Comments on: How to recover missing Address Book data http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/ Tips and add-ons to make Apple Mail / Mail.app even better Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:46:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Paul G http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-328347 Paul G Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:48:51 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-328347 Hello I want to add my experience to this forum. If you are like me and have tried to do the above mentioned trick and it didn't work, you may see as I did the big file (mine was 21 mbtes) AddressBook.data If it is too corrupt to work again. Mine was. Don't throw it away since it is possible to drag it onto the TextEdit application and to make a Find for certain info which you may remember part of like someone's email address for example. It's a good idea to drag this file out and keep it just in case there is something you need to find. Luckily (since I back up my files) I had only to go back 1 month to get a backup of my address book. It's times like these that you know why you do it. To suffer a complete corruption of an address book on a PowerMac is just not acceptable. I am on 10.4.11 If anyone from Apple read this.. Take it from me, it was a BAD thing to have happen. Could have been much worse though if I hadn't got a backup. Hello

I want to add my experience to this forum. If you are like me and have tried to do the above mentioned trick and it didn’t work, you may see as I did the big file (mine was 21 mbtes) AddressBook.data

If it is too corrupt to work again. Mine was. Don’t throw it away since it is possible to drag it onto the TextEdit application and to make a Find for certain info which you may remember part of like someone’s email address for example. It’s a good idea to drag this file out and keep it just in case there is something you need to find.

Luckily (since I back up my files) I had only to go back 1 month to get a backup of my address book. It’s times like these that you know why you do it.

To suffer a complete corruption of an address book on a PowerMac is just not acceptable. I am on 10.4.11

If anyone from Apple read this.. Take it from me, it was a BAD thing to have happen. Could have been much worse though if I hadn’t got a backup.

]]> By: Peter Kelemen http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-327545 Peter Kelemen Sun, 15 Jun 2008 12:16:36 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-327545 Same thing happened to me. I was not synching, just using the address book, when suddenly all contacts (over 4000, several groups, a lot of labor) just disappeared. While I was looking around on .mac (I synch there), and sadly pondering my almost one month old backup on disk (mid-May), all the addresses suddenly re-appeared! So, I backed them up and synched them! Then, just as suddenly, they all disappeared again! OK, so I haven't lost anything (except time, on a Sunday morning, because I am in a deadline situation) but ... what's up with this? Terrible product. Same thing happened to me. I was not synching, just using the address book, when suddenly all contacts (over 4000, several groups, a lot of labor) just disappeared. While I was looking around on .mac (I synch there), and sadly pondering my almost one month old backup on disk (mid-May), all the addresses suddenly re-appeared! So, I backed them up and synched them! Then, just as suddenly, they all disappeared again!

OK, so I haven’t lost anything (except time, on a Sunday morning, because I am in a deadline situation) but … what’s up with this? Terrible product.

]]> By: Joel Fox http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-327344 Joel Fox Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:07:15 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-327344 I'm doing no syncing or anything else but using address book with apple mail under Tiger. To heck with backup. I do it, but I'm always behind a few hours. How many times a day do you expect me to backup? What I want to see is a fix for this bug! Unpredictable vaporization of the address book is unacceptable. I've seen this bug complained about on various forums since 2004 with zero response from Apple. We need a revision of Address Book that fixes the problem not the same old advice on how to recover. Oh, for the good old days of Apple bug-free products. I’m doing no syncing or anything else but using address book with apple mail under Tiger. To heck with backup. I do it, but I’m always behind a few hours. How many times a day do you expect me to backup? What I want to see is a fix for this bug! Unpredictable vaporization of the address book is unacceptable. I’ve seen this bug complained about on various forums since 2004 with zero response from Apple. We need a revision of Address Book that fixes the problem not the same old advice on how to recover. Oh, for the good old days of Apple bug-free products.

]]> By: mis_nomer http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-145406 mis_nomer Fri, 25 May 2007 14:05:58 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-145406 I'm frustrated. I think I tried syncing it twice, thinking that it was a problem with my phone and not realising that the problem was that all my contacts in my Address Book was wiped out except for three. So my .previous file is exactly the same as the wiped out database. I’m frustrated. I think I tried syncing it twice, thinking that it was a problem with my phone and not realising that the problem was that all my contacts in my Address Book was wiped out except for three. So my .previous file is exactly the same as the wiped out database.

]]> By: Rich http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-140934 Rich Wed, 16 May 2007 03:13:05 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-140934 Help I lost my enitre Address Book And this did not work ? Am I doing something wrong ? Rich Help
I lost my enitre Address Book
And this did not work ?
Am I doing something wrong ?

Rich

]]> By: communicatrix http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-133851 communicatrix Sun, 29 Apr 2007 21:39:50 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-133851 I'll add my voice to the chorus for data backup—BOOTABLE, if you can (I'm going to lose 3 days to this mess, but I've learned my lesson.) Thanks for this. My data got scrambled in a hard drive failure and all those neatly named backups vanished. But miraculously, the library backups were there! Woohoo! Now, on to calendar... I’ll add my voice to the chorus for data backup—BOOTABLE, if you can (I’m going to lose 3 days to this mess, but I’ve learned my lesson.)

Thanks for this. My data got scrambled in a hard drive failure and all those neatly named backups vanished. But miraculously, the library backups were there! Woohoo!

Now, on to calendar…

]]> By: Otto Aguilar http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-111609 Otto Aguilar Fri, 23 Mar 2007 19:11:38 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-111609 I tried that and did not work!!! to bad for me! I tried that and did not work!!! to bad for me!

]]> By: David McQuinn http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-81268 David McQuinn Mon, 05 Feb 2007 16:53:57 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-81268 This fix saved me a pile of time, and actually is an answer to prayer. I synced to my Motorola RAZR V3c, and lo and behold my address book lost almost all phone numbers and email addresses! Everything in my address book is now back to normal, and I've created multiple backups, even for iCal. Thank you for caring enough to provide this solution!! Dave This fix saved me a pile of time, and actually is an answer to prayer. I synced to my Motorola RAZR V3c, and lo and behold my address book lost almost all phone numbers and email addresses!

Everything in my address book is now back to normal, and I’ve created multiple backups, even for iCal.

Thank you for caring enough to provide this solution!!

Dave

]]> By: T http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-65459 T Mon, 22 Jan 2007 22:55:16 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-65459 i wish i had seen this like two days ago. treo ate my contact. i had backed it up in august so it wasn't totally gone but a lot of new stuff is missing. alot. i found the previous file, but it's not dated, so i don't know if it's just better to stay with what I have? what do you think tricia@triciaromanoc.com i wish i had seen this like two days ago. treo ate my contact. i had backed it up in august so it wasn’t totally gone but a lot of new stuff is missing.
alot. i found the previous file, but it’s not dated, so i don’t know if it’s just better to stay with what I have?

what do you think
tricia@triciaromanoc.com

]]> By: Ken Tait http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-65085 Ken Tait Sun, 21 Jan 2007 22:07:34 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2007/01/20/how-to-recover-missing-address-book-data/#comment-65085 I have had the same experience when I synced my Palm Treo 680. All appeared Okay but the process seemed to be taking longer than usual. I thought this was because I had added a number of new addresses into my Palm, so I left the sync running and went to bed. When I checked the following morning the spinning beachball was on the screen, the palm looked as if it had synced successfully, but the addresses were all missing leaving only those in the sim intact, and the Mac AddressBook had only two entries of the original 180 or so. I cannot open AddressBook Data or AddressBook Data Previous to check their contents in the AddressBook folder. Please help, I have limited knowledge of troubleshooting and am becoming desperate! I have had the same experience when I synced my Palm Treo 680. All appeared Okay but the process seemed to be taking longer than usual. I thought this was because I had added a number of new addresses into my Palm, so I left the sync running and went to bed. When I checked the following morning the spinning beachball was on the screen, the palm looked as if it had synced successfully, but the addresses were all missing leaving only those in the sim intact, and the Mac AddressBook had only two entries of the original 180 or so.
I cannot open AddressBook Data or AddressBook Data Previous to check their contents in the AddressBook folder. Please help, I have limited knowledge of troubleshooting and am becoming desperate!

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