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22 Comments

BlackBerry and SideKick Intellisync Issues

This is hopefully the last in my series of “trying to buy a new mobile phone.” Recently, I had tremendous difficulty in trying to sync my Outlook 2003 both with my BlackBerry 7100t and then my new SideKick II using the Intellisync software that comes bundled with both devices (though under different names, both are Intellisync). I’m posting my solution here to helpfully help anyone else who has this problem and goes searching for a solution. I figured my blog was as good a place as any to post this as I searched so many different forums, I’m not sure where to return to at this point!

I searched far and wide for a solution to the following error when I tried to setup the initial configuration for sync:

“The file for database name associated with MS Outlook is missing, invalid or points to a file of zero length.” In addition, when I tried to click on the browse button, nothing happened.

Since my BlackBerry worked fine with the sync on Outlook 2000, I knew it has to be an issue with my new laptop and the fact that I upgraded to Outlook 2003. I tried numerous fixes per various suggestions on different forums including re-installation of Intellisync, reinstall as well as repair of Outlook, and delete and reinstall of newer versions of the mapi32.dll all to no avail. Finally, I read somewhere that there could potentially be an issue with Outlook 2003’s version of the PST files and Intellisync. Although if this were true there would be many more people having this issue, I nevertheless decided to start experimenting down this path – create a .pst in an old Outlook format and copy my data over to this new pst file. Before I was able to start that nightmare, I decided to create a new Outlook profile (via Control Panel, Mail) and see what that may do to the situation.

So I created a new profile and added a dummy pst file in the old Outlook format. I then went back into Intellisync and presto, the ORIGINAL profile started working. I didn’t make any other change (such as switching profiles or moving data), but for whatever reason, Intellisync now reads my data.

I’m not sure of the exact reasons why this worked and to be honest at this point I don’t care! Hopefully, this can help someone in the same situation.

About Me

Tom Markiewicz
Tom Markiewicz

Tom currently works in developer relations for IBM Watson. A serial entrepreneur, he's been the founder of numerous startups including Investify and StatsMix, a Techstars alumni company. Tom lives outside Boulder, Colorado and in his free time he's an avid rock climber, skier, and trail runner.

22 Comments

  1. I’m having the exact same problem. Trying to Map Intellisync to Outlook, says it can’t find the file, but won’t let me browse or input any filename. I hit Browse, and it does nothing. I tried your solution. No such luck as you had. If you have any other ideas, please let me know!

  2. I am having the same problem. I still have to try creating the new profile. Any other suggestions

  4. Hi. I just found a solution for this problem. I started Mailconfiguration in system settings, added a new profile named “test”, inserted my MSO2003-pst-file as a “outlook 97-2002”-file.
    Then I started the BB Desktop Manager, choosing “Intellisync”. In “Configure PIM” I clicked on “Choose”, there “MS Outlook”. In Options I was able to pick “test”. Now my original pst-file was chosen (You browse for different pst-files if you connected more than one in email-settings) and the sync worked perfectly.

    Thank you for your kind help, Tom!

    Regards,
    Markus

  5. Yes, thanks, it worked great, create new profile. I also had something that had somewhat hosed my Outlook installation, so I had to do a detect and repair as well.

  7. I would just like to add that with the Inteli sync in general if you try and browse the folders someone has set up in outlook and you’re using an exchange server, and that person has added other mailboxes for other users but who were then removed from the exchange server (no longer open in outlook) then the browse button to select the source in the PIM config wont work, it stays grey, doesn’t click and wont open the browser.

    Hope that helps someone, it took me about 2 hours today to work that one out.

  8. I had this problem and tried creating the second profile. That didn’t help. I found that Office Outlook Small Business contact manager was also installed. I uninstalled it and the Sync began to work.

  9. Yes, creating a new User Profile via the Mail function in Control Panel works like a charm. IntelliSync works like a dream after that. Thanks for the tips!

  10. Hi. I was having the exact same problem also “â??The file for database name associated with MS Outlook is missing, invalid or points to a file of zero length.â? In when I tried to click on the browse button, nothing happened.

    The company I used to work for I had a BB 7290 and it made me quite an addict for organization that I decided to get my own BB 8700r. After having it for 2 days only I was very annoyed with not being able to sync everything.

    Just to mention, I’m running Windows XP, along with Outlook 2007 Professional. Sorry to ramble on. After spending a day online trying to get this resolved I ran into this blog through Google. Before trying Tom’s suggestion, I saw another post in a Blackberry forum stating the release of BB Desktop Software v4.2. I was using v4.1.0 while experiencing the syncing problems. So I downloaded and installed and PRESTO, all my troubles have disappeared and I’m able to sync, contacts, memos, notes, calendar and tasks!!! Yeah, what a feeling! This new version will also update your BB Device Manager to v4.2.1.9. It comes with a Media Manager as well but my BB 8700r does not support transferring media files. It also has a switch device wizard that allows you to switch from another device to BlackBerry or between Blackberry devices. Here is the link to upgrade your BB Desktop Software to v4.2.1.8 https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=A8BAA56554F96369AB93E4F3BB068C22 (choose v4.2 Service Pack 1) since this is what worked for me. I hope this will help you and anyone else that stops by. Take Care ^_^

  11. Dear all. I was having the exact same problem also â??The file for database name associated with MS Outlook is missing, invalid or points to a file of zero length.â? In when I tried to click on the browse button, nothing happened. Addresser was successfully synchronized but the calendar not.

    I had installed BlackBerry desktop software 4.1. Then I downloaded new version 4.2 SP1 and immediately after installation of the new version the synchronization was accomplished successfully also for the calendar.

    /

    Tudi jam sem imel enako tezavo pri sinhronizaciji BlackBerryija in Outlooka se mi je adresar sinhroniziral calender pa ne in mi je javilo napako: also â??The file for database name associated with MS Outlook is missing, invalid or points to a file of zero length.â? Imel sem instalirano verzijo BlackBerry desktop 4.1, potem pa sem instaliral 4.2 SP1. Takoj po instalaciji nove verzije mi ni več javljalo napake in tudi sinhzonizacija za calendar je bila uspeÅ¡na.

    Regards
    Bojan Sobocan from sLOVEnija

  12. I had been fighting this same problem (except I’m not using PST files — everything is stored on the Exchange server). The problem I had was that when I would go into Configure PIM, the first App that I would try to configure to sync with Outlook (it did not matter which one I chose first) it would sync fine with no problem. Afterwards I could not configure any others without getting the error message above (The file for database name associated with MS Outlook is missing…).

    I found this page and was in the process of downloading 4.2SP1 in hopes that it too would resolve my problem. While it was downloading, I decided to try something different. I opened up the Desktop Manager, went to “Configure PIM”, chose “Address Book”, configured it to sync with Outlook, and then closed Desktop Manager all the way down. I reopened it, went back to “Configure PIM” and then chose the “Calendar”, synced it with Outlook, closed Desktop Manager down, and so on. This worked beautifully. I still don’t know why this resolved the issue, but it did. Maybe it will help others too.

  14. All I Had To Do Was Set Up At Least One Entry In Order For THe Software to find the missing or deleted files….. wow…. what a pain in the arse

  15. Thank you Tom for posting this suggestion, it worked for me as well. I was receiving the error “The file for database name associated with MS Outlook is missing, invalid or points to a file of zero length” when trying to sync via Intellisync Lite and Outlook for my BB 7250. All I did was go into Control Panel and Mail and setup a new Profile, subsequently deleted it, then went back to Intellisync and amazingly it started allowing me to browse and select Outlook stuff to sync. Many thanks again, JD

  17. I Had Installed IntelliSync on Server and i am able to recieve and send mails on both direction with GroupWise 7.0
    But Now as Intellisync does not support many other devices i am trying to installed Blackberry server on the Same Server Were Intellisync is Installed.
    I am Afraid whether this may cause problem with my existing setup.Please Suggest me Some

  18. Everyone – thank you. I was going bananas trying to sort out this issue, and of course the Blackberry site was no help. I must have installed and uninstalled Desktop Manager 4.1 about ten times, and it even started talking to me in Turkish (go figure). So…. I did what Cindy suggested and downloaded 4.2SP1 and works like a charm. (For those interested, I am running Windows XP and Outlook 2007).

  19. Thanks for these posts…they gave me an idea to try and all I had to do was create a 97-2003 pst file in Outlook 2007, run sync in compatibility mode for XP/sp2 (right click desktop icon, go to properties, select compatibility tab) and sync worked great for me.

  20. I was successful in getting the BlackBerry 7100 (7100t) to synchronize with Outlook 2007 running Windows XP and wanted to share my experience. Thanks, I was only successful due to the information available in this thread!

    When I was running Office 2000, the synchronization was working fine. When I upgraded to Office 2007 and thus Outlook 2007, the sync stopped working. The log file had an error message in it #4198. When trying to upgrade the synchronization settings using the Desktop Manager, I got an error message â??The file or database name associated with Microsoft Outlook is missing, invalid or points to a file of zero length.â?

    At first I wasnâ??t too concerned. I downloaded the most recent supported Desktop Manager and device software from the T-Mobile support web site http://www.t-mobile.com/bbupgrade/ This was Desktop Manager 4.0.1.9 and Device Software 4.1.0.377. Synchronization still didnâ??t work.
    I did some Internet searches based on the error messages I had seen, and found this thread (among others). I tried resetting my synchronization settings to â??Noneâ? (as recommended in RIM knowledgebase article KB-01808), but this did not work. I tried creating a new Outlook profile, which made some progress but still didnâ??t work. I also tried deleting the old Intellisync synchronization profile that was stored for my device â?? in my Windows XP install those files were in C:Documents and SettingsUsernameApplication DataResearch in MotionBlackBerryIntellisync. I just stopped the Desktop Manager and renamed the Intellisync directory. Still didnâ??t work. I also tried creating a new Outlook PST file with the new Outlook 2007 format, which appeared to make some progress but didnâ??t work completely. I could get the calendar to sync once, or the contacts to sync once, but not both and not consistently.

    This thread directed me to software updates available from the BlackBerry support web site at http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/desktop/ . At this point the problem began to become more clear. Desktop Manager 4.0 and 4.1 do not support Outlook 2007. Desktop Manager 4.2 SP1 does show support for Outlook 2007. However, Desktop Manager 4.2 SP1 is not officially supported by T-Mobile, so install it at your own risk. BlackBerry documentation does show that Desktop Manager 4.2 SP1 supports the 7100 Series.

    BlackBerry Support says to â??Check with your service provider for the software version you should use with your BlackBerry device,â? so I didnâ??t change my device software beyond the latest recommended by T-Mobile (4.1.0.377).

    I did download and install Desktop Manager 4.2 SP1, and it appears to work fine. Calendar, Contacts and Notes appear to be syncâ??ing fine now and I have no problems. I did try making some test changes in both the handheld and Outlook address book and calendar, just to verify the two-way syncâ??ing is working.

    Good luck all, hope this is helpful to you.

  21. I was successful in getting the BlackBerry 7100 (7100t) to synchronize with Outlook 2007 running Windows XP and wanted to share my experience. Thanks, I was only successful due to the information available in this thread!

    When I was running Office 2000, the synchronization was working fine. When I upgraded to Office 2007 and thus Outlook 2007, the sync stopped working. The log file had an error message in it #4198. When trying to upgrade the synchronization settings using the Desktop Manager, I got an error message â??The file or database name associated with Microsoft Outlook is missing, invalid or points to a file of zero length.â?

    At first I wasnâ??t too concerned. I downloaded the most recent supported Desktop Manager and device software from the T-Mobile support web site http://www.t-mobile.com/bbupgrade/ This was Desktop Manager 4.0.1.9 and Device Software 4.1.0.377. Synchronization still didnâ??t work.
    I did some Internet searches based on the error messages I had seen, and found this thread (among others). I tried resetting my synchronization settings to â??Noneâ? (as recommended in RIM knowledgebase article KB-01808), but this did not work. I tried creating a new Outlook profile, which made some progress but still didnâ??t work. I also tried deleting the old Intellisync synchronization profile that was stored for my device â?? in my Windows XP install those files were in C:Documents and SettingsUsernameApplication DataResearch in MotionBlackBerryIntellisync. I just stopped the Desktop Manager and renamed the Intellisync directory. Still didnâ??t work. I also tried creating a new Outlook PST file with the new Outlook 2007 format, which appeared to make some progress but didnâ??t work completely. I could get the calendar to sync once, or the contacts to sync once, but not both and not consistently.

    This thread directed me to software updates available from the BlackBerry support web site at http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/desktop/ . At this point the problem began to become more clear. Desktop Manager 4.0 and 4.1 do not support Outlook 2007. Desktop Manager 4.2 SP1 does show support for Outlook 2007. However, Desktop Manager 4.2 SP1 is not officially supported by T-Mobile, so install it at your own risk. BlackBerry documentation does show that Desktop Manager 4.2 SP1 supports the 7100 Series.

    BlackBerry Support says to â??Check with your service provider for the software version you should use with your BlackBerry device,â? so I didnâ??t change my device software beyond the latest recommended by T-Mobile (4.1.0.377).

    I did download and install Desktop Manager 4.2 SP1, and it appears to work fine. Calendar, Contacts and Notes appear to be syncâ??ing fine now and I have no problems. I did try making some test changes in both the handheld and Outlook address book and calendar, just to verify the two-way syncâ??ing is working.

    Good luck all, hope this is helpful to you.

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