Lost all Emails, Contacts, Calender entries

[Joobin]

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

Few days ago I opened up entourage to find out all my Emails, Contacts and Calender entries were gone and I can't think of anything that I might have done that resulted in this.

I've been reading this forum and I have so far gathered that entourage has opened up a new identity. Luckily I retrieved a copy of the old identity which contains all my Emails and contacts from;

Users/x/Library/Caches/Metadata/Microsoft/Entourage/2008

I tried putting this folder in Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2008 Identities which is apparently where it is supposed to be and I was able to switch identity but none of the Emails,Contacts etc show up!

When I try to click on the actual Email files that I retrieved I get the message "Entourage cannot find this item. It may have been deleted or renamed".

I really appreciate any help as I desperately need to access my Emails and contacts for study purposes.

Joobin

 

[Michel Bintener]

Hi Joobin,

the folder you have found is NOT the old identity; it is simply a local
cache that is generated so that Spotlight can find items inside the
Entourage database. See if you have a copy of the entire database; perhaps
you have made a backup copy of your Documents folder at some point. Also, to
find an explanation for this behaviour: did you by any change move the
Microsoft User Data folder out of the Documents folder? That is usually the
reason for this behaviour.

 

[Kathleen Hayes]

Hi Joobin,

the folder you have found is NOT the old identity; it is simply a local
cache that is generated so that Spotlight can find items inside the
Entourage database. See if you have a copy of the entire database; perhaps
you have made a backup copy of your Documents folder at some point. Also,to
find an explanation for this behaviour: did you by any change move the
Microsoft User Data folder out of the Documents folder? That is usually the
reason for this behaviour.








--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP - Macintosh

*** Please always reply to the newsgroup. ***

Michael and Joobin,

The same thing happened to me this morning. I opened Entourage and
everything was gone. Entourage only contained a welcome message with
setup instructions.

1) Microsoft User Data Folder
The Microsoft User Data folder is still under Documents. I've never
touched this folder; didn't even know it existed until today.

2) Sub-folders
Under the Microsoft User Data Folder are five sub-folders: Entourage
Script Menu Items (empty), Office 2008 Auto Recovery (empty), Office
2008 Identities (Main Identity), Saved Attachments (empty), Word
Script Menu Items (empty).

3) Behavior - Malware?
I am using an Apple MacBookPro with Mac OS X Version 10.5.7.
Last night, I closed all programs and selected Shut Down from the
Apple menu. This morning, I powered on my MacBook Pro, clicked on the
Entourage icon from my tray and when the application loaded,
everything was missing. Could this be the result of some type of
malware?

4) Next Steps
We use a SaaS backup system called Mozy that creates a weekly backup
of my Documents folder. Hopefully this means it was configured to
backup my Entourage database.

Do you have any other insights?

Kathleen

 

[Corentin Cras-Méneur]

We use a SaaS backup system called Mozy that creates a weekly backup
of my Documents folder. Hopefully this means it was configured to
backup my Entourage database.

Well the problem is that the identity is in a monolythic database. If
the database is open at the time of the backup (Entourage running, or
simply the notification udpates running in the background), the backup
copy might be corrupted too.....


Corentin

 

[Ed Kimball]

Michael and Joobin,

The same thing happened to me this morning. I opened Entourage and
everything was gone. Entourage only contained a welcome message with
setup instructions.

1) Microsoft User Data Folder
The Microsoft User Data folder is still under Documents. I've never
touched this folder; didn't even know it existed until today.

2) Sub-folders
Under the Microsoft User Data Folder are five sub-folders: Entourage
Script Menu Items (empty), Office 2008 Auto Recovery (empty), Office
2008 Identities (Main Identity), Saved Attachments (empty), Word
Script Menu Items (empty).

3) Behavior - Malware?
I am using an Apple MacBookPro with Mac OS X Version 10.5.7.
Last night, I closed all programs and selected Shut Down from the
Apple menu. This morning, I powered on my MacBook Pro, clicked on the
Entourage icon from my tray and when the application loaded,
everything was missing. Could this be the result of some type of
malware?

4) Next Steps
We use a SaaS backup system called Mozy that creates a weekly backup
of my Documents folder. Hopefully this means it was configured to
backup my Entourage database.

Do you have any other insights?

Kathleen

Look for a copy of Office 2008 Identities (or the Main Identity folder
inside it) somewhere else. Someone or something moved or deleted it.

Do you keep regular backups? If so, you might be able to retrieve a useful
copy from one of them.

 

[Diane Ross]

Few days ago I opened up entourage to find out all my Emails, Contacts and
Calender entries were gone and I can't think of anything that I might have
done that resulted in this.

Entourage expects the Microsoft User Data folder to be in your Documents
folder. For OS X users, that's the Documents folder in your User's folder.
When Entourage opens in a new blank Identity, it's usually User error.

Check the size of the database file. If it's 22.6 MB, it's a new blank
Identity.

~/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2008 Identities/Main
Identity/database

You can also check in the Finder to see if you have an Identity with a
database larger than the size of the default.

Most likely you have accidentally moved your data. Hopefully, you have not
deleted the file. If you have deleted the trash, it's gone. Sorry!

To find your old database, search for "Microsoft User Data" or "Office 2008
Identities" (without the quotes).

If you have not used a new identity in Entourage, then copy the entire
Microsoft User Data folder to the correct location.

Fix if you have more than one Microsoft User Data Folder...

Move the entire identity folder you want to use to the Office Identities
folder that Entourage is recognizing. Your identity is named "Main" by
default. Be sure to rename one so you do not overwrite. Your identity folder
can contain more than one identity. Switch Identities to view your old mail.
If you have not used the new identity, delete it. If you have used it and
want to combine the new mail with your original database, drag each folder
to the desktop from one identity. This creates an MBOX file. Switch
identities. Drag the MBOX files into the folder window of Entourage.

You can delete the old folder after you are satisfied with the transfer.

Sometimes updating software (including the OS) can cause problems where
files go missing. See this link for help finding 'lost' files.

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/troubleshoot/crashes.html#crash15>

 

[Barry Wainwright]

Most likely you have accidentally moved your data. Hopefully, you have not
deleted the file. If you have deleted the trash, it's gone. Sorry!

If you can't find the original database, but still have the Spotlight
Cache files, I have a script that can recreate the messages from those
cache files. let me know here or at barry at barryw dot net if you need it!

 

[Miguel Abramowicz]

Entourage expects the Microsoft User Data folder to be in your Documents
folder. For OS X users, that's the Documents folder in your User's folder..
When Entourage opens in a new blank Identity, it's usually User error.

Check the size of the database file. If it's 22.6 MB, it's a new blank
Identity.

~/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2008 Identities/Main
Identity/database

You can also check in the Finder to see if you have an Identity with a
database larger than the size of the default.

Most likely you have accidentally moved your data. Hopefully, you have not
deleted the file. If you have deleted the trash, it's gone. Sorry!

To find your old database, search for "Microsoft User Data" or "Office 2008
Identities" (without the quotes).

If you have not used a new identity in Entourage, then copy the entire
Microsoft User Data folder to the correct location.

Fix if you have more than one Microsoft User Data Folder...

Move the entire identity folder you want to use to the Office Identities
folder that Entourage is recognizing. Your identity is named "Main" by
default. Be sure to rename one so you do not overwrite. Your identity folder
can contain more than one identity. Switch Identities to view your old mail.
If you have not used the new identity, delete it. If you have used it and
want to combine the new mail with your original database, drag each folder
to the desktop from one identity. This creates an MBOX file. Switch
identities. Drag the MBOX files into the folder window of Entourage.

You can delete the old folder after you are satisfied with the transfer.

Sometimes updating software (including the OS) can cause problems where
files go missing. See this link for help finding 'lost' files.

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/troubleshoot/crashes.html#crash15>

Thanks for this great helpful explanation. I too found my entourage
void of all my data, after a software update reboot. Yhanks to your
advise, I found my original database in the trash, copied it back and
everything returned to normal. Your advise was a lifesaver!- Miguel

 

[Diane Ross]

Thanks for this great helpful explanation. I too found my entourage
void of all my data, after a software update reboot. Yhanks to your
advise, I found my original database in the trash, copied it back and
everything returned to normal. Your advise was a lifesaver!- Miguel

It's always good to hear success stories.