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Troubleshooting Your User Account for a Problem

If the problem is in your User's folder...

  1. Is my database corrupt?
  2. Test for corrupt Microsoft preferences
  3. Test for other preference conflicts
  4. Test for application conflicts
  5. Is it a bad message that won't download?
  6. Is it a bad message that crashes Entourage when you try to select it?
  7. Is is a blank message or a message that refuses to be deleted?
  8. Test for a corrupt font

1) Is my database corrupt?

Create a new identity to eliminate corruption in current identity:

Entourage 2001: File-Switch Identity>Select New

Entourage X, 2004, 2008: Entourage menu>Switch Identity>Select New

You'll probably have to re-enter some account info to test, but try to recreate the problem there.

If the problems go away, then you know the problem IS in your database. If it doesn't work, then this indicates a problem with your Entourage install or a conflict in your User's folder.

If your database is the problem, first make a copy of your database. Even though the rebuild process makes a copy, if disaster strikes during the rebuild, you will have a backup copy. How to Rebuild Your Database.

Starting with Entourage 2004: Use the new Database Utility to Verify you database. Open Entourage with the Option key held down and the new Database Utility will launch. Select Verify.

2) If the problem is in your User's folder, first test for corrupt Microsoft Entourage preferences. Your preferences are located in your User's Preferences folder. Remove these files and test.

  • com.microsoft.OfficeNotifications.plist
  • com.microsoft.DatabaseDaemon.plist
  • com.microsoft.Entourage.plist
  • Microsoft/Entourage Preferences
There are many com.microsoft files. Select your preferences folder in the Finder and search using "microsoft" to show all the .plist files. As you add preferences to items in Entourage, this list can grow.

3) Test for other preference conflicts

  1. Go into your home folder and take the ~/Library/Preferences folder, and put all the files in there into a folder on your desktop called old_prefs. The Finder will lock up when you move them out the first time. Force quit the Finder.
  2. Now log out and back in, and you will see your Mac is now back to defaults.
  3. Test Entourage , if it works, you know its one of the preference files.
  4. Start with putting everything back in that starts with "com.apple" and log out/in.
  5. Slowly, a few preference files at a time, move the old ones back into place, and log out and back in, then test.
  6. Rinse and repeat until you find the bad preference.

If the problem persists, try the same thing with the other sub-folders of ~/Library.

~/Library/Caches, ~/Library/InputManagers, ~/Library/Fonts, ~/Library/PreferencePanes, ~/Library/Application Support, ~/Library/Application Enhancers, ~/Documents/Microsoft User Data, contents of ~/Desktop, etc. Also remove any files owned by your user in /Library/Caches (the Library folder at the top-level of the drive) or the sub-folders of /Library/Caches (e.g. the font caches under /Library/Caches/com.apple.ATS)

4) Test for application conflicts

First test for haxies. These are known to cause problems. Notifications crashes have stopped after disabling WindowShade or FruitMenu. Disable any haxies you might have installed and see if the problems go away.

Applications that are known to cause conflicts: iListen is known to cause problems with menus and shortcuts. MenuCalendarClock can launch Entourage every time it checks for events (whether or not you have set are any events for Entourage). Other possible culprits: EntourageABMenu, Quicksilver, LaunchBar, iKey, Keyboard Maestro.

Test in Safe Mode: Startup with the shift key held down to disable your start up items.

Safe Boot is a special way to start Mac OS X 10.2 or later when troubleshooting. Safe Mode is the state Mac OS X is in after a Safe Boot.

Starting up into Safe Mode does these things to simplify the startup and operation of your computer:

  • It forces a directory check of the startup volume.
  • It loads only required kernel extensions (some of the items in /System/Library/Extensions).
  • In Mac OS X 10.3.9 or earlier, it runs only Apple-installed startup items (some of the items in /Library/StartupItems and /System/Library/StartupItems - and different than login items).
  • Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger only: It disables all fonts other than those in /System/Library/Fonts .
  • Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger only: It moves to the Trash all font caches normally stored in /Library/Caches/com.apple.ATS/(uid)/ , where (uid) is a user ID number such as 501.
  • Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger only: It disables all startup items and any Login Items.

Taken together, these changes can work around issues caused by software or directory damage on the startup volume.

5) Is it a bad message(s) that won't download?

Use Online Access or your web mail to check for a bad message.

Go to Tools/Accounts/that account/Edit/Options. Check "Allow online access". That puts an icon of your account in the Folder List.

Click on the account icon. You're now looking at the messages on the server. Delete the bad message. Usually it's the oldest one. Spam messages are common culprits. Use tcpflow to help identify the problem message(s).

6) Is it a bad message on your computer that crashes Entourage when you select it?

Option 1) Turn off the Preview Pane and try selecting the message to delete.

Option 2) Do not even put the mouse on it. Select another file you want to delete to the folder where the bad file is located. Click on the "good" file then hit Command (Apple) A it will select all files in the folder then hit "delete". Hopefully the bad file will have been deleted.

7) Is it a blank message or a message that refuses to be deleted?

Blank messages are signs of database corruption. You need to rebuild your database.