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Outlook Contacts disappeared

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by lmayeda 2 views

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One of my XP (Office 2003) users returned from vacation and found on the day after his return that his contacts had disappeared. In its place were some folder names that looked somewhat familiar but did not belong to him. His email is intact and I could locate his OUTLOOK.PST file. On the day of his return, he did a synchronize with his palm pilot. When we attempted to do a second synchronize, we encountered an error on OUTLOOK which indicated the possible presence of a virus and recommend to NOT continue. Any suggestions re: how to proceed? Thanks in advance.

5 replies

by tksolway

Definatley scan it for viruses. If you have a backup of his PST files somewhere then you'll be ok. I don't know of a popular virus that can damage a PST file directly so you can copy it off of the machine if you have too. If the scan won't get you anywhere you should probably format. then you can import his data from the PST file (or syncronize from the Palm). If it doesn't actually have a virus, try removing the Outlook service and re-installing it. If it is an Exchnage account it should just show up, otherwise you will have to import from his PST again.

by lmayeda

Thanks for the reponses. I finally found the "lost" contacts. What must have happened is that my user must have accidentally "moved" all contacts into the DELETED Mail folder. So, it was not a virus, although it didn't hurt his computer to get a full (clean) scan.

by zlitocook

What type of Palm pilot and did it lose it charge compleatly while he was on vacation? You can wipe the Palm and reinstall the O/S for it, then re sync it with the computer. Is the contacks ok in Outlook? If so he only lost the ones he added while on vacation. Check Palm's website for the newest software and patches. I have heard of a virus that infects Palms but I do not think it's anything to worry about yet.

by lmayeda

The Palm pilot did not lose charge. When we tried to resync it, we encountered an error message during the OUTLOOK portion. I have not yet had time determine if apples (contacts) in the orange (Deleted email) folder can be changed back to apples again by moving it back to Contacts. Thanks for your help!

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