A
askphyl
Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel
Email Client: pop
I used Entourage for years with my various Palm handhelds and never had any sync issues. When I purchased an IPhone 3G, almost one year ago, I set up Entourage 2004 to sync with my IPhone and have had nothing but trouble since then. After losing all my major birthday, anniversary and event data (thank goodness for backups), I was able to recreate a database that was close to the original. Ultimately, using my G4 Powerbook, Entourage 2004 and my IPhone 3G, I was able to sync in a way where at least Entourage Calendar was updating with my syncs. I was never able to get rid of the duplicate entries that Entourage created, but since they didn't transfer to my IPhone, I just ignored them in Entourage. I've recently upgraded my laptop to a MacBook Pro and, at the same time, upgraded Entourage & Office to 2008. I was so looking forward to doing a clean installation and finally being rid of all these messy syncing problems. Little did I know, however, that they'd be even worse now. After merging my 2004 Entourage identity with my new 2008 Entourage identity, I performed my first sync. Suddenly, all the duplicate entries in Entourage, that I had so meticulously deleted, had returned; and this time they all transferred into ICal and to my IPhone. Resetting Sync Services made things even worse. The best way I found to clean up ICal and my IPhone was to make the deletions, entry by entry, on my phone. Once this was done and I synced again, ICal was back to its more pristine state. No matter how many times I make the deletions in Entourage, however, they always come back. The worst part is that now when I sync my phone, my Entourage Calendar is not being updated.
I won't tell you how many days I've spent in the past year trying to correct these insidious problems. When I had the problem one year ago, I de-selected the Entourage Sync Services preferences, deleted my ICal Calendar, restored the clean ICal backup, re-selected Sync Services, choosing to overwrite the Entourage database and, as I said, ultimately, found my way to an acceptable, although far from perfect, solution. But I had a great deal of difficulty then, with multiple calendars being created in ICal and on my IPhone, etc. In the end, the Entourage entries duplicated again, anyway, sometimes just "out of the blue" during a regular ITunes/IPhone sync. I don't think I have the patience to go through all this again and am about to just give up altogether on Entourage. I have used Microsoft Office for many, many years, as a PC user before switching to Mac 5 years ago. I'm extremely persistent and patient, so for me to say I'm about to call it quits is quite something. This is my last-ditch effort to see if there's a way to get my brand new system functioning in an acceptable manner: all I want is for Entourage to have my up-to-date schedule, events and to-dos, preferably without a lot of duplication of the entries. Anybody have any suggestions?
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel
Email Client: pop
I used Entourage for years with my various Palm handhelds and never had any sync issues. When I purchased an IPhone 3G, almost one year ago, I set up Entourage 2004 to sync with my IPhone and have had nothing but trouble since then. After losing all my major birthday, anniversary and event data (thank goodness for backups), I was able to recreate a database that was close to the original. Ultimately, using my G4 Powerbook, Entourage 2004 and my IPhone 3G, I was able to sync in a way where at least Entourage Calendar was updating with my syncs. I was never able to get rid of the duplicate entries that Entourage created, but since they didn't transfer to my IPhone, I just ignored them in Entourage. I've recently upgraded my laptop to a MacBook Pro and, at the same time, upgraded Entourage & Office to 2008. I was so looking forward to doing a clean installation and finally being rid of all these messy syncing problems. Little did I know, however, that they'd be even worse now. After merging my 2004 Entourage identity with my new 2008 Entourage identity, I performed my first sync. Suddenly, all the duplicate entries in Entourage, that I had so meticulously deleted, had returned; and this time they all transferred into ICal and to my IPhone. Resetting Sync Services made things even worse. The best way I found to clean up ICal and my IPhone was to make the deletions, entry by entry, on my phone. Once this was done and I synced again, ICal was back to its more pristine state. No matter how many times I make the deletions in Entourage, however, they always come back. The worst part is that now when I sync my phone, my Entourage Calendar is not being updated.
I won't tell you how many days I've spent in the past year trying to correct these insidious problems. When I had the problem one year ago, I de-selected the Entourage Sync Services preferences, deleted my ICal Calendar, restored the clean ICal backup, re-selected Sync Services, choosing to overwrite the Entourage database and, as I said, ultimately, found my way to an acceptable, although far from perfect, solution. But I had a great deal of difficulty then, with multiple calendars being created in ICal and on my IPhone, etc. In the end, the Entourage entries duplicated again, anyway, sometimes just "out of the blue" during a regular ITunes/IPhone sync. I don't think I have the patience to go through all this again and am about to just give up altogether on Entourage. I have used Microsoft Office for many, many years, as a PC user before switching to Mac 5 years ago. I'm extremely persistent and patient, so for me to say I'm about to call it quits is quite something. This is my last-ditch effort to see if there's a way to get my brand new system functioning in an acceptable manner: all I want is for Entourage to have my up-to-date schedule, events and to-dos, preferably without a lot of duplication of the entries. Anybody have any suggestions?