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Outlook Contacts missing in Adressbook but appearing by "self-completing" in "to:"

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  • #1

    Outlook Contacts missing in Adressbook but appearing by "self-completing" in "to:"

    Hi everyone,

    I have a strange situation with my Outlook 2002 running on Windows XP (Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600, so it says). My Laptop at work had a virus and I had to reinstall the whole system from scratch. I backed up the .pst files, but I didn't save the Address book entries, so I assumed I had lost all my contacts. After reinstalling Outlook I found an empty Adress Book indeed, logically. The strange thing is, when I compose an email and start writing an adress in the fields "to:/cc:/bcc:", the program either completes the address, or gives me the option to pick up one of the many contacts I had fiting in the piece of name I typed. So somehow Outlook seems to "remember" my contacts, though I only copied from the backup .pst files. I don't have the contact files to recover them and put them in an Adress Book, but, if Outlook seems to still remember them all, is there a way to "fish the contacts out of Outlook's memory" and add them to the adress book? One by one is no option, I had several hundreds of contacts :-S

    If anyone has any idea of where these "memories" are and more pragmatically, how to get them to Contact-Entries, I would be more than happy and gratefull to hear about it!

    Vero
    Tags: address book, contacts, outlook, windows xp
  • #2
    Re: Outlook Contacts missing in Adressbook but appearing by "self-completing" in "to:

    The address book and the auto complete as you type are not related at all. You are lucky that you have those, but what is especially odd is that if you backed up your emails (and can see those) you surely have all your contacts.
    You may have to hunt for them, or correctly open the Outlook data file (the .PST).

    Post back if you need more guidance.
    "...if I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I've said” - Alan Greenspan

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    • #3
      Re: Outlook Contacts missing in Adressbook but appearing by "self-completing" in "to:

      The quick complete addresses are in an NK2 file. Only thing I can think of is that somehow it rebuilt an NK2 file from addresses from emails in the PST.
      ** Remember to give credit where credit is due and leave reputation points where appropriate **

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      • #4
        Re: Outlook Contacts missing in Adressbook but appearing by "self-completing" in "to:

        Just found this little gem that will do exactly what you are looking for, except that I am not convinced that your contacts are lost in the first place.

        Just to be clear the Auto Complete is just a cache.....a volatile one too.

        Are you part of a domain? roaming profiles? the NK2 could have come back from there...


        Backup the .nk2 file FIRST
        Last edited by Lior_S; 4th December 2008, 18:33.
        "...if I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I've said” - Alan Greenspan

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        • #5
          Re: Outlook Contacts missing in Adressbook but appearing by "self-completing" in "to:

          Uninstalling and reinstalling Outlook would not have deleted the NK2 file. So when you set up a new Outlook profile (assuming you gave the profile the same name as the old one) the old NK2 file was there and that's what Outlook is using. Again, the NK2 file and the contacts are two different things.

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          • #6
            Re: Outlook Contacts missing in Adressbook but appearing by "self-completing" in "to:

            Originally posted by joeqwerty View Post
            Uninstalling and reinstalling Outlook would not have deleted the NK2 file. So when you set up a new Outlook profile (assuming you gave the profile the same name as the old one) the old NK2 file was there and that's what Outlook is using. Again, the NK2 file and the contacts are two different things.
            He did say "...and I had to reinstall the whole system from scratch...", however you are still correct in general. I guess the OP needs to shed some more light.

            We need a smiley that says "MORE INFO PLEASE"
            "...if I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I've said” - Alan Greenspan

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            • #7
              Re: Outlook Contacts missing in Adressbook but appearing by "self-completing" in "to:

              Hi everyone

              thanks a lot for your help!!!
              I tried the "gem" Lior_s told about, thanks really, you saved me
              This little tool picked up all the addresses from the nk2 and so I could save them as a tab separated file to import in Outlook. So now I have all email addresses again
              From what I've seen among the addresses I had, they are indeed taken to the nk2 from the "to:/cc:/etc" fields in the emails, which I did back up an re insert in Outlook. I now have adresses to which I wrote but didn't have in the old list of contacts, for instance. And of course entries like post address or so are not there, because the nk2 is for the emails. But I have the email-addresses again, which is the most important!

              So, thanks a lot again, veeeeeery much!!

              Vero

              He did say "...and I had to reinstall the whole system from scratch...", however you are still correct in general. I guess the OP needs to shed some more light.
              PS: I am a she, by the way

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