[Throoper]

When you get back please let me know, before I do it, that you do mean for me to "...just check the attribute of the wab for Read Only". I ask because earlier you said "The Read Only attribute should be Unchecked."

And thank you for staying with me on this as long as you have.

OOPS Sorry I confused you.
I meant to check the status, that it is in fact unchecked. You never want the WAB file to be marked Read Only.
If it's still Read Only and grayed out so you can't uncheck it, then try recreating a new wab by repeating the previous instructions. You'll have to delete the one you renamed to OLD to enable you to rename the current wab. Also delete the wab~ if present.

If the address book still doesn"t open in OE, go into the OE Program folder at C:\Program Files\Outlook Express and double click the WAB file in there to see if that opens.

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If the address book still doesn"t open in OE, go into the OE Program folder at C:\Program Files\Outlook Express and double click the WAB file in there to see if that opens.

The address book doesn't open in either OE or at C:\Program Files\Outlook Express. But even though I now have the WAB file in the right place I still have a UserName.old and another wab file in C:\Program Files\Outlook Express. Should I delete both of these from there? Both have the Version Internal name WAB.EXE. with read only unchecked.

[Robert Tracy]

If the address book still doesn"t open in OE, go into the OE Program folder at C:\Program Files\Outlook Express and double click the WAB file in there to see if that opens.

The address book doesn't open in either OE or at C:\Program Files\Outlook Express. But even though I now have the WAB file in the right place I still have a UserName.old and another wab file in C:\Program Files\Outlook Express. Should I delete both of these from there? Both have the Version Internal name WAB.EXE. with read only unchecked.

[Throoper]

Leave the one in C:\Program Files\Outlook Express alone.
If there's a Username.old in the C:\Program Files\Outlook Express folder, delete it.
Just to make sure we're on the same page, the wab you've been renaming is the one at C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book? With the UserName being Robert Tracy and the file being Robert Tracy.wab?

[Robert Tracy]

Leave the one in C:\Program Files\Outlook Express alone.
If there's a Username.old in the C:\Program Files\Outlook Express folder, delete it.
Just to make sure we're on the same page, the wab you've been renaming is the one at C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book? With the UserName being Robert Tracy and the file being Robert Tracy.wab?

There's only one thing in C:\Documents and Settings\Robert Tracy\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book and it reads
UserName
Address Book File
235 KB

So, I haven't yet deleted Username.old in the C:\Program Files\Outlook Express folder.

Waiting instructions....

By the way, as things stand now, I am able to send to my wife's PC and am able to reply to others' messages. On the latter I ask them to verify that they have received my reply and they are getting them.

The only thing not functioning is the Address Book. Plus I've got this crazy three-column thing in OE that shows this:

Crazy 3-column

Edited by Robert Tracy, 02 September 2008 - 03:38 PM.

[Throoper]

Okay Robert, sorry for the delay in replying but I've been going back over this and I think I see where we went wrong.
In the Program files folder, you renamed the WAB to Username.old and another WAB appeared.
Delete the Username.old. This should leave you with only one Address Book File in the Program folder. Close the Program files folder.

Go to the C:\Documents and Settings\Robert Tracy\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book folder.
Rename the address book file Robert Tracy.wab. Be sure the name matches your username in the address. If there is a space between t and T, be sure to include it.
Open OE, cross your fingers, and see if the address book works.

If it does not, click Start>Run>type wab /a>click OK. Be sure to include the space between the b and the /.

If an address book opens at any point with your contacts in it, click File>Export>Other Address book and follow the Wizard to export it as a CSV file to your desktop. That will give you a backup until we can get this sorted out.

[Robert Tracy]

Will do so after you read my latest post. Looks like it's almost there, my friend.

Robert

[Throoper]

Gotta ask. Did you add the Screenshots to the earlier posts using the Edit? Cause I swear they weren't there the first time I read them.

Oh, the columns aren't a problem. Just click View>Columns and select what columns you want or don't want to show.

[Robert Tracy]

Did I add the Screenshots to the earlier posts using the Edit? Cause I swear they weren't there the first time I read them.

I did use the full edit for the Screenshots.

[Throoper]

Whew!!!! I thought I was going blind or senile that I missed them the first time around. That's still a possibility, but at least not today, then.

Go ahead and try the things I posted to straighten out the WABS. I'm going to grab a bite to eat and will check back shortly.

[Robert Tracy]

OK. This is what I get after following your advise:

Error

We're getting there. I hope you're learning something new from all this as much as you're teaching me!

Much appreciated,

Robert

[Throoper]

Can't find wab. Arrgh!!!

I want to stop a minute and make sure of where things stand.

OE is okay, sends and receives, messages are all there, but no address book (and this includes an empty address book).

In the folder C:\Program Files\Outlook Express, there is a single WAB address book file. The Read only attribute is unchecked. An Address book does not open when the file is double clicked.

In the folder C:\Documents and Settings\Robert Tracy\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book, there is a Robert Tracy.wab Address Book File with the Read only attribute unchecked, also no address book opens when this file is double clicked. There are no other address book files in this folder.

Is all that correct?

[Robert Tracy]

That is all correct.

[Throoper]

At the risk of giving you a horrible sense of Deja-Vu, with OE closed, go into the folder C:\Documents and Settings\Robert Tracy\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book.
At the top of the folder, click Tools>Folder Options>View tab.
Place a check by "Show hidden files and folders".
Uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types" and also "Hide protected operating system files (recommended)".
Click Apply and OK. OK any warning message about doing that.
If anything shows up in the folder besides the Robert Tracy.wab, stop and post a screenshot of it.
If nothing shows up, rename the Robert Tracy.wab to Robert Tracy.old.
You will likely get a warning that changing the extension will render the file unusable. Just OK it and the book icon should change to the generic icon and the file type will say OLD.
If something different occurs, stop, take a picture and post it.
When done, go back into the Folder Options and put the check back on "Hide protected operating system files" and OK.
The other two are up to you if you put them back the way they were.

Open OE. If it opens directly to the Inbox, click the Outlook Express folder at the top of the folder tree on the left to display the Main page.
If it opens to the Main page, go to the Inbox.
Close OE.
In case you're wondering, I'm taking no chances that OE doesn't cycle.
Open OE and check the address book.

[Robert Tracy]

If anything shows up in the folder besides the Robert Tracy.wab, stop and post a screenshot of it.

This looks funny.

So I'll wait for a response.

If this is taking up too much of your time, please let me know and perhaps continue tomorrow?

After going only that far, I can now not access OE at all. I have set everything back, but still not able to open OE.

Edited by Robert Tracy, 02 September 2008 - 06:44 PM.

[Throoper]

Sorry. I got called away for a bit.

Yes, it does look funny. Found one problem. It's got a double extension. It should be just Robert Tracy.wab. Shouldn't matter though. A new one should have been created with the correct name. Try to change the last extension to old. you should get a generic file named Robert Tracy.wab.old.

Now OE doesn't open? Did you change anything other than the Folder Options View settings? Delete or move anything? That should have had no effect at all on OE, it merely changes the way the files are displayed.

We appear to have taken a step backwards. I think maybe we should call it a night. I'll stay on for a bit if you want to change the wab.wab. Otherwise, til tomorrow.

Tom