Thanks for creating that script. Before I decide to do it, one question: I often refer to mail I’ve saved in various folders. I would want to bring these into my new identity, yet I’m concerned that the reason the old identity malfunctions is because some stored email is corrupt, and bringing them over might corrupt the new identity. Is that a realistic concern? What do you think I should do? Thanks.
It's a large set of various scripts, which will transfer almost your whole identity (aside from Rules, Schedules, Custom View settings, and links) via text files. I don't actually understand the mysteries of database corruption at all, but export as text file and reconstitution via AppleScript appear to avoid whatever that corruption is. Corruption of the database as such must be concerned with its structure and interlinking. Starting all over from an empty database and importing from text files sets up brand new structures and connections. The very fact that you will lose your links is part of the same setup that should let you escape the corruption. Messages may be slightly different since they are recreated as part of MBOX files: perhaps a corrupted received message may replicate the same corruption on import- I don't know. But a corrupted message would not be corrupting your database structure in any case. I wouldn't worry about exporting and importing MBOX files via my scripts or by dragging - I don't believe it would have any ill effects on your new database.
Richard, I've noticed with some concern the number of times you have told us that you have had to do yet another Advanced rebuild of your database plus the number of times you've had to re-initialize your hard disk since you started corresponding to this mailing list - less than a year ago, I think. Your experience is most unusual. I wonder whether there's perhaps something wrong with your hard disk itself. I suppose problems would show up more frequently with Entourage because its database file is so large, and I wonder whether these constant re-making are going to help. Have you ever had the opportunity to switch hard disks or computers? If it's not that, I wonder whether perhaps you're working Entourage harder than other people. I know you have many, many tasks - are they in the thousands? Do you do a lot of linking? It wouldn't be good, of course, if using Entourage as it's intended (lots of links) was a part of the problem. But your disk initializations lead me to wonder whether maybe it's a new hard disk that you really need. What do you think?
in any case, Export-Import Entourage should give you an opportunity to keep all your data and yet start over again without corruption. I know Dan Frakes used it that way with success. But to prevent future corruption starting in all over again, you may need to look into the hard disk issue.
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Paul Berkowitz
