very strange thing happening on my mailbox! virus?

[corsica]

Version: v.X
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther)
Email Client: pop

When I open my entourage some messages (actually the last 20I have received) in the mailbox disappear in the sense that at their place I get a gray band like the Entourage background. If I try to click on it, the messahe headline appears again but at the same timeI get an error message saying action failed and then the entourage crashes.
I also got a message from Entourage mail saying welcome to Entourage X, the new version of mail software, as I reinstalled the software, but I did not do!
In my mailbox there are almost 4800 messages many with attachments plus some more in personal folders.

could it be a question of limit of the entourage database ? How can I fix it? I even don't know where to tolook for it..
or could it be a question of some virus in received email?

please help me!

 

[Bras]

Your database is probably corrupted, or close to the limit, earlier versions
of Entourage X have a limit of 2 GB and later versions have a limit of 4 GB.

Make a backup of your Office X identities, you can find that in Mac HD -
Users - Home - Documents - Microsoft User Data, just copy the folder to the
desktop, hold option and drag it to your desktop, it will make a copy there.

Make sure you install the latest update, you re-installed and this probably
put your version down.
You can find the update here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...8A-EA16-4B3C-9381-18A389D5599A&displaylang=en

Then start Entourage with the option key down and do a typical rebuild.

Try to open Entourage after you completed the rebuild.

When you still see problems do the advanced rebuild by holding down option
and start Entourage.

You can read more about rebuilding your database on this page:
http://entourage.mvps.org/database/rebuild.html

Bras

 

[corsica]

Thank you very much for the useful response, I actually checked the size of my database and it is 2 giga so surely I must have gone oversize.
Do I have to do the rebuild or maybe I can fix the problemjust by deleting the messages (if I manage) in the mailbox?

Do I have necesseraly to install the update before doing the rebuild? I ma worry of oosing the data while installing update (although I have alreadymade the copy of my identity on the desktop).

Thanks again your instructions are very clear!

 

[Diane Ross]

Make sure you install the latest update,

You might need to completely remove the Microsoft User Data folder from the
Documents folder in order to update. After Entourage creates a new blank
one, you can copy back your Identity, scripts and other data in the
Microsoft User Data folder that was moved.

The fact that Entourage opened in a new blank Identity is not a good sign.
Do the Advanced Rebuild. I have found the Typical rebuild doesn't recover
the damaged database in cases where you exceeded the limit. Before you
rebuild see this article.

Rebuilding a damaged database that exceeded size limit

<http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/2007/09/rebuilding_a_damaged_database_that_e
xceeded_size_limit.html>

In case the above link does not work:

<http://tinyurl.com/4s6qv3>

If you don't have the drive space, I do recovery for Entourage X databases.
Let me know if you are unable to do this on your own.

 

[corsica]

Sorry if I am replying only now but I am writing from Europe.
After Entourage updating I did the Rebuild database but failed as you imagined. But I managed with the advanced Rebuild. Everhything seems ok but I checked with finder the new identity size and it is just below the max capacity (1.87G instead of 2G).

To reduce the size of the database, I have archived some personal folders in mbox files which I copied on the desktop (and deleting them from entourage), plus I deleted many heavy attachments from the sent folder. Then I rechecked the size of the new database and still did not change of a single byte!

I am concerned as I will soon end up with the same problem.

How can I really control the size?

thanks

Paula

 

[Diane Ross]

Sorry if I am replying only now but I am writing from Europe.
After Entourage updating I did the Rebuild database but failed as you
imagined. But I managed with the advanced Rebuild. Everhything seems ok but I
checked with finder the new identity size and it is just below the max
capacity (1.87G instead of 2G).

After updating Entourage X the limit is 4GB.

To reduce the size of the database, I have archived some personal folders in
mbox files which I copied on the desktop (and deleting them from entourage),
plus I deleted many heavy attachments from the sent folder. Then I rechecked
the size of the new database and still did not change of a single byte!

The database will be left with 'wasted' space in it every time you delete
something. However, this is not all bad, since the wasted space is used up
with new data as it is added. This way, over a period of time (assuming that
you are deleting stuff as you go) the database will probably reach an
optimum size, after which the stuff you delete is roughly equal to the stuff
you add, and no further growth takes place.

If you need to recover the wasted space on your hard disk, you will have to
do a 'typical' rebuild to compact the database. This will create a compacted
version of the database without the wasted space. You will then have to
manually delete the backup copies of the original database that the rebuild
process creates AFTER you are happy the new one is OK.

Since you are using "End of Life" software, I would be especially vigilant
to backup daily. Keep older versions as snapshots in case the corruption is
not evident.

Have you considered using IMAP instead of POP? This way your mail is kept on
the server. If your database goes belly up, you just create a new Identity
and let Entourage sync back up to your account.

 

[Fran Carpenter]

Did you have any luck with the update install of 10.1.9? I have exactly the
same 'blacking out' problem, although works OK if I don't click on those odd
blacked out emails! (I have a G4, 10.3.9) But it's not really satisfactory!!
Did the upgrade work for you? Did you manage to save/reset all your emails?
Does Entourage 10.1.9 work any better than the previous?!! (Also, are other
Office programs working OK since? (Just a bit nervous of making things
worse...) Many thanks.
Fran

 

[Fran Carpenter]

Did you have any success? I have exactly the same Entourage problem and
other funny things it does! Was it worth the update install? Did it cause
you any problems? (I have a G4 with OS 10.3.9. Currently run Office X.)
Thanks
Fran

 

[Fran Carpenter]

I have the very same problem, which I have tolerated for ages! (years!) Did
your install of 10.1.9 improve things? Is Entourage operating properly? Did
you get your emails back after installation? And is everything else working
properly eg. Word etc? I am nervous of installing a new version, when I get
by! But get by isn't good enough really...
Many thanks
Fran (Hampshire, UK)

 

[Diane Ross]

Did you have any luck with the update install of 10.1.9? I have exactly the
same 'blacking out' problem, although works OK if I don't click on those odd
blacked out emails!

The odd backed out emails are a sign of database corruption. Since you've
had the problem for so long, I suggest moving into a new Identity. Be sure
to upgrade to 10.1.9 first.

How to manually move your data. (when import fails and/or you need to move
to a new Identity same version or revert to an older version)

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/import_export/manual_vX.html>
Basically, you want to use the script "Archive Message Folders" by Jolly
Roger for your messages, then export your contacts as a tab delimited file.
Create a new Identity and import the data. You can drag over the Rules and
Sig file from the old Identity but you will need to reset your rule folder
destinations.

If you need personal help, I do recover databases as a consultant.

--
Diane Ross, Microsoft Mac MVP
Entourage Help Page <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/>
Entourage Help Blog <http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/>
YouTalk <http://tinyurl.com/bzcrjy> <-- Entourage mailing list
Twitter: follow <http://twitter.com/entouragehelp>

 

[FranCarp]

Dear Diane

Sorry, I didn't think my messages had uploaded there!

Thanks for your replies. One more question, what's Jolly Roger? Can I get it from somewhere?

Also, re your consultancy, where are you? (Are you in the UK or US?)

Thanks

Fran

 

[Diane Ross]

Thanks for your replies. One more question, what's Jolly Roger? Can I get it
from somewhere?

Jolly Roger is the name used by the author for the script. The link was in
the page I referenced.

Export folders as MBOX files using a script

Also, re your consultancy, where are you? (Are you in the UK or US?)

I'm in the US, but I have worked with people outside of the US. Takes longer
for the mail, but otherwise everything is the same. Basically, I need you to
burn your database to a DVD. I need the one before you started any
rebuilding. Once I get the Entourage X rebuilt, I'm usually able to create
files small enough to upload so you get the data back quickly. Additional
costs are determined by what you want done after the rebuild.

I haven't tried it but recently saw DropBox that has a free option for 2GB
that might be a possibility to speed up getting me the data. However, I'm
not sure if this works any better than some other upload software I have
tried. One database a bit over 2GB took about 30 hours for them to upload.
This was directly to my computer and during this time I couldn't do
anything. If the download had been interrupted we would have to start all
over. DropBox as an intermediary sounds like a possibility. I just need to
find out how long it's going to take the user.

--
Diane Ross, Microsoft Mac MVP
Entourage Help Page <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/>
Entourage Help Blog <http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/>
YouTalk <http://tinyurl.com/bzcrjy> <-- Entourage mailing list
Twitter: follow <http://twitter.com/entouragehelp>