Screwy rebuild of database

[randidorman]

I got an error message when I tried to start Entourage (Office X), so
I rebuilt my database with both the typical rebuild and the advanced
rebuild. My original database was 2.24GB and the rebuilt one ended up
being 4GB. When I then tried to open Entourage I got an error message
that the Entourage database could not exceed 4GB and I needed to
rebuild my database, so I did. The resulting database is 1.34GB, but
when I opened Entourage half of my emails, contacts and appointments
are randomly missing.

I have all three versions of the database saved on my external drive,
but I am petrified that I am going to lose some critical information.
Please help!!! Thank you!!!

 

[Diane Ross]

I got an error message when I tried to start Entourage (Office X), so
I rebuilt my database with both the typical rebuild and the advanced
rebuild. My original database was 2.24GB and the rebuilt one ended up
being 4GB. When I then tried to open Entourage I got an error message
that the Entourage database could not exceed 4GB and I needed to
rebuild my database, so I did. The resulting database is 1.34GB, but
when I opened Entourage half of my emails, contacts and appointments
are randomly missing.

I have all three versions of the database saved on my external drive,
but I am petrified that I am going to lose some critical information.
Please help!!! Thank you!!!

When Entourage rebuilds the database it creates a duplicate and renames it
as "old". It sounds like you had a bad rebuild and the duplicate was meshed
with the rebuild.

You can revert to the old files by removing "old". You might have better
luck salvaging data from the old files. You can create a new Identity and
just replace the blank files with the old ones (remove the word "old").

Old files are named:

Entourage X: "Old Database Cache" and "Old Database"

As a general rule you should shut down all Office programs (including Office
Notifications) before any Entourage backups.

In your situation, if you can open Entourage I strongly suggest you export
all of your data. Under File --> Export select to export your contacts. Tab
delimited files can be used by multiple applications and is a good format
for saving contacts. This file can be opened in Excel for editing.

Drag a folder to the desktop. This creates an MBOX file that can later be
dragged back into Entourage or opened with a text editor. You will need to
drage each subfolder individually. Tip: use the script "Export Folders". It
includes subfolders.

More help with backing up your data:

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/database/backup.html>
--
Diane Ross, Microsoft Mac MVP
Entourage Help Page
<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/>
One of the top five MS Entourage resources listed on the Entourage Blog.
<http://blogs.msdn.com/entourage/>

 

[randidorman]

When Entourage rebuilds the database it creates a duplicate and renames it
as "old". It sounds like you had a bad rebuild and the duplicate was meshed
with the rebuild.

You can revert to the old files by removing "old". You might have better
luck salvaging data from the old files. You can create a new Identity and
just replace the blank files with the old ones (remove the word "old").

Old files are named:

Entourage X: "Old Database Cache" and "Old Database"

As a general rule you should shut down all Office programs (including Office
Notifications) before any Entourage backups.

In your situation, if you can open Entourage I strongly suggest you export
all of your data. Under File --> Export select to export your contacts. Tab
delimited files can be used by multiple applications and is a good format
for saving contacts. This file can be opened in Excel for editing.

Drag a folder to the desktop. This creates an MBOX file that can later be
dragged back into Entourage or opened with a text editor. You will need to
drage each subfolder individually. Tip: use the script "Export Folders". It
includes subfolders.

More help with backing up your data:

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/database/backup.html>
--
Diane Ross, Microsoft Mac MVP
Entourage Help Page
<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/>
One of the top five MS Entourage resources listed on the Entourage Blog.
<http://blogs.msdn.com/entourage/>

Thank you, but the "bad rebuild" happened twice, exactly the same
way. It turned my 2.24GB database into a 4Gb and then when I rebuilt
it again it turned it into a smaller file, but half my info was lost.
I cannot open entourage with the correct database, only the one that
is missing half the info. Any suggestions?

 

[Diane Ross]

Thank you, but the "bad rebuild" happened twice, exactly the same
way. It turned my 2.24GB database into a 4Gb and then when I rebuilt
it again it turned it into a smaller file, but half my info was lost.
I cannot open entourage with the correct database, only the one that
is missing half the info. Any suggestions?

There isn't much you can do unless you have backups. Salvage what you can
and start a backup program so this doesn't happen again.

You can use a Task to remind you to backup every xx days. Leave your mail on
the server for the same amount of time so if you crash you won't loose any
data.

For Entourage X it's easier to just duplicate the Identity. Save by date and
keep snapshots at least once a month. You can use a folder action to save by
date. I backup every 3 days.
<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/database/backup.html#folderorg>

I keep one copy per month as a snapshot. Sometimes corruption isn't evident
and if you don't have a snapshot you might only have a corrupted database as
backup.

Entourage 2004 has the ability to export as an .rge file. Much smaller than
duplicating the Identity.


--
Diane Ross, Microsoft Mac MVP
Entourage Help Page
<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/>
One of the top five MS Entourage resources listed on the Entourage Blog.
<http://blogs.msdn.com/entourage/>