Help! Contacts Won't Add, Delete or Search!

[gblunt99]

For the past two or three weeks Contacts has not allowed me to add or delete addresses. I can't import them from Mail (it SEEMS to allow it but when I check the data has not been entered). If I type them in they don't stay. If I drag them to Trash, they don't stay trashed. Delete Card is greyed out. I've tried the usual shutting down, repairing permissions etc, but no change.

Can't reinstall because I bought the computer used and I don't have a Mavericks disk.

Last night I upgraded to El Capitan, hoping that might fix it. Nope. It's worse now; I can't type a name in the search slot--it shuts the program down after the first letter or two.

I've got tons of email I can't trash because I need to save the contact info.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give,

Giles

 

[dianeoforegon]

Are your contacts synced to iCloud or are they local contacts?

If local, under File > Export > Contacts Archive.

In your Users Library delete these files:

Application Support > AddressBook
Containers > com.apple.AddressBook

Log out under the Apple in the Menu bar
Log in
Delete the Trash
Open AddressBook
Under File > Import select to import the Contacts-11-xx.abbu file that you exported

 

[pacmannz]

For the past two or three weeks Contacts has not allowed me to add or delete addresses. I can't import them from Mail (it SEEMS to allow it but when I check the data has not been entered). If I type them in they don't stay. If I drag them to Trash, they don't stay trashed. Delete Card is greyed out. I've tried the usual shutting down, repairing permissions etc, but no change.

Can't reinstall because I bought the computer used and I don't have a Mavericks disk.

Last night I upgraded to El Capitan, hoping that might fix it. Nope. It's worse now; I can't type a name in the search slot--it shuts the program down after the first letter or two.

I've got tons of email I can't trash because I need to save the contact info.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give,

Giles

Same problem, except also exiting accounts failed. I got my gmail account to work through email accounts but my clear.net.nz account will not logon. I am presently unable to get emails on my laptop or access years of sent mail history.

 

[gblunt99]

Diane, thanks for your reply and sorry to not get back sooner. I've had so many computer issues that I forgot I posted this (and got no email alert). I'm not synced to iCloud. Mail is synced to a Gmail IMAP account. So I don't know if that qualifies as "local" or not.