 |
 |
All Contact info vanished!?!
|
|
|
|
|
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Newport Beach, CA
Status:
Offline
|
|
All my contacts have vanished from my computer and iPhone, and MobileMe. Names, address, phone numbers, all data is gone. Seems to ave happened right after the last update from apple. I'm running 10.4.11. Anyone have this happen or know what happened? More importantly how can I get it back?
|
Be a traveler, not a tourist
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Moderator  Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cambridge, UK
Status:
Offline
|
|
Search your HDD for a .abbu file. I'm pretty sure that's the address book file extension.
Otherwise look in <user>/Library/Application Support/Address Book/
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Newport Beach, CA
Status:
Offline
|
|
Originally Posted by seanc 
Search your HDD for a .abbu file. I'm pretty sure that's the address book file extension.
Otherwise look in <user>/Library/Application Support/Address Book/
No .abbu found on the machine. <user>/Library/Application Support/Address Book/ has these files:
- ABPerson.skIndexInverted
ABSubscribedPerson.skIndexInverted
AdressBook.data
AddressBook.data.previous
Images
I opened all files listed above in TextEdit and none contained any Contact info.
|
Be a traveler, not a tourist
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: 888500128
Status:
Offline
|
|
Originally Posted by seanc
Search your HDD for a .abbu file. I'm pretty sure that's the address book file extension.
Otherwise look in <user>/Library/Application Support/Address Book/
the .abbu files are the files that are saved when you save a backup of the Address Book.
The address book data used by the application is not saved in a .abbu file.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Moderator Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cambridge, UK
Status:
Offline
|
|
Originally Posted by analogika
the .abbu files are the files that are saved when you save a backup of the Address Book.
The address book data used by the application is not saved in a .abbu file.
I was afraid of that. I couldn't find the information to backup manually in Leopard, only about time machine.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Newport Beach, CA
Status:
Offline
|
|
Whew! I got em back, here's how:
I found this folder:
/Library/Application Support/SyncService/Backup Data
Inside there is a folder for Address Book, Calendar, and Safari. I replaced the folder "Address Book" in <User>/Library/Application Support/Address Book with the folder in the SyncService/Backup Data and all my contacts are back.
|
Be a traveler, not a tourist
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: London, UK
Status:
Offline
|
|
Now would be a wise time to perform a backup of the database - in Address Book, select Export...> Address Book Archive... from the File menu (note, that is for Leopard - the phrasing is different for Tiger iirc, but I can't remember what it was now; the principle is the same though). If you do this periodically, you will always have something to revert back to if e.g. Time Machine or any other mechanism fails, especially if you burn to e.g. a CD.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: London, UK
Status:
Offline
|
|
Fwiw, you should do this for your iCal database every now and then too.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Newport Beach, CA
Status:
Offline
|
|
Yeah, I have now setup Backup to periodically back all this up. I will also manually export the address book and ical databases.
By the way, the data was a bit old so I did loose a bunch of the newer contacts, but at least I have the majority of them.
|
Be a traveler, not a tourist
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 
|
|
|
Forum Rules
|
|
|
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
|
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top
