Address book empty...

...and not for the first time. Actually its happened three times now which has prompted me to try and get to the bottom of it.
I have Address Book on my PowerMac (main computer) that syncs with .Mac and I have a PowerBook that also syncs up with .Mac. The final peice of the jigsaw is Entourage on my PowerMac which I use for work mail. This has sync services and syncs with Address Book.
Currently my Powermac Address Book is empty, as is .Mac. My PowerBook is set for manual syncing and has a full Address Book so I don't see that being the culprit. Entourage has a full Address Book but this doesn't tell me much as while it syncs on new contacts it doesn't empty on this error such that when it happened last time I ended up with two of every contact after restoring the Address Book from my backup.
update: Entourage now has three of everyone after restoring my Address Book. Does this mean that since Entourage never loses the addresses then its not the one causing them to go missing. That leaves my PowerMac address book, or more likely .Mac as the culprit?

I don't use Entourage, but today, after I got Mail, Safari, iChat and Address Book all simultaneously freezing (applications not responding), I had to force quit all of them. When relaunching Address Book I had the really annoying surprise to get an empty address book, all my contacts are lost.
This already happened in the past, and digging the discussions I'm not alone. There is a bug somewhere and it's annoying !!!!
iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

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Address Book empty iCloud is empty too?

MBP 2.66GHZ i7 OS 10.7.3 I had allot of duplicates and incomplete address cards after moving to iCloud so I decided to start over. On my MBP I did a back up of all contacts then proceeded to clean it up once I was done I did another back up and called it contacts_clean.abbu I selected all my contacts and deleted them in Address Book (AB) went into AB preferences and deleted all other accounts including iCloud account all that was left is "On My Mac" in "General" tab I changed "Default Account" to "On My Mac" Then I went to System Preferences I have both "Mobil Me" and "iCloud" so I read that you have to turn "Mobile Me" off so I signed out of it and went into "iCloud" and checked everything in the window. I logged into iCloud using Safari 5.1.5 clicked AB there selected all the contacts and deleted them. I selected the preference button and clicked on the import vCard option I chose the contacts_clean.abbu to import. It failed with an alert that said the vCard does not meet requirments with an option to find out what those requirments are. Apparently there is a limit to how many cards you can have and file size etc. nothing about contacts_clean.abbu met those requirments except for the fact that it was 2mb over the required limit. So I went back to my MBP and before I created an iCloud account in AB I imported contacts_clean.abbu I got a dialouge saying if I wanted to replace contacts even then there it was completely empty I clicked yes. For a second the contacts show up then they are gone and an iCloud account is created. So this time I figure I'll import but make iCloud my default account again same thing as befor with the exception that the iCloud account was not created. I thought this could be a cache thing so I flushed cache using Cache cleaner and rebooted repeated above this time the contacts where there I thought great I'm good then I noticed that iCloud began syncing it wiped everything out. I figured it's pulling from the iCloud that now has nothing in it and replacing it with nothing on my MBP. I did some research and did above flushed cache rebooted but this time I had no internet connection (Turned off WiFi/Unplugged ethernet) I launch AB on MBP and import contacts_clean.abbu into iCloud account contacts show up great there perfectly not problem. But I know the second I get on the interent and it sync's it will be gone and I will have to flush cash and start all over again. How can I get AB to retain contacts and upload to iCloud after that I want to blaze my iPhone and start from scratch. If I can get a clean version on iCloud I start over again no problem but right now I have a bloated version of contacts on my iPhone a clean version on my MBP and nothing in iCloud can anyone help me please.

Contact with iCloud because we can't recover them

Address Book empty, not allowing imports

Following upgrade to Lion my desktop address book is empty. Big problem, because this is the one used by mail and for other purposes. The address book is successfully populated in iCloud and on my iPhone, it's just the desktop address book that is empty.
I exported all the address cards from iCloud to desktop, then double-clicked to open them in address book. Nothing happened.
Would like to populate the address book via import, but that option is grayed-out on the address book drop-down menu. Pressing option-O (the import shortcut) achieves nothing.
In systems settings > iCloud, "Contacts" is checked - so what appears in iCloud and iPhone should be appearing on my desktop.
I have no idea why my desktop address book is empty, or why it is refusing imports. Any ideas?

EDIT: Read next post first.
Create a new User go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > "+" (make it an admin acct) and test the appin this new account, if it works the problem is isolated to your User and not systemwide.
If you reinstall and migrate back your Users you'll be in the same place if the issue is isolated to your User.
If the issue is limited to your user account try starting up in Safe Mode (It will take more time to startup because it runs a directory check.)
If AB functions correctly that way, go to System Preferences >> Accounts >> Login Items and remove them.

Personal Address Book Empty

We are running GW 7.0.3. BES 4.1.6.23 I don't remember the mr number. The BES is running the GW 6.5.7 client. I have one user out of 40 that is experiencing this. The personal address book that the Blackberry (BB) is supposed to sync to is empty, however, all of the contact entries are on the BB. We tried to track this down the other day and while we were looking at her GW client the entries popped back in. Now they are gone again. We have not done anything that would cause the entries to pop back into the address book. We did notice that her BB had just synced in the last minute.
Thanks,
Bill

Filter on the BB is based on catagory, so I would suspect that it wasn't done on the device; now if the user could have don it on the GW client but I wouldn't expect that to effect the sync to BES? That's a odd one, I may have to try that myself and see if I duplicate it!
But no, if the filter was turned on in the GW address book, only the user could have done it or someone logged into GW as that user.
<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
We found that the view filter in the GW client had been turned on so only groups would show. The problem is the user did not make this change. All of her addresses returned when she turned filtering off. Is there any way this could occur without manual intervention by the user? Thanks.
>>> <[email protected]> 2/4/2010 7:53:AM >>>
SOAP. Also we will be upgrading GW to 8.0.1 on 2/13/10. Are there issues with my system after the upgrade that I should be aware of? I will post back with test results. Thanks.
>>> Michael Rae<[email protected]> 2/3/2010 1:16:PM >>>
Are you running your BES in SOAP mode or OAPI? Soap on 4.1 has major issues.
Regardless, what you might try is in the properties of the user in the PIM sync, turn off address book sync, wait and then enable it. Also once the entries are in on one place such as the BB, select the sync to be one way such as device to desktop only. Remeber too that contact sync is a low priority function, it may take up to 4 hours to see results from any changes made so don't get to rushed with making changes and then not see them take effect so you change them again with no results after a few minutes. Stopping and restarting the BB Sync server can speed this wait up.
Another thing to look for is the devices radio coverage, make sure you have as much coverage on the device as possible as I have seen some really weird contact sync issues when a BlackBerry drops in an out of data coverage.
FYI - Hang in there, you may well see BES 5 for GW by late summer or early fall of 2010, it's moving along very well and it's a major improvement.
<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
We are running GW 7.0.3. BES 4.1.6.23 I don't remember the mr number. The BES is running the GW 6.5.7 client. I have one user out of 40 that is experiencing this. The personal address book that the Blackberry (BB) is supposed to sync to is empty, however, all of the contact entries are on the BB. We tried to track this down the other day and while we were looking at her GW client the entries popped back in. Now they are gone again. We have not done anything that would cause the entries to pop back into the address book. We did notice that her BB had just synced in the last minute.
Thanks,
Bill

Help! Address Book Empty

My address book is completely empty. It was all there yesterday.
How can I restore it from a Time Machine backup?

first, did you happen to do a back up with file>export>address book archive? if so then the easiest way is to locate that archive and go to file>import>address book archive.
in the absence of an archive, you should be looking for the following:
com.apple.addressbook.abd.plist and com.apple.addressbook.plist which are files that should be located in homefolder/library/preferences on your back up and get them back in the same location on your computer.
the folder homefolder/library/application support/addressbook in your back up and get it back to the same location on your computer.
hope this helps

Address book empty on mac, won't sync with iCloud

Hi everyone,
I've got a Macbook running Lion and an iPhone running iOS5, I'm using iCloud to sync. I discovered today that my Address book on my macbook is empty. On my iPhone, I have all of the sync services turned on in iCloud. I also have iCloud set up on the macbook, but the contacts box is unchecked. If I check the box in iCloud preferences, it won't stay that way. Once I close the preferences pane and reopen it, the checkbox is empty again.
I'm not sure if this is a related issue, but this is also driving me nuts. I have an exchange account that I no longer use that will not go away no matter how many times I delete it. I can delete it from "mail, contacts & calendars" and in my address book, but it comes back every time.
Any help is appreciated.
Thank you!!

Ok, I fixed it. I had to dump the entire ~Library/Application Support/AddressBook folder. Once I did it solved both of the issues I was having. Hooray!

HT1865 Address Book Empty

I played with sync settings in iCloud yesterday and today, my address book is EMPTY. Is there a file somewhere I can restore my addresses from? An entire business relies on this. We don't use TimeMachine. I don't see them in our iCloud. HELP!!!

This stopped happening; not sure why it happened. I'm assuming one of my upgrades fixed this.
I am being more careful about making backups now -- keeping copies of most files in my home directory as they were every day for the last week and once a week for the last month or so. This way, I can recover to a recent version, even if I don't notice the problem immediately; once I had to recover from a very old backup...

How to synchronize address book (empty) with contacts in icloud (ok)?

All my contacts appear in iCloud. None of them show in the Dock's address book. How do I synchronze one with the other?

I think some third party solutions can solve your problem, here is one, just found it on VersionTracker : http://www.slamslash.com/address-o-sync

Itunes sync erased ALL contacts from my phone and address book empty

So I must have chose something wrong when I ran a sync and it erased my address book from my iPhone.
What do I need to check or change before my next sync to make SURE all my address I re-entered on my iPhone are synced with address book on mac instead of mac overwriting my phone and wiping them all out again?
Thanks in advance!!!
Patrick

I am VERY dissappointed that the alleged 'smart' operation of iTunes sync would so nonchalantly and impulsively erase ALL the contacts on my iPhone. Can't it at least WARN YOU... "Hey, I'm doing something that most likely 99.9% of people doing this don't want to do, but, screw you, I'm going to do it all the same" -- bye bye contacts.

Address Book no longer syncs with google contacts

After my switch to Lion, I'm noticing that my address book no longer syncs with my google contacts??
After I update my contacts in address book, it doesn't show up on google contacts and vice versa.
Is anyone else exprienceing this?

¡¡¡Ok, Something worked for me!!!
I have my address book empty, and then this is what I did:
1- Copy Address book app to downloads (or other folder) just to back it up
2- Install AppCleaner
3- Drag and Drop address book ap into app cleaner, make sure that it references to several files (all .plist files etc.) If there are no external references then try to drag and drop your backup, do it until you see the rest of references (uncheck address book widget)
4- After press clean in AppCleaner, it will delete everything.
5- Put back your address book app backup into your applications folder
6- Open it and if your are lucky you will see all the contacts again, they were like hidden....
Then I deleted all the contacts again and set up google account in preferences again, after that it syncs fine!!!
Good Luck!

Address Book - All

On 4.5 there are multiple address books. When I upgraded, it moved my desktop address book into "address book - all", making the desktop address book empty and unable to synch

Hello ccuccolo and welcome to the Forums!
Could I get a bit more info from you so I can try and help you out.
Are you on a BES?
Are you using Desktop
Redirector?
Are you using BIS?
Do you have multiple Desktop[sync]
service books?
What is the difference in the number of contacts between
"Address Book" and "Address Book All" databases?
Once I have this info I will be able to better assist you!
Cheers!
SR
-SR
Come follow your BlackBerry Technical Team on twitter! @BlackBerryHelp
Be sure to click Kudos! for those who have helped you.Click Solution? for posts that have solved your issue(s)!

How to delete empty imported address books?

I found similar issues but the solutions offered do not seem to work for me. I have now got 4 copies of implab.mab in my profile folder (suffixes -1, -2, -3). I've tried deleting the extra 3 with explorer but they reappear. I've tried renaming them as suggested elsewhere but then the renamed and original both appear. Deleting them from the address book pane in the Write option has no effect.
Any suggestions? Thanks

Confirm these are address books you have deleted from the 'Address Book', so they no longer display in 'Address Book'.
I'm not talking about empty address books which are still displaying - they must have been deleted.
In 'Address Book'
select the address book
Edit > Delete address book
note you cannot delete any default address books :
'Personal Address Book' and 'Collected Addresses'.
You cannot delete/remove old deleted address book entries via 'Config Editor'.
You can access the 'prefs.js' file located in your Profile folders and open that file using 'Notepad', then edit the file and save and close.
However, you must have exited/closed Thunderbird first in order to do this, otherwise editing the file will have no effect.
I would also advise you create a copy of the prefs.js file before you make any changes and save to desktop to act as a backup - just in case of error.
In your 'prefs.js' file
Each live- not deleted address book shown in the 'Address Book' will have:
'Description', 'dirType', 'filename' and 'position'
eg:
user_pref("ldap_2.servers.testimpab.description", "Test Impab");
user_pref("ldap_2.servers.testimpab.dirType", 2);
user_pref("ldap_2.servers.testimpab.filename", "abook-1.mab");
user_pref("ldap_2.servers.testimpab.position", 1);
Any address book you imported/created and subsequently deleted from the 'Address Book' will only leave the 'position' line in prefs.js.
There will be no other lines associated with that address book.
eg:
user_pref("ldap_2.servers.TEST_1.position", 6);
This is the line you can delete - make sure TB is closed first.
Note: Do not delete anything that says 'pab' or 'history' - these are the default address books.
After editing the 'pref.js file, save the file and then close it.
Then restart Thunderbird.

Empty address book on iMac, will syncing loose them on the iPhone too?

My mom called me last night saying that her address book on her iMac is now empty. I don't know what she did to have that happen. My question is if she syncs her iPhone, which has all of her contacts, will the syncing delete all of her contacts on the iPhone, or will it add all of her phone contacts back into her address book on the iMac? I would hate to have her sync the phone, and then loose all of her contacts in both locations. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

There is the possibility this data on the iPhone will be lost during the sync process which is why a backup of this data on your computer should be maintained.
The Address Book application includes a quick and easy backup option. The backup file takes up very little hard drive space and only needs to be updated prior to and after making significant changes.
That being said, make sure there is at least one entry entered and available in the Address Book application on her Mac before syncing but there is still a chance the contact information on her iPhone will be lost.

Address book has hundreds of empty groups - how to delete?

I'm not sure how this happened, but in my Address Book on Lion, I wound up with dozens (probably hundreds) of empty groups, all of them called "card". I want to delete all of these. However, I cannot even delete one: when I click on one and press "delete", I get the "pinwheel" and am forced to kill Address Book. Anyone know what the problem might be, or how I could go about deleting all of these groups? Is there a Preferences file I can edit?
Thanks!

I had never bothered to look at the Address Panel (never had a use for it) and now I see that it is keeping all the stale addresses that I repeatedly delete out of Previous Recipients! These addresses are NOT in my Contacts app! Come on, Apple—this is ridiculous.

Empty address book in PC removes all contacts in 3g iPhone??

I downloaded my contacts from my old phone onto my PC and saved them into a address book file then into Outlook Express and then initially loaded them into my iPhone, without problems. I then spent hours making adjustments and amendements on the iphone, including adding new numbers. The next time i synced my iPhone I expected it to update the PC with the new information but instead it changed the contacts stored in the phone back to the original (incorrect) ones!!
This has happened twice so much so that I am afraid to sync the contacts again as I will lose my new numbers which are on the iPhone.
I have now manually made the corrections and additions to the address book file and saved them BUT i although I can open Outlook Express when trying to open the address book I get an error telling me to re install it. When OE opens the address book fields are completely empty!!
OE came pre-installed thus i do not have the disc to do this!!
Any suggestions as I have no back up of contacts now?

Hello StreetTriple,
Based on what you've described, it seems very likely that there is a fundamental issue with Outlook Express on the computer. Outlook Express is a pre-installed program that you should be able to reinstall from the Vista install disks that came with your system.
If you do a web search for "reinstall Outlook Express Vista" you may find the means to get a fresh copy of Outlook Express onto your Vista PC. Otherwise, you'll need to contact your computer manufacturer or Microsoft Support to get it back onto your system.
You can try this syncing troubleshooting article:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1692
If Outlook Express opens successfully in a new User on the computer, you can use it to backup your contacts. You need to create at least one contact in Outlook Express before syncing, otherwise there won't be an Outlook Express data file for iTunes to sync your contacts into.
Charles H.

Address book empty...

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