Help! Error: Failed to open Address Book Database on Palm Desktop

In advance, thank you, thank you, thank you to the person who saves me from this error! I have no idea what I've done to deserve this!?! So, thank you for helping!!!
Here's the problem:
When I double click on the Palm Desktop icon on my desktop, I get: Error: Failed to open Address Book Database on Palm Desktop
And then, I get: This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. If the problem persists, contact the program vendor.
When I click on the details button, it says: PALM caused an invalid page fault in
module MFC42.DLL at 0177:5f404045.
Registers:
EAX=0082fad8 CS=0177 EIP=5f404045 EFLGS=00010202
EBX=00000000 SS=017f ESP=0082fa94 EBP=00855d0c
ECX=5f4d1c58 DS=017f ESI=0082fad8 FS=572f
EDX=00017b84 ES=017f EDI=00000008 GS=0000
Bytes at CS:EIP:
8b 07 3b c8 74 34 83 79 f4 00 7d 0f 83 c1 f4 3b
Stack dump:
00000000 008558c0 004b5d3d 00000008 01befe17 0082fad8 008559cc 008558c0 00855d0c 00000000 00000010 5f4d1c58 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
Again, thanks for your help in advance!
Post relates to: Palm Vx

I've seen a lot of people post a message that's basically like the problem I'm having. I'm sending this to everyone who had the same general type of question in hopes that my fix might cure your problem also.
My Palm Desktop (4.1.4) would open correctly the first time after installing, but after doing a hotsync it would crash every other time it was opened (using a Tungsten E). I'm running Windows XP Professional, and it would give an error saying "Windows XP has encountered an error and needs to close", or something like that.
I did the usual. Removed the program and reinstalled, which didn't work. I also went through the tedious process of uninstalling the software, then removing every registry entry by hand that referenced the Palm or Pocketmirror, which also didn't work.
I searched through the support files on palmone.com and found something that gave me an idea. It talked about removing a corrupted file to fix problems with the datebook. I hadn't been getting any errors pointing to a specific problem, but on a hunch I deleted the entire address folder out of the Palm directory. That did the trick!
A corrupted address book in the Palm Desktop software was keeping it from running. The problem was how to fix the corruption, which I eventually found on a menu option in the Palm Desktop software.
Below is the fix that worked for me. Caution! Only do this if you have all of the current info in your Palm, because it will erase what's on your Palm Desktop.
1. Go to your Palm folder on your pc (default install location is c:\palm) and open the folder for your user.
2. Delete the address, datebook, expense, memopad, note pad and todo folders.
3. Open the Palm Desktop program.
4. Do a hotsync.
5. Important! Don't click on anything else in the Palm Desktop after doing the hotsync. If you change to one of the areas that has corrupted data, it will immediately crash.
6. Right after doing the hotsync, click Tools on the top menu in the Palm Desktop, then Options. Click on the Tools tab and then click Check Now to fix the corrupted data.
7. Click OK.
That should hopefully get you running again. Let me know if that worked for you.

Similar Messages

Palm Desktop software - Fails to open with msg "Error: Failed to open Address Book database"

In July 2009 I dropped my trusty Visor on a tile floor and it stopped working. So, in the meantime I have been using only the Palm Desktop software.
Just yesterday, when I attempted to launch the Palm Desktop software, it failed with the message “Error: Failed to open Address Book database”. I think this error was caused by a very ungraceful shut-down of my Win XP system yesterday.
I really do need to use the Palm Desktop software for my address list, calendar, and memo. The problem is that the error with the Address Book database seems to be preventing the Palm Desktop software from initializing.
I am using Palm Desktop 4.0.1 on Windows XP SP3. I do NOT have an export file of the Palm address book or other databases. However, I do have five levels of backup history on my external Maxgor backup drive.
Specifically, on my current c drive I have files in the directory:
C:\Program Files\Handspring\WR\address
            address.bak                  5/16/2009   (from last sync before I broke Visor)
            address.dat                   5/24/2011
            Personal.ABA   11/6/2008
            Unfiled.ABA    3/28/2008
On my most recent backup of my system, there are the following files:
                        address.bak                 5/16/2009   (from last sync before I broke Visor)
                        address.dat                  5/12/2011
                        Personal.ABA   11/6/2008
                        Unfiled.ABA      3/28/2008
I have not listed the four older backup versions.
I haven’t tried any corrective measures yet (I don’t want to make matters worse) and am hoping that someone can guide me along the right path.
Is it possible for me to just rename the “current” address.dat file to something like address.SAV and then copy the Address.dat file file with date of 5/12/2011 into the current directory. Will the software then just use the older version of the data, or must I do something else.
I am grateful for any assistance. Thank you very much.
Post relates to: Visor Deluxe
Post relates to: Visor Deluxe

Thanks for the speedy response. However, I read the article for which you provided the link, and I hve also read many other articles that I found via search, but I don't think these will help me. All of these articles seem to assume that (1) you have a handheld to which you can sync and thereby rebuild the database on the PC, or (2) you have a backup that you created via the Palm Desktop export function. Unfortunately, I have neither and so I don't think any of these solutions will work for me.
I did read with great interest an article that stated that recent versions of Palm Desktop have a built-in function that will repair a corrupted Datebook database. Will this also fix a corrupted Address Book database which is my problem?
So, I downloaded and attempted to install the latest version of Palm Desktop. I was careful to read the instructions that stated NOT to uninstall my current version of Palm Desktop, but to just install the latest version on top of my current Palm Desktop. However, when I attempted to do the installation, the installer software said it could not install on top of my current software and that I should first uninstall my current software.
I have some questions now:
(1) If I uninstall my current version of Palm Desktop, will this destroy my Address Book, Datebook, and Memo databases ( I don't care about the ToDo database)? If so, what can I do to preserve those databases?
(2) Is there really a function built in the recent versions of Palm Desktop that will fix a corrupted database? Is this an "automatic" function that will detect and fix a broken database or is this something I will have to invoke?
Thanks for your help.
Gdad

Error: Failed to open Address Book database

Help! I keep getting this error message. Other posts said to sync with address book defaulting to handheld but the desktop software won't even open so I can't sync. Any suggestions?? I haven't synced for a very long time!
Post relates to: Tungsten E

Hi, and welcome to the Palm Support Community.
Please review the Palm Knowledgebase article which is linked in this thread.
smkranz
I am a volunteer, and not an HP employee.
Palm OS ∙ webOS ∙ Android

Error message : failed to open address book database

On clicking the desktop icon I recieve the message Error: failed to open address book database and my palm programme will not open on my computer. On my hand held Hot Sync Log I have: OK Mail, OK Date Book, Address Book Sync failed, OK To Do 3 messages, OK Memo 3 Messages, Note Pad Syncho failed, OK System.
I have uninstalled and installed Palm twice. Any suggestions would be welcomed!
Post relates to: Palm m515
Message Edited by lisbellaw on 06-26-2008 06:42 AM

Hi, and welcome to the Palm Community Forums.
This question comes up relatively frequently (using the Search function brings up many, many hits, such as this one which has a link to the Palm Knowledgebase article which should resolve the problem). It is typically the result of a damaged or corrupted record.
Good luck, let us know if it helps.
Post relates to: Centro (AT&T)
smkranz
I am a volunteer, and not an HP employee.
Palm OS ∙ webOS ∙ Android

Failed to Open Address Book Database

I see this is a common question, but the link in the knowledge base ("Take a look at this Palm Knowledgebase article: http://tinyurl.com/33agzl") goes to a blank page. Maybe it's gone?
Anyway, I have this problem trying to open the desktop. The handheld is fine. Direct me to the solution?
Thanks.
Post relates to: Palm Vx
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi, and welcome to the Palm Community Forums.a
Sorry for that broken link...here is the article it would have taken you to:
http://kb.palm.com/SRVS/nua/launchKB.asp?c=10082
Post relates to: None
smkranz
I am a volunteer, and not an HP employee.
Palm OS ∙ webOS ∙ Android

Treo 90 fails to synchronize address book database and open

I have an old Treo 90 that I still like to use for addresses. Recently the software will not open on my computer and when I try to open it, I get an error message "Failed to open address book database" which is followed by "Drror: Invalid configuration. Terminating the Palm Desktop." I have uninstalled and reinstalled the software from the computer 2 or three times and still get the same errors. The handheld Treo seems to work fine. Any suggestions?
Post relates to: Treo 90

Hello,
This is mostly caused by the Addressbook database being corrupted even if you sync your Treo 90 to other PC you'll still have the same problem.
You need to import and export your addressbook
NOTE: these steps may cause the Addressbook to loose its category.
cut and paste to your desktop the addressbook folder from your username folder C:\program files\handspring\ your username folder\addressbook
reopen Palm desktop you'll see that the contacts are empty.
In your Palm Desktop click on file import
and in the import box look for the addressbook which you saved in the desktop.
in the file name type *.*
choose address.bak and click import
close Palm Desktop and reopen.
perform hotsync and set the contacts to desktop overwrites handheld.
hope this helps...

Error to open address book database

Hi. I've been using the Palm Pilot i705 without the email feature for several years and on a succession of computers. Never had a problem. Today I can't access it on my pc. I get "error to open address book database."
Is the fix to reinstall the software from the cd? If so how do I save my existing databases or would the subsequent hot sync after reinstall pull in the database? My last hot sync was successful and is my most current.
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks. Pat.

cmoulin,
Ok, No problem.
Glad to hear you recovered your data.
FYI,
The best way to preserve your data is to export the data in each category in Palm Desktop to a seperate folder on your PC.
Create a new folder on your PC somewhere that is convenient. Name it something like Palm Desktop Data. Click on the link below and follow the instructions on that page for the export procedure.
http://www.palm.com/cgi-bin/cso_kbURL.cgi?ID=28734
Make sure you select all for the range in the export window.
With the data saved in the folder you created, make a copy of that folder and save to a flash drive, cd-rw or external hard drive.
Anytime you make a change in Palm Desktop, export the data that was changed to that folder and save again to the external media.
With this process you can always import the data back into Palm Desktop anytime you have a problem with the data in Palm Desktop or if your computer/hard drive/device crashes.

Error message "cannot open address book file" thunderbird freezes

If I try to write an e-mail i get an error message "cannot open address book file". Then the program freezes, and I can not close the page, and none of the features of thunderbird works.

Do you have the .swf file available still ?

Troubleshooting Address Book issues using Palm Desktop for Mac (v. 4.2.1) and a T3?

Can someone please make suggestions which would correct the following issues?
1) When printing an Address Book from my Mac, the information in the "title" field prints twice. (I have checked my Preferences settings & reviewed how I have entered the information, etc. and everything is in order; also, an Address CARD DOES print correctly --- and --- after syncing to my T3 and then to my husband's PC, an Address Book prints correctly from the PC.)
2) After I have synced the Address Book from my Mac to my T3, the "zip code" entries appear BEFORE the "city" entries on the T3. (The zip codes appear correctly on my Mac and print out correctly.)
3) After I have synced the Address Book from my Mac to my T3, the "contacts" all appear in BLACK on my T3. Is there any way to show the different "contact categories" in COLOR on the T3 as they were originally entered in my Palm Desktop for Mac?
Post relates to: Tungsten T3

I Use Windows And Cant Help Sorry
-------------- Original message --------------
Answer Request
Dear joeweather45,
HAR asked a question that matches your expertise. Please respond to this question by directly replying to this email or by clicking the link below.
Question Subject: Troubleshooting Address Book issues using Palm Desktop for Mac (v. 4.2.1) and a T3?
Question Details: Can someone please make suggestions which would correct the following issues?
1) When printing an Address Book from my Mac, the information in the 'title' field prints twice. (I have checked my Preferences settings & reviewed how I have entered the information, etc. and everything is in order; also, an Address CARD DOES print correctly --- and --- after syncing to my T3 and then to my husband's PC, an Address Book prints correctly from the PC.)
2) After I have synced the Address Book from my Mac to my T3, the 'zip code' entries appear BEFORE the 'city' entries on the T3. (The zip codes appear correctly on my Mac and print out correctly.)
3) After I have synced the Address Book from my Mac to my T3, the 'contacts' all appear in BLACK on my T3. Is there any way to show the different 'contact categories' in COLOR on the T3 as they were originally entered in my Palm Desktop for Mac?
Device Name: Tungsten T3
Desktop Computer Operating System: Mac OS 10.3.x
Desktop computer brand and model number: Mac PowerBook G4
Desktop Personal Information Manager: Palm Desktop 4.2.1 Mac
How is your device connected to your computer: USB
Type of help question: Troubleshooting
Your expertise is valued. Thanks in advance for your response!
Need more information before responding to this question? Send a Request for Clarification to the question asker, entering any necessary details in the body of the email.
Unable to answer this question? Click one of the links below and enter any necessary details in the body of the email. The reason and details you enter will be sent to the question asker.
Busy | Inappropriate | Answered | Other
Thank you for taking the time to send this notification. Your participation is valued and we look forward to your continued involvement.
Sincerely,
The palmOne Help Forums Team

Error ABACQUIRE_FILE_LOC when opening Address Book

When I launch Address Book, it immediately closes and the control console reflects the above error. Any suggestions on how to fix? I am running latest version of OS X.

Has it worked before?
Did you do any upgrade before the problem arised?
Is it used in Sync scripts or Backup?
Have you run Disk Utility to repair permissions?

Using Address Book Exporter to move Address Book Contacts to Palm Desktop

I have had strangely mixed results using "Address Book Exporter" to create files that can be imported into Palm Desktop.
I really want to export all 1200 of my Address book cards to my new Treo 700P. Too complex?
I set up a new group in my Address Book and placed about 400 cards in it. I then used Address Book Exporter to export all of these records using template "Palm Desktop" onto a .txt file on my hard drive.
When I opened my Palm Desktop application and clicked on import, I first had to cause the dialogue box to show all files rather than just "readable files" in order for the exported files to be available. When I clicked on the file of 400 Address book cards that I had exported, I got the dialogue box similar to FileMaker where you have to line up the receiving fields in the Palm Desktop application with the fields in the file that Address Book Exporter created.
When I set the "fields" drop-down menu to "addresses" and set the "Delimiters" drop-down menu to "Palm Desktop", everything just lined up automatically. No futher adjustments were needed. I just clicked OK and the 400 records were transferred to my Palm Desktop Address list - ready to further transfer to my new Treo 700P - successfully.
But when I went through this exact same routine, instead exporting all of the cards in my Address book, when I got to the last step and set the two drop down menus - the "fields" drop-down menu to "addresses" and set the "Delimiters" drop-down menu to "Palm Desktop" - nothing happened. The fields in the exported file did not line up at all. The created export file I opened showed only one "superfield' with all the data in it (just as the earlier example had, at first) which would not change to all of the fields needed to line up with the Palm Desktop importing fields as had happened in the first example.
Why the two different reactions to what seems to be the same routines? Does Address Book Exporter have a cap on the size of the export it can handle?
I just don't understand it.
Steve
PowerBook G4 15 1.6 ghz Mac OS X (10.4.7) 20" Apple Cinema Screen twinned, Safari 2.0.2, Mail 2.0.5, Address Book 4.0.3

See my reply to your post in the iSync forum:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9618578#9618578

Why wont my Mac Address Book overwrite my Palm Desktop????

I have spent the last few days messy about with this bloody isync and my treo 650 trying to configure the address books in the way i would like.
yesterday i managed to finally back up my palm top (treo 650) and merge it with my mac address book. the only problem with this was that there were a lot of duplicate names, or names from the address book that didnt have numbers etc etc.
Anyway, the good thing was that i now had all of my contacts from my phone into my mac address book.
this morning i spent hours going through my now complete mac address book weeding out and duplicates, and basically making it perfect.
now i cant figure out how to overwrite my treo and my palm desktop on my mac with my mac address book contacts!!!! its driving me crazy!
i am not worried about ical, or any of the other things syncing (although i suppose it would be a bonus) i just want to get my address book contacts on my treo and to overwrite the old messy version of palm desktop that has all of the duplicates in it.
any ideas? i am running OSX 10.4.8 isync 2.3 and have palm desktop 4.2.1
many thanks
G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8)
G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

not quite sure what has happened now. i backed up the address book and exported the v cards (when you said select all in the left most sidebar did you mean select all of the groups or just the group called 'all'? i selected just the group called all).
i then imported them fine into palm desktop using the methods you said except that in my mac address book i had 586 cards and in palm desktop it only seems to say i have 312.
also when i was copying them it asked it i wanted to keep the new or old version with the only differences i could see between the new and the old cards being that it now said CATEGORIES: Palm in the notes section. i said yes to replacing all of the old ones with these new palm ones.
when i went back to the address book afterwards, it now seems to have taken a lot of various addresses out of the various groups i had them set up in. they are all still there in 'all' though so at least thats something.
i also seem to have some random duplicates in palm desktop.
i have also noticed that if for example in mac address book you dont fill in the first name in the first name box and the surname in the surname box (ie you write the first name and the surname in the first name box) then this can cause problems when you try and display stuff alphabetically in palm desktop.
i have some contacts with just names and emails, and some with numbers, emails etc etc. could this cause problems? i am also wondering if each card isnt set up in exactly the same format, could this cause problems in palm desktop (ie the order you have mobile, home, email etc listed on each card?)
still not sure why i only have almost half of my numbers though!?
can you help?
many thanks

Error msg: failed to open date book database

In trying to open my Palm 3.1.1.0 dinosaur desktop application, I received the above error message. I'm new to this help arrangement, but it looked to me like the old solution offered by the forum was no longer linked to the message. Help! I no longer use my handheld, and it's been a long time since I ran a paper backup. The date book is far less important than the address data base that I cannot open at this point. Am I in trouble, or is there a way around this? (I probably have the old installation software somewhere, but what if I don't?)
Many thanks!
Post relates to: Palm III
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi, and welcome to the Palm Community Forums.
Palm's recent do-over of its support site blew up many of the links appearing in the Forums.
Perhaps this is the article which you could not find from prior links:
http://kb.palm.com/SRVS/nua/launchKB.asp?c=10089
Post relates to: None
smkranz
I am a volunteer, and not an HP employee.
Palm OS ∙ webOS ∙ Android

HELP! Address Book database all lost, says "corrupted", won't open.

HELP!
Recently installed Tiger 10.4.3 combo update. Or --- did that FBI virus get me? The same day as update I noticed a bunch of spam in my dotmac email (it's forwarded to Yahoo account). One spam was that FBI scam. As soon as I uploaded the spam attachment to forward to the real FBI site complaint address, my entire address book was wiped out. All files. Now it won't open, even for me to attempt to merge or Sync or to import my backup AB files. Error message comes up after about 2 seconds and it says "COULDN'T OPEN THE ADDRESS BOOK DATABASE. The database is corrupted" with a 'quit' button.
Can I uninstall AB somehow? If so, how? Can I reinstall a fresh version, too?
HELP!

please to help

Need Help on Troubleshooting IR Error: Failed to acquire access to database

Hi there,
I have been struggling with the following error "Failed to acquire access to database" and ODBC driver error "Data source name not found and no default driver specified" when opening an IR document for a few weeks.
The IR document uses an oce file called ABC.oce and DAS has been configured accordingly.
ODBC System Data Source called ABC created on server running IR DAS as follows:
- Driver: Oracle in OraClient11g_home1
- TNS entry: ABC
- Connection tested successfully;
IR DAS entry ABC created as follows:
- Connectivity Type: ODBC
- Database Type: Oracle
- Hostname: ABC
oce file called ABC.ore created as follows:
Interactive Reporting Database Connection
Connection Software: ODBC
Database: ORA8
Host: ABC
Username and password have been entered in the oce file as well.
What possibly have I missed?
Any help will be highly appreciated.

Are you using the Hyperion ODBC drivers which comes with the Hyperion installation?

Help! Error: Failed to open Address Book Database on Palm Desktop

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for