Rebuilt my outlook database, all the folders are there but no email

30. August 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Outlook for Mac · Tags: , ,
Hi,

I followed this procedure:

If you wish to rescue your folder structure, read the steps below very carefully and try to follow them precisely and hopefully you will be able to recover your data.

1. Make a duplicate copy of your data to work with and keep your original corrupted identity safe in case this method of recovery doesn’t work for you.
2. Use the instructions at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2398768 to completely remove all Microsoft Office from your system.
3. Restart your computer.
4. Install the original Office 2011 14.0.0 onto your computer, and make sure it is activated.
5. Open a blank document in Microsoft Word, and allow it to fully load up. Then quit Word.
6. Launch Microsoft Auto Update and upgrade Office to SP1 14.1.0. Make sure that you do not install any later updates than that.
7. Open a blank document in Microsoft Word, and allow it to fully load up. Then quit Word.
8. Manually download and intsall update 14.1.4 from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28405.
9. Disconnect your computer from the Internet and do NOT reconnect it again until you have completed the recovery.
10. Open the Microsoft Database Utility, and delete all the existing identities. There should only be one. Your corrupted identity should not appear in there. DO NOT DELETE IT if it is there (you must have done something wrong….start over).
11. Now that there are no identities in the list, create a new blank identity. It will automatically be named “Identity 1″.
12. Quit the database utility.
13. In the duplicate of your corrupted identity (created in step 1), delete the database file. Then navigate to the “Data Records” folder and delete the “Database Headers” folder.
14. Now copy the “Database Headers” folder from “/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2011 Identities/Indentity 1/Data Records” and paste it inside the “Data Records” folder of the duplicate of your corrupted identity. What you have done now, is copy a clean “Database Headers” folder that has database headers in version 14.1.4. What you intend to do here, is trick the database utility v14.1.4 to think that your SP2 identity conforms to its own version and will then attempt to rebuild it.
15. Delete “Identity 1″ from the location mentioned in the previous step (you won’t need it anymore) and then move the duplicate of your corrupted identity in its place.
16. Now launch the database utility, and you should only see that duplicate of your corrupted identity. Nothing else should be listed there. Now click Rebuild and keep your fingers crossed (that’s of course only if you have enough memory as explained earlier. Otherwise, it would just be a waste of your time because the rebuild will probable fail).
17. You should receive a message saying that your database was rebuilt successfully. Now, quit the database utility.
18. While you are still disconnected from the internet, start Microsoft Outlook. (and there you go, all your data back in front of your eyes….with all the folder structures maintained)……BUT HOLD ON, you’re not done yet.
19. Follow steps 1,2,3, and 4 from http://www.officeformachelp.com/2012/05/how-to-move-your-data-to-a-new-identity/
20. Once you have quit Outlook in step 4 at that link in the previous step, start Microsoft AutoUpdate and install all available updates until you Office is updated to 14.2.4.
21. Now go back to http://www.officeformachelp.com/2012/05/how-to-move-your-data-to-a-new-identity/ and skip step 5. Go to Step 6 and continue to the end of that document.
22. You should now have your Outlook looking exactly as it did the day your identity got corrupted, hopefully with no data lost at all.

I started from 14.0 then 14.1.4 but to no avail. I figured it might be that my identity came from a later version so i tried from 14.0 to 14.1.4 then upgraded
to 14.3.6 but the result was still the same.

I did get the notification that my database was successfully rebuilt but when i opened my outlook, all the folders are present but no single email was there. I checked the size of my main identity (which is about 30gb) and the size is still the same. i have so much important emails that I need to retrieve but don't know what to do.  Please help.

Outlook filling up folders with nonsense(?) files

07. June 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Outlook for Mac · Tags: , , ,
My Outlook 2011 running under MacOS X 10.7 is constantly filling up the folders under Data Records -> Message Sources with what looks like the same message source files over and over again, at least once a minute. It keeps on as long as the Outlook application is running, day and night, and regardless of any real incoming e-mails.

One of the files is 7.5 MB and this one quickly fills up all available hard disk space. My Message Sources folder now contains a whopping 167GB...

Any ideas on how to stop this? Please help!

Best Regards,
Markus

Recover all deleted Outlook folders?

04. May 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Outlook for Mac · Tags: , , ,
How can I recover all deleted Outlook 2011 email and folders, when trash has also been emptied?

I purchased Wondershare's Data Recovery for Mac, ran it in regular and raw.  I have folders that might be what I need, but they are not large enough to contain all my Outlook folders (I saved and organized hundreds of folders).  Also, what do I "recover" ... the Office 2011 Identity, Main Identity, or Data Records (includes 14 folders).

Like everyone else I am sick about what I may have lost, and would appreciate the help of someone more knowledgeable than myself!  : )

Sue

All the mail in my "local" folders has been lost after rebuilding an identity

30. November 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Outlook for Mac · Tags: , , , , , ,
Help!  I had to rebuild my identity in Outlook for Mac after a problem and now all of my "local" mail is gone.  Here are the steps that I went through:

1. I made a copy of Office 2011 Identities folder before taking any steps.
2. I opened the Microsoft Database utility and deleted the existing identities.
3. I created a new "Main Identity".
4. I replaced all of the contents of the new "Data Records" folder with the contents of the "Data Records" folder from the copy I created in step 1.  This file has 1.61 GB of data from 11,543 items.
5. I used the Microsoft Database Utility to rebuild my Main identity and create a new database.

Unfortunately, this new database is only 27.3 MB and when I open Outlook, none of my old mail is there.  It appears that the rebuild is not pulling in the content of the Data Records Folder.

Please help.  I'm dying.