devices not syncing calendar (etc) data reliably, any ideas?

On Mar 25, 2008, at 04:59 AM, Chris Devers wrote:
> I've tried everything up to the ".Mac nuclear reset" [1] ... I've
> tried working through Apple's official sync troubleshooter [2] but
> it isn't getting me anywhere either.


I took a look at the links you posted and I didn't see this mentioned:

   <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301217>

1. Open the iSync application.
2. Choose iSync > Preferences.
3. Click "Reset Sync History...".
4. Confirm the reset by clicking "Reset Sync History".

This cleared up a problem I was having, where iCal and iPhone
calendars weren't picking up new events or changes. There were
messages in the Console each time I tried to sync indicating some sort
of problem with the data, and reseting the sync history cleared them up.

--
Chris Page - Software Wrangler

  That’s “Chris” with a silent *and* invisible “3”.

To try to solve my problem syncing contacts, Apple told me to unregister all of the devices, delete the files when prompted, restart, stop synchronization from within .mac's address book, restart synchronization from within .mac's address book, then use this command in Terminal:

/System/Library/Frameworks/SyncServices.framework/Versions/A/Resources/resetsync.pl full

l did all of that several times and threw in several extra restarts but my contacts are still unable to sync. Along the way Apple asked me to send them the file and found nothing wrong with it. The only devices I'm syncing are computers running 10.5.2. Synchronization started to fail with one computer then a second caught the bug.

On Mar 31, 2008, at 6:16 AM, Chris Page wrote:
> On Mar 25, 2008, at 04:59 AM, Chris Devers wrote:
>> I've tried everything up to the ".Mac nuclear reset" [1] ... I've
>> tried working through Apple's official sync troubleshooter [2] but
>> it isn't getting me anywhere either.
>
> I took a look at the links you posted and I didn't see this mentioned:
>
> <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301217>
>
> 1. Open the iSync application.
> 2. Choose iSync > Preferences.
> 3. Click "Reset Sync History...".
> 4. Confirm the reset by clicking "Reset Sync History".

Yeah, that was only helping temporarily for me.

The typical flow goes something like:

   * iCal on laptop & desktop getting out of step, and sync isn't
working, so fix by hand:
     * export each calendar to .ics on one computer, say the laptop
     * copy the .ics files to the desktop
     * import each .ics file to the corresponding calendar, merging
the data
   * have the desktop Reset Sync History, overwriting .Mac data
     * first sync runs may time out, so keep trying until it finishes
   * have the laptop run another sync to merge back in the changes

Frequently, at the last step I'll get an error to the effect of
"calendar data is inconsistent with .Mac, back everything up, then
reset sync history on .Mac" which would put me back to where I started.

The more [semi-] permanent fix for me is the one mentioned here:

http://www.43folders.com/2008/02/26/nuclear-reset-mac-syncing#comment-337245

     I understand that resetting Sync History still has not resolved
     the issue. I would like to suggest an additional task.

     Because of the potential for data duplication or data loss, I
     suggest that you first back up your bookmarks, address book,
     calendars, and keychain data. For more information, please see
     the following article:

     Mac OS X: How to back up and restore your files
     http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n106941

       * REMOVE THE SYNC SERVICES FOLDER
       * In the Finder, choose Utilities from the Go menu. After
        the Utilities folder opens, double-click the application
        “Terminal.”
       * In the Terminal window that opens, type (or copy and paste)
         the following command:
             killall SyncServer syncuid SystemUIServer
       * Press the Enter key on your keyboard. Your menu bar (where
         the clock is located) may flash.
       * Choose Quit Terminal from the Terminal menu.
       * In Finder, Choose Home from the Go menu. In the new window,
        open the Library folder, then open the Application Support
        folder.
       * Click once to select the SyncServices folder and choose
        Create Archive of “SyncServices” from the File menu. This
        will create a file named SyncServices.zip. Move the
        SyncServices.zip file to the desktop.
       * Move the SyncServices folder to the Trash, then empty the
         Trash by choosing Empty Trash from the Finder menu.
       * Restart the computer.
       * After your computer starts up, attempt to sync with .Mac
         again.

     If you are syncing any devices, you will now need to add any
     new data from the device that is not on the computer. Then do
     a sync with the device, choosing “Erase data on device then
     sync.”

     Sincerely,
     Mike .Mac Support

This seems to work more effectively for me, but I find that I'm still
finding that I have to run it once a month or so, as things keep
falling out of step and gradually stop syncing.


--
Chris Devers

I've tried all of that a number of times to no avail and now a third computer has stopped syncing contacts. Garrumph!

Apple identified the problem--sort of. Turns out that Apple's syncing code had created some duplicate entries and had become confused by them. Removing them solved the problem, at least for now. Apple recommended checking for duplicates "periodically." Card menu > Look for Duplicate Entries.

Apple also added this boilerplate:

Below are some guidelines for maintaining a "healthy" Address Book and providing the best Address Book performance among a variety of applications, such as .Mac Sync, iSync, iTunes, iChat, and Mail for Mac OS X.

1. Removing duplicate entries is especially important, as duplicate records can cause issues with Address Book. Consolidate duplicates as described in the following article:

Address Book 4.0 Help: Combining duplicate cards and information http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=AddressBook/4.0/en/ad960.html

2. Make sure you have a "Me" card. The "Me" card should be the same card on all computers you choose to sync. For more information about defining your "Me" card, please see the following article:

Address Book 4.0 Help: Setting up your contact information http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=AddressBook/4.0/en/ad955.html

If you select your card and see that the Make This My Card option in the Card menu is grayed out, it means that you've already chosen that card as your "Me" card.

3. Edit the cards so that information appears in the proper fields, such as making sure the personal phone number is in the home phone field and the business phone number is in the work phone field.

By managing your Address Book correctly and keeping the data up to date, you'll benefit not only Address Book but also other applications that use Address Book data, such as .Mac Sync and iChat, which detects AIM addresses in the chat field. Keep in mind that the .Mac Address Book online at http://addressbook.mac.com will not display the data you have in your Notes field, and will display data only in the following fields:

- One home phone number - One work phone number - One mobile phone number - One home email address - One work email address - One home address - One work address

On 4-Apr-08, at 11:08 , Charles Maurer wrote:

1. Removing duplicate entries is especially important, as duplicate records can cause issues with Address Book. Consolidate duplicates as described in the following article:

Just because I have two cards with the same name does not mean they are the same person!

There should be a way for me to see them before merging them.