Entourage won't open, despite doing everything

[MED]

Version: 2004
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel
Email Client: pop

I've used Office for years. This is a first. Entourage won't open (occasionally it gives me a -600 error message, but now not even that). All I get is a bounce and nothing.

I've tried:

repairing permissions, verify preferences (using Disk Utility then Drive Genius) removing office, replacing office, removing only Entourage, using Time Machine to get an earlier version of Entourage and replacing with that, removing anything and everything that says entourage (plist, sync, all using spotlight search), reloading Entourage and trying again. No luck. I tried to open the Entourage database in Textedit (try to save something) said it was too large. Tried in Thunderbird (again, too large, it is 3.49 G, after using database utility in MS Office it is 3 G, but in the replaced version I started over with only a blank database and that made no difference, even with the old database completely on another disk (and even tried detaching that in case a ghost connection was guilty).

Nothing, nada. Bounce bounce bounce. Mail works fine, but I'm trying to get back my email messages in Entourage of over a year. I thought TimeMachine was backing all up, but now find that I can't restore and restart from an earlier version.

 

[Diane Ross]

I've used Office for years. This is a first. Entourage won't open
(occasionally it gives me a -600 error message, but now not even that). All I
get is a bounce and nothing.

I've tried:

repairing permissions, verify preferences (using Disk Utility then Drive
Genius) removing office, replacing office, removing only Entourage, using Time
Machine to get an earlier version of Entourage and replacing with that,
removing anything and everything that says entourage (plist, sync, all using
spotlight search), reloading Entourage and trying again. No luck. I tried to
open the Entourage database in Textedit (try to save something) said it was
too large. Tried in Thunderbird (again, too large, it is 3.49 G, after using
database utility in MS Office it is 3 G, but in the replaced version I started
over with only a blank database and that made no difference, even with the old
database completely on another disk (and even tried detaching that in case a
ghost connection was guilty).

Nothing, nada. Bounce bounce bounce. Mail works fine, but I'm trying to get
back my email messages in Entourage of over a year. I thought TimeMachine was
backing all up, but now find that I can't restore and restart from an earlier
version.

We need to determine if it's your Identity, your User's folder, the base OS
files and/or Office install plus look at your hardware.

1) Let's try something simple first:

Entourage bounces in the Dock and then stops without launching the
application.

Try deleting this file: ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.Entourage.plist

2) If you hold the Shift key down when launching Entourage, does it launch?
If yes, the it's a schedule trying to fire with a bad message.

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/troubleshoot/crashes.html#crash2>

3) Still having problems, Go to System Preferences --> Create a New User in
Accounts. Switch to the New User by logging out/in or use Fast User
Switching. Test Entourage there. If that works, switch back to your regular
User and move your Identity named "main" by default to the Shared folder.
Switch back to the new test User and drag "Main" to the Microsoft User Data
folder in Documents. Either rename or let it overwrite the blank test Main.
If it doesn't open , then this confirms it's your Identity. If it does open,
then the problem is in your User's folder. If all of this fails in the new
User, it's a base system problem.

4) Since you have already replaced Office, I would first apply the latest
Apple combo updater. If that doesn't work, then you'll need to do an
"Archive & Install".

Combo updaters will install on the same version as they¹re applying‹no need
to roll back or do a clean install.

Leopard:

Mac OS X 10.5.5 Combo Update
(For both PowerPC- and Intel-based Macs )
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx1055comboupdate.html>

Let me know what your testing finds.

 

[MED]

Okay Diane, I deleted the library preferences file. No change.
Held shift down. No change. Tried that repeatedly. Tried shutdown and reboot, then shift down open. Nope.
Created a new user account. no change.
Applied Apple Combo updater (additionally, since I had already used Apple Software Update and was on 10.5.5). No change.
Then I copied the Entourage database to a DVD, took it to my wife's Powerbook G4, and Entourage opened it, no problem. There was my email!
So, turned on sharing on her computer, incl applications, tried opening Entourage via wifi sharing. Bounced a bit longer than usual, but then stopped again. No messages.
Finally, dumped everything from MS Office again on my computer. Reinstalled again. Used one my other keys for MS Office (my last one, I have afamily pack of 3, my wife and I use 2 and one for a spare). No change.
I've checked about 85 other applications on my comp to see if any was having this problem. So far, no problems with any but Entourage. I really don't want to archive and reinstall my operating system. That's way too much trouble with all the apps there. I put the latest version of Windowshade X (with the notorious APE) on couple of weeks ago, but tried excluding Entourage from APE action and Entourage was working for days with Windowshade running, so can't see how that could have done anything--but maybe you know of how it might be doing this?)

 

[Diane Ross]

You can reuse your keys. They are not activated.

Just to be sure we are talking the same language...when you said you created
a new User, did you create the User in System Preferences? If Entourage does
not work in a new User, then it is your OS. You can do an "Archive &
Install." The last time I had to do an "Archive & Install" the only thing I
had to re-install was my Microsoft Keyboard software.

As far as WindowShade, you should be able to log into your User's account
with Shift key down to disable all startup items. This would eliminate
haxies like WindowShade.

Let me know what happens.