Lost 6 months of messages

[Rock_Roszak]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel
Email Client: Exchange

On a reboot last night, I got an Entourage dialog box saying my database was corrupted and to select a back up to rebuild. The only back up choices were from May and I selected one and now (understandably) I have lost all mail since that backup in May. I back up with Time Machine (not recommended I know), so is there a file that I can recover that will bring me back to the messages I had last night before the reboot. I'm in crisis mode! If there is a file, where is it located. The database file I see in the office user office 2008 identities/main identity folder is dated back in May. Help!

 

[Ed Kimball]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel
Email Client: Exchange

On a reboot last night, I got an Entourage dialog box saying my database was
corrupted and to select a back up to rebuild. The only back up choices were
from May and I selected one and now (understandably) I have lost all mail
since that backup in May. I back up with Time Machine (not recommended I
know), so is there a file that I can recover that will bring me back to the
messages I had last night before the reboot. I'm in crisis mode! If there is a
file, where is it located. The database file I see in the office user office
2008 identities/main identity folder is dated back in May. Help!

I recommend that you go into Time Machine, go back to the last day that you
remember having a good installation, and recovering your
~/Documents/Microsfoft User Data/Office 2008 Identities folder.
I then suggest you make a duplicate of that folder and then rebuild your
main Entourage database. (The duplicate is to avoid having to recover it
again in case there's a problem with the rebuild.)

Hope this helps.

 

[Rock_Roszak]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel
Email Client: Exchange

On a reboot last night, I got an Entourage dialog box saying my database was
corrupted and to select a back up to rebuild. The only back up choices were
from May and I selected one and now (understandably) I have lost all mail
since that backup in May. I back up with Time Machine (not recommended I
know), so is there a file that I can recover that will bring me back to the
messages I had last night before the reboot. I'm in crisis mode! If there is a
file, where is it located. The database file I see in the office user office
2008 identities/main identity folder is dated back in May. Help!

I recommend that you go into Time Machine, go back to the last day that you
remember having a good installation, and recovering your
~/Documents/Microsfoft User Data/Office 2008 Identities folder.
I then suggest you make a duplicate of that folder and then rebuild your
main Entourage database. (The duplicate is to avoid having to recover it
again in case there's a problem with the rebuild.)

Hope this helps.[/QUOTE]
Ed: thanks for this suggestion. I'm in the process of restoring my identities folder now, and I will duplicate the folder. I feel like a rookie here...do I use the database utility to rebuild before I launch Entourage...is that the deal?

Rock

 

[Diane Ross]

Ed: thanks for this suggestion. I'm in the process of restoring my identities
folder now, and I will duplicate the folder. I feel like a rookie here...do I
use the database utility to rebuild before I launch Entourage...is that the
deal?

Hold the Option key when Entourage is quit to launch the rebuild utility.
However, for Exchange accounts, it's best to not rebuild but to create a new
Identity and let Entourage sync back up to your Exchange server. Your IT
could replace the database with the server backup. Entourage rebuild can
play havoc with messages on the server.

 

[Ed Kimball]

Hold the Option key when Entourage is quit to launch the rebuild utility.
However, for Exchange accounts, it's best to not rebuild but to create a new
Identity and let Entourage sync back up to your Exchange server. Your IT
could replace the database with the server backup. Entourage rebuild can
play havoc with messages on the server.

Diane,

Thanks for the reminder about avoiding rebuilding DBs containing Exchange
accounts. Since I don't use Exchange, I usually forget that!

 

[Diane Ross]

Thanks for the reminder about avoiding rebuilding DBs containing Exchange
accounts. Since I don't use Exchange, I usually forget that!

I don't use Exchange either. If you think about it, it's common sense. The
database is a file on your computer. Rebuilding it when the messages are
stored on a server is the start of complications much like all the multiple
sync issues we are seeing.

 

[Rock_Roszak]

Well, thanks to you both. Even though I use Exchange, I pull everything off my server and following your advice I was able to go back in Time Machine, pull my identities folder up, restore it, duplicate it, and then rebuild the database. I'm back in business and I can't thank you enough. Good to go.

Rock Roszak

 

[Ed Kimball]

Well, thanks to you both. Even though I use Exchange, I pull everything off my
server and following your advice I was able to go back in Time Machine, pull
my identities folder up, restore it, duplicate it, and then rebuild the
database. I'm back in business and I can't thank you enough. Good to go.

Rock Roszak

Great! We're glad it worked out for you.