Contacts data lost

[Guest]

Two Outlook / POP3 users in a multiple-server environment have lost all the
information in their address books. The system has not been fully managed by
us, and I wonder where to seek the lost information, not knowing precisely
how the individual users have managed their contacts, and fearing that a
recent accident might have affected their configuration.

The time of loss is said to be shortly after a system-crash and subsequent
file-system scan, but data is primarily stored on the fileserver which was
not affected. (Some redirection settings were applied by us after the system
had been running for a while, in order to force all outlook data to the
fileserver)

The users in question have their .pst mailboxes stored in their home-folders
on the fileserver, and application data is redirected to another folder (also
on fileserver). I've found different Outlook-related files in the home folder
and in the local and redirected application data folder. (3 unequal locations
by content)

Only contact information seems to be missing, and the .pst file (folder
"Contacts") is configured as address book source.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Two Outlook / POP3 users in a multiple-server environment have lost
all the information in their address books.

It always helps to know your Outlook version when you ask questions.

Since the address book in Outlook doesn't contain any data, this may not be
a big deal. You can't lose what doesn't exist. Outlook keeps contact
information in the Contacts folder and the "address book" is a view of those
contacts in the Contacts folder that have electronic addresses (i.e., e-mail
and fax). It could simply be that they've damaged the Outlook Address Book
service. Look to see if their Contacts folder still contain the contacts.
If so, see this:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287563/en-us

The time of loss is said to be shortly after a system-crash and
subsequent file-system scan, but data is primarily stored on the
fileserver which was not affected. (Some redirection settings were
applied by us after the system had been running for a while, in order
to force all outlook data to the fileserver)

Storing Outlook data on a network share is not supported and can lead to
loss of data and PST corruption.

Only contact information seems to be missing, and the .pst file
(folder "Contacts") is configured as address book source.

If the COntacts file contains contacts, remove the Outlook Address Book
service from the mail profile and readd it. Exactly how is Outlook
version-specific.

 

[Guest]

Thank you for the response.
Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, by the way, and empty contact folders in all
located PSTs.

It may be noteable that the backup of the same PST files from 10 days back
also has empty contact folders. The problem was reported recently.

When using folder redirection to collect application data in a single
location, should we then redirect to a non-network location on the same
computer - would that be safer? Or even not to redirect at all?

I have come to believe that the contacts were never kept in .pst files.
Outlook (2003) seems to allow use of only one different contact source: .PAB
(personal address book) - I found no reference to such files in the user
Outlook configuration.

There is always the possibility that these users never actually had any
contacts, and that Outlook/Windows simply provided a memorized list of values
that had previously been used in the "To" field. If Outlook 2003 does that
kind of thing. (And such is my impression)

 

[Brian Tillman]

Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, by the way, and empty contact folders
in all located PSTs.

It may be noteable that the backup of the same PST files from 10 days
back also has empty contact folders. The problem was reported
recently.

If this is the case, then there no contacts for the address book service to
display and it was at least ten days ago that they were lost. Now, OL 2003
also allows you to add an existing Personal Address Book (PAB) file as a
service, when peopl have legacy PABs left around from very early versions of
Outlook, but they've been obsolete for a long time. It is conceivable,
however, that that is what they were using. Check for any PAB files.

When using folder redirection to collect application data in a single
location, should we then redirect to a non-network location on the
same computer - would that be safer? Or even not to redirect at all?

My opinion is that its best not to redirect.

I have come to believe that the contacts were never kept in .pst
files. Outlook (2003) seems to allow use of only one different
contact source: .PAB (personal address book) - I found no reference
to such files in the user Outlook configuration.

Tools>E-mail Accounts>Add a new directory or address book>Next>Additional
Address Books>Personal Address Book

There is always the possibility that these users never actually had
any contacts, and that Outlook/Windows simply provided a memorized
list of values that had previously been used in the "To" field. If
Outlook 2003 does that kind of thing. (And such is my impression)

The autocompletion feature of Outlook 2003 will do that. It is a file that
remembers the addresses to which you send mail and it is not connected to
the Contacts folders in any way. It will display a list of those addresses
you've used before that begin with the letters you type in a recipient field
(To, Cc, etc.). That file has an extension of .NK2 and is located in
%AppData%\Microsoft\Outlook.

 

[Guest]

Restoring .NK2 files was the solution in this case.
Thank you very much.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Restoring .NK2 files was the solution in this case.
Thank you very much.

You're welcome. I'm glad it's working again. I'd make sure the names in
the NK2 file get added to Contacts. There are several ways of accomplishing
that, but they involve an extra application, either free or purchased. The
NK2 file is volatile and should not be used for permanent storage if you
want to make sure you always have access to the addresses.