Entourage crashed but couldn't self-rebuild database

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Entourage crashed but couldn't self-rebuild database

Hello,

I was trying to send attachments (jpgs at large K-size) but Entourage crashed. I tried to restart and reboot, then I got this msg:

Entourage cannot access your data. To attempt to fix the problem, rebuild your database.

So I clicked OK, chose Typical Rebuild, but got another msg:

Compacting failed
A read/write error has occured (-40)

Entourage then offered to do Advanced Rebuild, so I clicked OK, then the same error msg occured with a final msg:

Rebuilding failed. It is likely that your database cannot be repaired.

Is there anyway this problem can be fixed while the databse remains undamaged and that I can retrieve the info in the database?

Thank you for helping me out :<
<br>
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Posted on Apr 6, 2006 5:55 AM

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Answer 1

purestar Author

Level 1

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Apr 7, 2006 5:54 AM in response to purestar

Would creating a new identity then importing the old databse work?

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Answer 2

MacLemon

Level 2

455 points

Apr 7, 2006 11:50 AM in response to purestar

How big is your Entourage Database? In my experience Entourage always successfully hoses it's database when it grows beyond 2GB.
MacLemon

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Answer 3

Apr 7, 2006 4:55 PM in response to purestar

I just posted this response to another user's query regarding an essentially identical problem:

This is a relatively frequent, recurring and ongoing problem for Entourage users. My advice is generally to migrate away from the application at your first opportunity, as it is prone to such data corruption issues. If that is not practical, you'll need to become an Entourage maintenance expert to reduce the likelihood of future problems, and you will need to back up regularly.

You'll find this site a great place to start when trying to deal with these issues:

http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq_topic/database.html

Link segments four and five on this page may be particularly helpful, but you should read the entire document before attempting to recover or reconstruct your Entourage database.

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Answer 4

MacLemon

Level 2

455 points

Apr 8, 2006 8:01 AM in response to Michael Lafferty

Michael,
I can only second your advice to migrate away from Entourage. I also have seen so many people loose important data due to database corruption (and lack of backups).
Noone ever complained to me after switching over to Apple Mail.

Thanks for the interesting link. This should help to get mails out of Entourage for a last time and change Mail Clients for many.

Best Regards
MacLemon
Mod partent 1 up!

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