My address book is gone - on my computer and .mac?!?!??!?

My computer was going through it's normal weekly synch with .mac and the regular screen came up asking if I wanted to update the records on my computer to match .mac. I said yes since I know I had updated several contacs over the last week. It finished and I went about my work. A few hours later, I went to send an email and discovered my address book was empty. Not a problem - I'll just use my .mac address book for the email and re-synch my computer to it. My .mac address book was empty too!
Does anyone have any idea what might have happened? I hadn't backed up in a long time so now I have to re-enter hundreds of cards.

Thanks for the info - I'll look for the file.
The information on .mac was actually newer since I had been using it a lot at the office for the previous week. I've gotten that message before with no problems. The only thing I can figure is there was an error on the .mac side and it carried over during the synch.
Oh well, live and learn.

Similar Messages

  • Address Book not syncing with one computer (through .mac)

    I'm having difficulty syncing one of my computers through .mac. My desktop seems to interact fine with the online account, but I can't get the AddressBook info from .mac onto my laptop. I have tried all the syc settings in System Preferences and in the preferences menu in Address Book and they all say that I should be syncing. Is there something I am missing? As far as I can tell, both computers have the same settings. I'm wanting to be able to use my ipod touch with either computer, (and to have both computers have the same info as each other) . . .
    Thanks for any help.

    I just upgraded to Leopard and am having the same problem. Everything is syncing fine except the AB. I still see all my contacts up on .mac thank goodness, but nothing is coming down to my computer. I hope that they don't just disappear up on .mac as well!!!

  • How can I import address book from thunderbird on another computer

    I just purchased a new laptop and have dowloaded Thunderbird for my e-mail as that was what I was using on desktop. I have 2 e-mail accounts, my personal e-mail addresses came thru with no difficulty however my other account the contacts in address book didn't come thru. So question is how can I get address book imported for this account too. My desktop is Windows XP and my laptop is Windows 8
    thanks for any help

    The neat thing to do would be to copy the profile from the XP machine to the W8 machine. This would have transferred your messages, your account settings and your Address Book and much else.
    Given that you have set up Thunderbird and have started using it, copying over the profile may not now be terribly attractive for you.
    So, instead, you can export and import your Address Books.
    On the XP computer, open the Address Book, select an address book (e.g. Personal Address Book), select '''Tools|Export''', select the name and location of a file to contain the exported data, choose LDIF and then Save. Repeat for each required address book. Give your LDIF files simple but meaningful names, such as PAB.ldif and CA.ldif. Don't use, for instance, ''Personal Address Book.ldif'', as this will create a second address book with the same name as one of the defaults and you won't be able to easily tell which is which.
    Put the exported LDIF files where the W8 computer can see them, e.g. a USB memory stick.
    On the W8 machine, open the address book, Tools|Import and select an exported LDIF file. It will import and create a new address book; you'll probably want to move the Contact data back to the usual address book. You can select all (ctrl+a) then drag-and-drop the imported Contacts to the preferred address book. Repeat for each LDIF file.
    Having said that, I don't understand what you mean by "my personal e-mail addresses came thru with no difficulty however my other account the contacts in address book didn't come thru"; unless you have moved the profile folder over, I don't understand why ''any'' contacts should have transferred.
    If you have in fact moved the profile folder, then I'm puzzled as to why the transfer of address books has been incomplete. However the export and import route should be able to reclaim the missing address book(s).

  • How can I import my .mac address book from online to my computer?

    My macbook was stolen last week, and I am now using an older iBook that we had, but I haven't been able to retrieve my mail address book from the backups I was making. I have most of the contacts in my address book when using .mac web-based email, but not on my computer. I am afraid to turn on syncing because I don't want my computer to erase all the addresses stored online. How can I reverse sync, and get my online address book to import to my computer?
    Thanks.

    go to 'system prefernces > .Mac > advanced > reset sync data'
    Then choose to replace everything on your compu with .Mac data. (Back up before you begin! or is there really nothing to back up, then don't bother of course)

  • Option to sync yahoo contacts in address books is gone?

    I used to have my mac address book sync with my yahoo address book - but it appears the option is now gone.  In my address book preferences, when I select "on my mac" the only option is to sync with google.  Does anyone know if this feature is now gone - or how to get my yahoo contacts to sync with my address book again?

    You're correct, Yahoo sync has been removed.
    If Yahoo supports CardDav then you can access the Contacts using that protocol instead, check with Yahoo.

  • Address Book: How do you select, copy and paste info to an email?

    I look up a contact in my Mac Address Book and want to cut and paste email/address and phone into an email I am writing in another application - in this case using AOL online.
    It seems that you cannot select and paste the information or selected parts of it from the Address Book to the email using the usual key commands to select/copy/paste text?
    It is as if you are trying to copy from a photo... am I the only one to find this a completely mindless limitation of the Address Book?
    Or is there something obvious I am missing?
    thanks in advance
    MS

    This is insane!  I switched to Mac a few years ago (still use XP/Win7/Linux at work) and generally like it. However, I keep running into these idiotic and arbitratry limitations!  I want to create a bunch of address cards for people I work with.  Everthing is the same except phone extension, name, and email.  There's no way to copy/duplicate contacts in Mac Address Book or on my iPhone.  And, like many similar issues, if I dare to ask about it at an "Expert Bar", I'll first get a look of confusion and when I finally get the person to understand, I'll just get the useless response of "that's how it works".   No ideas for work-arounds. No reporting to Apple development. Just the attitude of "why would anyone want to do anything it doesn't already do?"
    It's great having all the Apple stores around here and being able to ask (simple) questions, but they're really not able to deal with much more than older folks who just bought a Mac and don't know how to use a computer at all. If you've been using dozens of computers and operating systems for 20+ years, they don't want to talk to you.
    David

  • In Itunes I cannot chose MS Outlook when syncing contacts. I can only chose Google contacts, Windows contacts and  Yahoo! Address book. The reply for email and calender is email and calender program cannot be found. Although I have MS Outlook installed an

    In Itunes I cannot chose MS Outlook when syncing contacts for Iphone 4. I can only chose Google contacts, Windows contacts and  Yahoo! Address book. The reply for email and calender is email and calender program cannot be found. Although I have MS Outlook installed and fully operational. Have anyone a solution to this issue?

    Which operating system is on your computer?
    and is itunes up to date
    can you tell whether it worked before?
    think as first step i would reinstall itunes

  • I deleted a contact out of my iPhone 4S but when I go to send a message the contact appears although that individual is no longer in my address book. I deleted all text and call history pertaining to the deleted contact but still shows up.

    I deleted a contact out of my iPhone 4S but when I go to send a message the contact appears although that individual is no longer in my address book. I deleted all text and call history pertaining to the deleted contact but still shows up. Does anyone have the same issue and how do I fix it?

    dam122577 wrote:
    but wont restoring as new delete all my info on my phone
    Yes. That is why I added...
    it will disappear over time due to non-use.

  • I lost my address book when I installed Mountain Lion and have not been able to recover it.  WHen I type in a name in an email the address shows up, so I know it is in there.  How can I restore my address book?

    I don't know how to do this.  I typed the question in the bar above, but apparently need to type it again here.  I lost my entire address book when I installed Mountain Lion and have been unable to recover it.  I know the information is in there as when I type in someone's name in an email the address always shows up right away.  How can I find the information for my contacts and restore my address book? Do I need to go to the Apple Store that is 2 hours away and have an expert help me or can I find out how to do it online for free myself?

    The auto-complete in Mail addresses comes from two sources: (1) The "Previous Recipients" list, which can be viewed via Mail > Window > Previous Recipients. (2) Your Address Book (now called "Contacts").
    If you did in fact lose your Address Book - are you sure you don't have "Contacts" in your Applications Folder? - It sounds like you are getting addresses from source (1).  If you did in fact lose your  Address Book (now called "Contacts" !!), you will have to restore it from a backup.
    charlie

  • How can I send an email to a group in my address book, but hide the individual names and email addresses?

    how can I send an email to a group in my address book, but hide the individual names and email addresses?

    You used to be able to do this through leaving unchecked the box in preferences "when sending to a group show all member addresses". However, that feature failed some time ago (two or three years?) and the only way to hide the addresses now is to put the group in the BCC field.

  • My Thunderbird page is screwed up - there is no address book appearing in the tool bar and i do not see a "write: tab - just message - how can I restore

    My Thunderbird page is screwed up - there is no address book appearing in the tool bar and i do not see a "write" tab - just "message" how can I restore back to normal?
    Would so much appreciate help... frustrating.

    Sounds like you are missing the Mail Toolbar.
    Do you have a Menu Bar with File-Edit-View etc?
    If not press the alt key to make it appear.
    From the Menu Bar select View-Toolbars and turn the missing toolbars back on.
    Write and Address Book are on the Mail Toolbar.
    FYI: The alt key or F10 will make a missing toolbar appear in most applications.

  • Are my Address Book contacts in iCloud or On My Mac?

    Is there some reason why, since iCloud, we have to have duplicates of every Contact in our Address Book?
    Additionally, when I'm cleaning up my Address Book on my MacBook Pro (10.7.3) there's no way to tell if a contact is in "On My Mac" or "iCloud".
    I have seen no clear discussion of this. If I change an entry for "John Q Smith" in my Address Book, why doesn't it "Unify" as they do on my iPhone? I end up with two different Address Book entries, one in either iCloud or "On My Mac" with the changes and another without the changes.
    There is no field on an "Address Book" contact indicating its source ["On My Mac", or "iCloud"].
    Why do I need two entries for every entry in my Address Book? This issue has been correctly identified and treated on the iPhone — I get a "Unified" classification and a change to the Contact happens synchronously.

    I am already configured for, and using iCloud as my default account.
    If I select "All Contacts", I have duplicates of every entry in my Address Book.
    When I select the corresponding option on my iPhone, I get "Unified Contacts" — this is GOOD and SMART — when I change a 'Unified' contact on my iPhone, all the entries are synchronously changed. This is how Mac OS X 10.7.3's Address Book should be treating these entries. Is there not an option somewhere to activiate this same feature?
    IF I REMOVE "ON MY MAC" FROM MY ADDRESS BOOK ACCOUNTS, I WILL BE UNABLE TO SYNCHORONISE MY ADDRESS BOOK WITH ANY OTHER SERVICE SUCH AS GOOGLE OR YAHOO. This is highly undesireable. As lovely and singular as is Apple and it's products, there are other services in the world with which I must coordinate and this is beyond my control.
    It looks like, from the responses above, that I will be editing every duplicate Address Book contact for the foreseeable future if I want to have non-Apple sync-able contact database as well as be on iCloud, which I do love.

  • Can I use my Address Book to create a data base and then merge from it to create mailing labels?

    Is it possible to use my Address Book to create a data base and then merge from it to create mailing labels?
    Thanks,
    CF

    I know one way, it is not elegant but it does work.
    1. Open Thunderbird. (download here: https://www.mozilla.org/EN/thunderbird/)
    2. Click on Address Book.
    3. On the left in the new window is a list of your Address books and groups. Select the one you want.
    Your addresses will appear to the right.
    4. In Thunderbird / Tools select Export, and Save as "Comma Separated".
    You can open that list of addresses in Excel or in FileMaker Pro. Mail merge proceeds from there.

  • Im new to Mac and wanted to know what is the easiest way to transfer files from a mac computer and mac extenal hardrive to windowns and vice versa?

    Im new to Mac and wanted to know what is the easiest way to transfer files from a mac computer and mac extenal hardrive to windowns and vice versa?

    For small amount of files, a regular USB stick or drive, it's already formatted with a MBR and FAT32 most likely which works both on PC's and Mac's.
    External drives if you need more space.
    However FAT (or Fat32 or MSDOS) has a 4GB file size limit. So if your transfering files bigger than that then you need to format it exFAT on the Windows machine.
    Vista and Win 7 can do this, Windows XP one can download a free exFAT upgrade from Microsoft.
    Mac's can read/write the MBR and FAT/exFAT (10.6.5 and later) formats, it's best to format it on the Windows machine, even though the Mac can format it too, it's better to do it on Windows then take it to the Mac to confirm.
    Rack your brain here on it.
    https://discussions.apple.com/message/16317478#16317478

  • ICal won't sync with iCal from other computer and .Mac

    I am trying to snyc my ical on my desktop with the ical on my laptop. I use my ical on my laptop most often so its data is most upto date, but I would like to have it so that no matter which one I look at its the same, and if I change something on one it will update on both.
    I thought that is what would happen with .Mac and syncing. But when I try to sync my desktop it says that it won't sync the calander because of inconsist data, but it won't tell me what they are.
    It says to confirm that your computer's data is valid, (its not, but how do I confirm or not?). Then it says to reset calendars on .Mac in the system preferences when I try to do that it gives me an icon of computer and .mac, and an arrow saying in what direction I'm assuming data will go. I choose .mac, to computer and it still comes up with the same problem.
    So how do I fix? Once I fix will it merge data on both or will it always be thinking take the .mac data and replace it? It scares me when it says are you sure you want to do this and its changable if you do. I don't want to loose the data on my laptops calander.
    Is there a way to clear my desktop ical, and then sync it and get my laptop's data and start from scratch? And then do mutual merges after that?
    It says to check that my info on the computer is correct and then to reset it in .mac preferences. The data on the desktop isn't correct but even if I reset, it won't

    I'm having massive problems with syncing via .mac with two local Macs - nothing I have tried has worked as yet and it's currently under investigation with a .mac specialist.
    I did used to get the 'inconsistent data' warning but that has somehow disappeared - now I don't get any warnings and .mac says both Macs are synced but I get nothing updated to iCal from either direction...
    So I don't as yet have an answer but just to let you know that if you get in touch with Apple they will support you with finding an answer.
    In the meantime have a look at these links for more self-help:
    http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/02/25/how-to-truly-reset-your-mac -sync-data
    Note that iSync also plays a large part, not just .mac and iCal - you need to 'reset sync data' in iSync/preferences.
    Plus some of the help stuff that Apple sent me:
    You may need to reset sync data again on .Mac and on all of the computers with which you are syncing.
    First, it's important to back up any data that you wish to keep. For more information, please see:
    How to back up and restore your important Mac OS X 10.4 files (applies to 10.5 too)
    http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n301239
    Mac OS X 10.5: When to use Time Machine or .Mac Backup to back up data
    http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n307050
    Before proceeding, you may find it helpful to print this email and the above articles so that you can consult them during this process.
    Next, using a computer that has Mac OS X v10.5 or later, unregister the other computers, including any Mac OS X v10.4 computers you may be using. (To find out which version of Mac OS X is installed, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu.)
    Here's how to unregister the other computers from the computer that has Mac OS X v10.5 or later:
    1) Open System Preferences and click .Mac.
    2) Click Sync, then click the Advanced button.
    3) Click once on one of the computers in the list and click Unregister. Follow the onscreen instructions to unregister the computer. Repeat this step until all registered computers are removed from the list.
    4) When the last computer has been unregistered, you will be asked "Would you like to delete unused sync info from .Mac?" Select the boxes next to each of the data types listed and click Delete.
    5) Restart the computer.
    After unregistering the other computers, sync your data from the computer that has the most up-to-date information.
    To add a computer with Mac OS X v10.5 or later to the .Mac sync list:
    1) Open that computer's System Preferences and click .Mac.
    2) Click the Sync tab.
    3) Select "Synchronize with .Mac."
    4) Select the data types you wish to sync. Click Sync Now.
    5) If you are asked, "What would you like to do for this first sync?", select "Merge" and click Sync. You may have to do this for each data type that you are syncing.
    After you have performed the initial sync, you should try syncing again. If you do not receive any errors, you can add additional computers to the .Mac sync list by following these steps on each of the computers:
    1) Open that computer's System Preferences and click .Mac.
    2) Click the Sync tab.
    3) Select "Synchronize with .Mac."
    4) Select the data types you wish to sync. Click Sync Now.
    5) If you are asked, "What would you like to do for this first sync?", select "Replace data on this computer" and click Sync. You may have to do this for each data type that you are syncing. This will replace the data on the computer with the data that has been synced to .Mac.
    I recommend that you add the computers one at a time, confirming each time that syncing is working correctly. To confirm that syncing is working, make a change in one of the data types you are syncing, then perform a sync from the first computer. When that syncing is finished, perform a sync on the second. If syncing is successful, add a third computer, and so on.
    Good luck!
    Message was edited by: AnngryofMayfair

Maybe you are looking for