-- HowTo: Fix Outlook and General Calendar issues

Outlook Calendar sync problems can drive you batty! I've dealt with many of them, mostly in a BES environment, but the solutions should work equally well with BIS as most are not BES specific.

1: Clean up your Outlook Calendar. Many times conflicts in Outlook - email, address book, tasks, or calendar conflicts - disrupt or prevent proper synchronization. The problem is the tools Microsoft provides (ScanOST.exe and ScanPST.exe) don't fix Calendar or Address Book conflicts. The only way to do this effectively is to find them manually.

Calendar Conflicts: There are no default Calendar views that reveal conflicts, so you have to copy it from an existing view.

1. From the Outlook Calendar Menu select View --> Arrange By --> Current View --> Define Views. (Note which view you're currently using so you can go back to it when you're done)
2. Scroll down the list of views, click ONCE on Events and click the [Copy] button. You will be asked for a name for the view, it will default to Copy of Events which we'll change to ALL here - you can name it whatever you want, then click [OK].
3. A Customize View: All window will appear. Click on [Filter] then click the Advanced tab. Click on anything listed in the Field items that match these criteria: window and click the [Remove] button.
4. You can also remove grouping and add/remove fields, just make sure the Icon field is shown and is the first field.
5. Click the [OK] button to dismiss the Customize View: All window, make sure ALL is selected from the Views list and click [Apply View] button.
6. You will now have a list of everything in your Calendar! Scroll through the entire list keeping an eye out for:
   1. Yellow Conflict Icons: These will appear in the left column as either a yellow shield or crossed yellow swords. Double click on the item, and Outlook will tell you there is a conflict between two entries and ask which one to keep. Usually just keep the latest item or open them and decide which one to keep.
   2. Non Calendar Items (also usually yellow): These are things that probably got dragged and dropped into the calendar accidentally - like an email or a task or a contact (not yellow). Move the item OUT of the Calendar!
7. Once you've removed all Conflicts and Non-Calendar items, go back to your original view.

Address Book Conflicts:

1. Go to your Contacts. For some reason Contacts conflicts can cause sync issues elsewhere!
2. From the Contacts Menu select View --> Arrange By --> Current View --> (note which view you're using now) and select Phone List (this has always been a default view in Outlook - no customization needed).
3. Again, scroll through the list watching for Conflicts (see item 6.1 above) non Address Book items as in item 6.2 above except look for non Address Book items. Resolve the conflicts, and move the non Address Book items out!

2: Corrupt Service Books (BES Only). You'll need either a computer with Desktop Manager installed and properly set up for operation with your Exchange and BIS servers. If this is not possible, you'll have to ask your BES Admin to resend them.

1. From your BlackBerry's Main screen, select (Settings/Tools -->) Options --> Advanced Options --> Service Books.
2. Scroll through the list of service books, and on each item that begins with Desktop[, Click the Wheel/Menu button and select Delete.
3. Once you have deleted ALL Desktop[...] Service Books, either connect to your properly configured Desktop Manager (better), or request a resend of your Service Books from your BES Administrator. If you use Desktop Manager, you'll see some activity when you plug in your device, and once it says Connected and does NOT say Working for more than 10 seconds, you will have your Desktop Service Books back.

3: Appointments are off by 1 hour (not really an Outlook issue, but...). This is known as the DST 2007 issue! The start and end dates for Daylight Savings time were changed by a few weeks in 2007 for some reason that fails to make any sense to anyone except those that haven't got a clue or stand to profit from upgrades required to work with the new dates (good work George!). At issue here are the host OS, the version of Desktop Manager, and the model and version of BlackBerry OS! HOWEVER, you will only see this problem during the period between the old and new dates!

• The old DST dates were the first Sunday in April and the Last Sunday in October.
• The NEW DST Dates are the Second Sunday in March and the First Sunday in November.
• The problem occurs between the
  • The Second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in April, and
  • The Last Sunday in October and the First Sunday in November.

1. Computer OS: Make sure that whatever version of OS you use, you have applied the required patch to make the OS DST 2006 compliant! Note that this update has been updated at least once, and the latest version was released 8/29/07!
2. Desktop Manager: Only version 4.2 and later of Desktop Manager is DST 2006 compliant. If you're running earlier versions, make sure that you have unchecked the option to synchronize your BlackBerry's Time on both the Synchronization setting as well as the Automatic setting!
3. BlackBerry OS: In late 2006 a slew of OS's were released to accommodate DST 2007. However, a patch is available for most devices running older versions of the OS. Simply point your BlackBerry Browser to: http://www.blackberry.com/dst2007. Note that the page takes a long time to load - be patient. The 8800 and later devices (8300, 8830, 8820, whatever comes next!) do not need this patch.
4. Outlook: Does NOT need to be patched! It uses the System time.

4: Calendar reminders not occurring: This is a known issue with devices running OS version 4.2.2. Go here for the patch.


This is a work in progress, and your feedback is welcome.
(Note to Admins - please do NOT sticky this yet so I can continue to edit it!)