OE backup via WAB didn't work ?

This is my first post on this forum so please let me know if I do something wrong. Does the forum allow pictures/screen shots to better illustrate a problem and if so how?

My problem occurred during my last "˜My Documents’ backup to disk a monthly maintenance routine. It only happened to Outlook Express Address Book, everything else works OK

Normally To back up the Address Book I prepare a folder in My Documents named Address Book Backup and a date. Than
go to OE, click on Address Book in top tool bar to bring up Address Book "“ Main Identity lists then File > Export > "˜Address Book (WAB)’ and put it in that folder. This always works.
Dumb thing today , I clicked "˜Other Address Book’ instead of the WAB method then chose "˜Microsoft Exchange Personal Address Book’ and nothing seemed to happen. Then I backed up My Documents files to CD’s as a normal process like always before and My Address Book was part of the back up. After completing the back up I checked the CD’s and the Address book folder was there but when I tried to open it it was empty
I ejected the CD then went to My Documents in the computer and opened the folder that I thought would have the Addresses in and it was also empty. Redid the Address Book back up this time using the Export > "˜Address Book (WAB)’ method and the files are in the My Documents folder on (C drive. Redid the backup and when I try to open the Address Book folder on the back up disk to check if it is what I expected and I get "The address book file has been locked by another application. . . . .etcâ€. A screen shot picture would help here. I can’t open it after many tries. I can copy it off of (C drive to a floppy and it reads OK .

How can I stop the popup so I can read the files from the back up disk to make sure it is correct and I can depend on it again ???

Thanks. . .Brownie

Computer information. . .
Computer Manufacturer: DELL
Computer Model: 4300
Operating System: XP-Home, version 5.1, SP1
CPU: Intel Pentium 1.7GHz
Hard drive size: 37.2 GB
Amount of memory installed: 256MB Ram
Sound card: Creative SB Live
Video adapter: NVIDIA GeForce 3
OE 6.0, IE 6.0
Spybot 1.3, Ad-aware 6.0
Irfanview 3.9
Plextor CD-RW PXW2410A
Norton SystemWorks 2004, Firewall and GoBack

 

As long as the *wab file has the read only attribute, such as it will have while on a cd, you will not be able to open it without getting that error. You need to copy it off the cd to a folder "name of choice" or a floppy, make sure it does not retain the read attirbute and then try to open it.

 

brownie--If nothing else has worked, do you have a username.wa~ file? That is the backup for the Address Book. Perhaps it survived. Try renaming it to username.wab, and if it is in the usual directory for the Address Book, you may have your Address Book back.

 

Thanks Ann & Pete for your responses. I didn’t intend for the smilies in my post, I see they are turned on and I hit the wrong key.
<<I suggest you move the location of where OE stores the Address Book to My Documents - think that location is possible although I have moved mine to a Data drive for easy backup. This will save you the trouble of exporting the Address Book every time you back up.
Move the WAB >>

Pete, I am relatively new to computers and will think about this suggestion for a while, sounds good but I don’t like messing with the registry, will call on my son for help with this one. May be a while.

Ann. . .
<<As long as the *wab file has the read only attribute, such as it will have while on a cd, you will not be able to open it without getting that error. You need to copy it off the cd to a folder "name of choice" or a floppy, make sure it does not retain the read attribute and then try to open it.>>
Have done your suggestion several ways. Made new copy of My Address Book using *wab, went to Properties and made sure Read Only was not checked, burned to new CD, tried to read it and got the popup again. I can still open it in C My Documents but not the burned disk. Created a new folder. copied there, same reaction, sent it to a floppy from the burned CD and also from C and I can open both. Sent the Floppy to a new folder in C, Read only unchecked, can read in C, burned that folder to new CD, can’t open it. I still have access to the Address Book via the floppy but this is kind of a hind side way to get it.

I also need to get acquainted with the Quote button.

 

Brownie--.wab or .wa~ files are read with wab.exe. Maybe the association has been lost. Unless .wab files are really different when read from a CD, you could right click|Open With|the "Recommended" program should show "Address Book "|highlight|click the box at the bottom "Always use the selected program..." and click OK. If you do not find Address Book in the list, do a find on wab.exe just to be sure you have it and where it is. If you do have it, then in the Open With window, click Browse, navigate to wab.exe and set the association.

 

PeteC--Interesting. What happens when you left click on the .wab file on the CD?

 

I didn't realize he/she had been previously been able to open it while it was on the cdrom. Hmmmm....Perhaps if it is or was a read/write cd, do these always leave a file in the read only state? Maybe the wab was exported as csv (csf??? {whatever]) file before hand???? I only know a .wab located anywhere be it rom drive harddrive or floppy that has a read only attribute will not open without this error. Change the attribute and it opens without the error.

 

Thanks for all your suggestions, I am getting overwhelmed but that is OK. I will digest this stuff and also get the son here to sort this out. I have mailed him all the suggestions.
Search Results:
(logo)WAB.EXE C:\Program Files\OE 42KB Application
(logo)WAB.EXE-05B077B3.pf C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch 24KB PF File
(logo)WAB.EXE-2F9806A5.pf C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch 25KB PF File
(logo)wab.exe 45KB Application

Jim, the address book is at the top of the list, opening it gets the popup just like Pete’s attachment so he can duplicate it.

Pete, my list is not a signature, haven’t done one yet but I will put the information on a continuous line, thanks for info. I do all of this in MS Word then copy paste into my posts, get a spell check that way. I can find all the search result in the tree in C drive. Opening the first entry in the search results drives the hard drive bonkers, sounds like a tractor.

Ann. . .I am of the male gender, not a problem, my front name would have been worse. I use CD-RW’s. When you say "Change the attribute and it open without the error." Is this via unchecking the Read Only box.
Thanks again, don’t intend to wear out my welcome on the first post.

 

What you're seeing is all perfectly normal. As Pete mentioned earlier, the files will always have the read only attribute when written to a cd unless you use some sort of packet writing software. OE can't use the file with the read only attribute set so it has to first be removed. If you previously were able to open the file on the cd but can't now, perhaps this sentence would explain it.

If you used the packet writing format option in the past, you'd have been able to open the file on the cd. This is because when you format the cd this way, you write to it in the same way you would if you were writing to a floppy or your hard drive. Once you've copied the file to the cd, you can still open it just as if it were on your hard drive and make any changes to it you want. The read only attribute won't be set if you use packet writing software. If you aren't using it now, you won't be able to open it on the cd. As mentioned earlier, you have to first copy it back to the hard drive and then remove the read only attribute before you can use it.

 

PeteC--The thumbnail shows what application I use to open .wab (and .wa~) files. I just click on the .wab file and it opens.

 

Thanks All. . .
Zander, If I used the "˜packet writing format’ option in the past it must have been by luck because I don’t remember it (senior brain disconnect) or how I may have done it. Can you send me to a link that would explain what this is.
Jim, Your thumbnails are great "˜Edit File Type’ and "˜Editing action for file type: Address Book File’. Is this from your software or might my ROXIO also have it, I have not seen these screens. XP Home.
I have beaten this horse to death and you have all been very patient and helpful. I would appreciate the little last bit of information and then consider this string closed, hope others that have been reading this also learned something.

Brownie.

 

I can't resist
First Pete C, I don't think I'll jump into the middle of your link immediately
http://www.windowsbbs.com/links.php
I formated a disk using ROXIO's directCD option then I can drag/drop files from Windows Explorer directly onto the CD icon. AND I CAN READ DIRECTLY FROM THE CD. I copied this from their Help menu.

" "DirectCD prepares a CD-Recordable (CD-R), CD-ReWritable (CD-RW), or DVD-Recordable disc so you can directly copy files to it in much the same way that you copy files to a floppy disk or removable drive. You can then use Windows Explorer, or any other program that can read from and write to a drive letter, to copy files to a CD. You can also recover files from and repair damaged CDs." "
I am now going to relax !!!

 

FWIW, Roxio's DirectCD is an example of what we're talking about when we say "packet writing ". You had said previously that you had tried formatting CDs in the past but didn't find much use for it. That's why I mentioned the packet writing thing. The only way to format a cd with Roxio software would be to use DirectCD, which brings us back to packet writing.

Anyway, glad to hear you've got it sorted out.