multiple contact list merry go round

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geezaflip - 28 Sep 2005 06:30 GMT

I am trying to get only one Contacts Folder. I have myself down to a single
.pst file now, but seem to have a contacts folder somewhere else that wants
to be the master contacts folder.

That is the best way I can explain this. It is a nightmare. It began when
I loaded Office 2003 into my computer, opened Outlook, then copied my main
pst file back into the appropriate folder. I was soon able to get the
correct mail folder to be my default mail folder, but not the contacts
folder.

So I closed Outlook, copied my main pst file over the one that was created
when I installed '03. I then opened Outlook, had to find the mail folder,
which I did, and then found that the current default Contacts folder is
empty. I can open the full one, but do not know how to replace the empty
one with the full one (both called Contacts).

Please help.

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Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook] - 28 Sep 2005 11:15 GMT

Never ever overwrite a PST file.
Your profile is corrupt beyond repair.
Create a new profile. Configure it to use your old PST file as the default
by opening it in the new profile and setting it as the default.
Do you back up your data?

Signature

Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

>I am trying to get only one Contacts Folder. I have myself down to a
>single .pst file now, but seem to have a contacts folder somewhere else
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
> Please help.

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geezaflip - 28 Sep 2005 18:49 GMT

Okay, I read up on how to set up a profile. Do I first erase my existing
profile? If not, how will I tell the two profiles apart?

> Never ever overwrite a PST file.
> Your profile is corrupt beyond repair.
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>>
>> Please help.

Reply to this Message

Brian Tillman - 28 Sep 2005 20:55 GMT

> Okay, I read up on how to set up a profile. Do I first erase my
> existing profile? If not, how will I tell the two profiles apart?

There's no need to "erase" the old profile. This is a mail profile, not a
Windows user profile. You tell the profiles apart by their names. In
Control Panel's Mail applet there's a Show Profiles button. It will show
only a single profile when you have one. Create a new one with the Add
button. If you have more than one, you can use the "Always use this
profile" button and drop-down or let Outlook ask for which one when you
start it.
See http://www.howto-outlook.com/Faq/newprofile.htm

Signature

Brian Tillman

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geezaflip - 29 Sep 2005 05:39 GMT

Would you please walk me through this. I am getting nowhere. I started a
new profile. closed Outlook. got rid of unneeded pst files. opened
outlook. now have two email accounts, the new and the old (under
Tools/Email Accounts/View or Change Eisting email accounts.)

I also have two Contacts folders when I click on To in a new email. The
first is blank, the second has all my contacts in it. Both are named
Contacts. One is called Contacts: Dave's Outlook, which is the folder I had
named. The second is called Personal Folders and I have no idea where it
came from or where to find it.

I removed the Personal folders folder. However, when I address a new email
by clicking "To," two folders still show up, both called Contacts, and the
first has no contacts in it. The second has all my contacts.

I do not know what to do. I need more than short quick answers which only
confuse me further. Please walk me through this.

--Dave

>> Okay, I read up on how to set up a profile. Do I first erase my
>> existing profile? If not, how will I tell the two profiles apart?
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> start it.
> See http://www.howto-outlook.com/Faq/newprofile.htm

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Brian Tillman - 29 Sep 2005 16:00 GMT

> Would you please walk me through this. I am getting nowhere. I
> started a new profile. closed Outlook. got rid of unneeded pst
> files. opened outlook. now have two email accounts, the new and the
> old (under Tools/Email Accounts/View or Change Eisting email
> accounts.)

Describe exactly what you did to "start a new profile". You can't
accidentally have more than one account in a profile because you must
manually define accounts when you create a new profile. They don't
automagically appear.

> I also have two Contacts folders when I click on To in a new email. The
> first is blank, the second has all my contacts in it. Both are
> named Contacts. One is called Contacts: Dave's Outlook, which is the
> folder I had named. The second is called Personal Folders and I have
> no idea where it came from or where to find it.

Click File>Data File Management and see how many PSTs Outlook is accessing.

> I removed the Personal folders folder. However, when I address a new
> email by clicking "To," two folders still show up, both called
> Contacts, and the first has no contacts in it. The second has all my
> contacts.

In the Address Book, click Tools>Options and remove the extraneous COntacts
folder there.

Signature

Brian Tillman

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geezaflip - 29 Sep 2005 19:15 GMT

I did as directed to remove the unwanted Contacts folder. Then I closed
Outlook and re-opened it, and the same Contacts folder was back. It has
zero items in it, but it is the primary folder Outlook goes to in the "To"
field of new emails.

That is why I call this a merry-go-round.

"Describe exactly what you did to "start a new profile". You can't

> accidentally have more than one account in a profile because you must
> manually define accounts when you create a new profile. They don't
> automagically appear."

I followed the procedure you led me to, to start a new profile; I guess it
was the only profile, because it was the only one showing up under Control
Panel/Email/Show Profiles.

I went into File/Data File Management to remove the unwanted email folder
leaving only the email folder I want. Everything is fine now except the
difficulty with the Contacts (Personal Folders) file keeps coming back.

>> Would you please walk me through this. I am getting nowhere. I
>> started a new profile. closed Outlook. got rid of unneeded pst
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> In the Address Book, click Tools>Options and remove the extraneous
> COntacts folder there.

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Brian Tillman - 29 Sep 2005 21:36 GMT

> I went into File/Data File Management to remove the unwanted email
> folder leaving only the email folder I want. Everything is fine now
> except the difficulty with the Contacts (Personal Folders) file keeps
> coming back.

Click Tools>E-mail Accounts>View or change existing direcories or address
books>Next. Select the Outlook Address Book service and click Remove, then
Finish. Stop and restart Outlook. Click Tools>E-mail Accounts>Create a new
directory or address book>Next. Select "Additional Address Books" and click
Next. Select Outloog Address Book and click Next, then Finish. You may
have to stop and restart Outlook again, but you shouldn't have any extra
Contacts folders when you're done.

Signature

Brian Tillman

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geezaflip - 30 Sep 2005 04:22 GMT

Brian, thanks for helping. Yet I messed up again. I deleted my Contacts
folder and now have no contacts at all. Can you help me get out of this
dead end I'm in? I really need to fix this once and for all. Instead of
getting myself down to one folder, I went to no contacts folder at all.

>> I went into File/Data File Management to remove the unwanted email
>> folder leaving only the email folder I want. Everything is fine now
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> Next, then Finish. You may have to stop and restart Outlook again, but
> you shouldn't have any extra Contacts folders when you're done.

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Brian Tillman - 03 Oct 2005 16:22 GMT

> Brian, thanks for helping. Yet I messed up again. I deleted my
> Contacts folder and now have no contacts at all. Can you help me get
> out of this dead end I'm in? I really need to fix this once and for
> all. Instead of getting myself down to one folder, I went to no
> contacts folder at all.

Deleted from where? Outlook will not let you delete the delivery location
Contacts folder. If you mean you deleted a Contacts folder from another
PST, then it should be in that PST's Deleted Items list. If you mean
deleted from the Address Book (Tools>Options), then add it back again from
that same window.

Signature

Brian Tillman

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geezaflip - 29 Sep 2005 17:15 GMT

I forgot to mention, in Navigation pane, only one Contacts folder is there.
I haven't found a way to get to the second Contacts folder to remove it.
It's the one called Personal Folder. Even if I can't eliminate it, I would
like to be able to copy all my contacts into it.

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