Hi,

Tried creating new profile, didn't solve problem. Also as Brian Tillman
suggested, I tried alternating chkdsk & scandisk.exe. Finally scandisk said
no errors and didn't hang. Now, If you click on the address book button
while in say, mail view, it is still empty (the Show Names From field is
completely blank, while trying this in the new profile I created shows the
word "contacts" or address book in the Show Names field). (who knows, maybe
the contacts "button" was always populated...but I really think I checked
that a week ago....)

However, the lower left pane shows a button called "Mail", and under that a
"Calendar" button, then "Contacts", then "Tasks". If you click on the
Contacts button - it has tons of my name entries!!! How do I get them into
the "address book"? Because if I compose a new message and click the To:
field, for example, the Select Names field is completely empty.

Thanks!
Carmen


"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

Those instructions are wrong and always have been. I've implored Microsoft
to correct them, but they haven't seen fit to do so. If you copy another PST
file into the default directory the odds are you will overwrite another PST
file because Microsoft always creates PST files with the same name.
Instead you must copy the PST file to another directory and then use
Outlook's Data File Management utility to open it and set it as your
default.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"Greta Grip" wrote in message
...
Brian,

Am I missing something? Microsoft explicitly indicates to copy and paste
your .pst file in their instructions for "Reconnect your old outlook data
file" , see
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/as...771141033.aspx,
and yet you seem to be saying that's a sure way to corrupt your file? :

"Moving your old data files
You installed Outlook on a new computer or a new hard disk and are ready
to
start using your old data.

Use Windows Explorer to copy each Personal Folders file (.pst) (Personal
Folders file (.pst): Data file that stores your messages and other items
on
your computer. You can assign a .pst file to be the default delivery
location
for e-mail messages. You can use a .pst to organize and back up items for
safekeeping.) from its backup location (network drive or removable media,
such as a CD drive or portable hard disk) to the drive:\Documents and
Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook folder.
Although you can keep your data files in any folder, this is the default
folder that Outlook uses when creating .pst files."



"Greta Grip" wrote:

Something has changed, now when I open the address book I get no error
messages and it's empty. So the process Brian recommends below of :
"Click
ToolsE-mail AccountsView or change existing address booksNext.
Select
the Outlook Address Book and click Change. Remove all the Contacts
folders
you see there. Click Close, then Finish. " doesn't work now obviously
because nothing's there.

Maybe when I started the process of repairing the inbox with the inbox
repair tool scanpst.exe, something happened. Though as mentioned the
process
wouldn't finish.

what next?

"Brian Tillman" wrote:

Greta Grip wrote:

Had to reinstall XP Sp2 and then Office 2003 student/teacher edition
on new notebook. Copied the .pst and assorted files from an external
hard drive and pasted to the notebook at: drive:\Documents and
Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook,
drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Application
Data\Microsoft\Signatures, and I think drive:\Documents and
Settings\user\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook.

Oops. Mail profile corruption ahread.

The personal folders opened fine, the calendar had my events and
appointments but not my custom categories, but the worst part is the
Contacts will not open.

I get an error message:

The address list could not be displayed. The contacts folder with
this address list could not be opened; it may have been moved or
deleted, or you do not have permissions. For information on how to
remove this folder from the Outlook Address Book, see microsoft
Office Outlook help.

Your Outlook Address Book service doesn't know where to find your
Contacts
folder because of the way you moved things. Click ToolsE-mail
AccountsView or change existing directories or address booksNext.
Select
the Outlook Address Book and click Change. Remove all the Contacts
folders
tyou see there. Click Close, then Finish. Stop and restart Outlook.
Right-click your Contacts folder, choose Properties, select the Outlook
Address Book tab, check the box labeled "Show this folder as an e-mail
Address Book" and click OK. Stop and restart Outlook. Do things look
better now?
--
Brian Tillman