

If not, then the problem is probably some preference or other library file
for your old user.

If the trouble does persist, it may be a corruption with your Office 2004
installation. I would Remove Office using the Office 2004 CD. This will not
remove your Microsoft User Data (in Documents); however, it would not hurt
to make a back up that folder anyway. Then, I would reinstall Office 2004.

Joel,

I created a new identity and that did the trick. I exported the data
(messages, calendar events, etc.) from the old identity and imported
it into the new one. I hope that doesn't cause problems with the new
ID. Unfortunately I lost all my projects from the Project Center (any
way to import them from the old identity?).

Thanks for walking me through this!

Mike