Multiple "Contacts" in Outlook

[phillyjoe]

Somewhere in upgrading my computers in the past year, (one XP, one Vista)and
re-loading Office XP, my "contacts" in Outlook have gone haywire. When I
click the "To" icon on an e-mail, both computers give me a message that "the
address list could not be displayed. The Contacts folder may have been
moved, blah, blah blah". Then a screen comes up to "Show names from" a drop
down list. The Vista version shows two "Contacts", the XP version shows 4!!
I need to go to the last of the "contacts" in those lists to actually access
my Outlook contacts.

How do I remove those duplicate and useless "Contact" options, without
totally frying my Outlook contacts?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Answer has been posted here many times.
It is not unusual for the Outlook Address Book to “lose track†of the
connection to its Contacts Folder when you move or import your PST or update
your Outlook version or operating system. Use the following steps to reset
the connection. Note that in some instances you may actually have to remove
the Outlook Address Book completely from your Profile, close Outlook, and
then re-add it before you can get it to work.

Make sure the Contact folder is enabled as an email address book. Right
click the Contacts folder, choose Properties then Outlook Address Book. Is
the box to enable as email address book checked?
If this is grayed out...Go to Tools | Email Accounts, choose View or change
existing directories or address book. Is the Outlook Address Book present?
If it isn't listed, add it and close and restart Outlook. If it is listed,
then remove it and close then restart Outlook and repeat these steps to add
it.

More details available here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;287563&Product=ol2002