Microsoft: Outlook for Mac Sync Services Problem

If you have encountered Sync Services problem in Outlook for Mac, you might want to try the steps below to solve the problem:

Step 1: Turn off Sync Services in Preferences
1. Open Outlook. If Outlook 2011 does not start, go to "Step 2: Quit Outlook and all other applications."
2. On the Outlook menu, click Preferences.
3. Under Other, click Sync Services.
4. Clear all check boxes, and then close the window.
If the error continues to occur, go to the next step.

Step 2: Quit Outlook and all other applications
To quit active applications, follow these steps:
1. On the Apple menu, click Force Quit.
2. Select an application in the "Force Quit Applications" window.
Note: You cannot quit Finder.
3. Click Force Quit.

4. Repeat the previous steps until you quit all active applications.
Note: When an application is force quit, any unsaved changes to open documents are not saved.
Go to the next step to back up Outlook identities.

Step 3: Back up Outlook identities
You will have to back up Outlook identities before you continue with the remaining steps in this article. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Quit all applications.
2. On the Go menu, click Home.
3. Click Documents, and then open Microsoft User Data.
4. Press the Control key, and then click Office 2011 Identities.
5. Select Copy "Office 2011 Identities."
6. Close all windows.
7. Point to an empty section of your desktop, press the Control key, and then click Paste Item.
Outlook identities is now backed up. Go to the next step to reset Microsoft Sync Services.

Step 4: Reset Microsoft Sync Services
Reset Microsoft Sync Services, and then sync iCal and Address Book with Outlook 2011. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Quit all applications.
2. On the Go menu, click Home.
3. Open Library.
Note: The Library folder is hidden in some versions of Mac OS X. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
4. Open Preferences. Drag the following files to the Trash:
* com.microsoft.Outlook.SyncServicesPreferences.plist
* com.microsoft.Outlook.SyncServices.plist (if it exists)
* OfficeSync Prefs (if it exists)
5. While you are still in Preferences, open Microsoft, and then open Office 2011.
Note: If you have Service Pack 2 installed, open Application Support > Microsoft > Office 2011 instead of Preferences > Microsoft > Office 2011.
6. Drag OfficeSync Prefs to the Trash, and then close the window.
7. On the Apple menu, click Restart.
8. Open Outlook 2011.
9. On the Outlook menu, click Preferences.
10. Under Other, click Sync Services.
11. Select the check boxes for the items that you want to sync.
12. Close the window.
Note: In iCal, you should have a calendar for each category of your events. Events that are in a calendar in iCal before you synchronize with Outlook will not sync into Outlook. You have to move them to one of the Outlook calendars.
If the error continues to occur, go to the next step.

Step 5: Clear the Sync Services cache
To clear the Sync Services cache, follow these steps:
1. Turn off Sync Services in Outlook and in any other applications and for any devices that have sync enabled. For information about how to turn off Sync Services in Outlook, see "Step 1: Turn off Sync Services in Preferences."
2. Quit all applications, especially those that sync through MobileME such as Transmit, Interarchy, and Yojimbo.
3. On the Go menu, click Applications.
4. Click Utilities, and then open Activity Monitor.
5. In the Filter box in the upper-right corner, type syncto locate all sync services.
6. Click a found item, and then click Quit Process.
7. Repeat the process for all sync services that you found.
8. Close Activity Monitor when you are finished.
9. On the Go menu, click Home.
10. Click /Library/Application Support/, and then open SyncServices. Drag all files in that folder to the Trash.
Note: The Library folder is hidden in some versions of MAC OS X. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
11. Restart all applications that sync to MobileMe (such as Safari, Address Book, and iCal) and to Outlook.
12. Turn on Sync Services in Outlook. To do this, follow these steps:
a. Start Outlook.
b. On the Outlook menu, click Preferences.
c. Under Other, click Sync Services.
d. Select the check boxes for the items that you want to sync, and then close the window.
e. When you are prompted, click OK.
13. (Optional:) This step will permanently delete the iCal and Apple Address Book contents. Follow this step only if you want to replace all data in the system Address Book and iCal with Outlook data. To do this, follow these steps:
a. Quit all applications.
b. On the Go menu, click Home.
c. Click Library, and then open Calendars.
Note: The Library folder is hidden in some versions of MAC OS X. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
d. Drag Calendar Cache to the Trash.
e. On the Go menu, click Home.
f. Click Library, and then click Caches. Drag the following files to the Trash:
* com.apple.iCal
* com.apple.AddressBook
g. On the Go menu, click Home.
h. Click Library, and then open Application Support.
i. Drag AddressBook to the Trash.