Unable to search the GAL in Lync 14 on 10.9 Macs

We have received many reports that OS 10.9 Macs using Lync 14 are unable to search the Global Address List (GAL).  When a name is entered into the search field no results are returned.

The root cause appears to be two missing files in the user's Microsoft Lync Data/[user's sip name] folder:  GalContacts.db and GalContacts.db.idx

If a computer that was running Lync 14 was upgraded to 10.9 from 10.8 or earlier there is no problem searching the GAL from within Lync.  The problem occurs on 10.9 Macs with fresh Lync installs.

The fix is to copy GalContacts.db and GalContacts.db.idx from a working computer to the non-workign 10.9 Mac.

• Install and configure Lync on the 10.9 Mac
• Log into Lync with the user's AD account credentials
• Close Lync
• On a computer that has a working Lync GAL go to ~/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Microsoft Lync Data/
• Open the "sip_[user.name]@[domain.com]" folder.  ie: sip_tom.smith@mydomain.com
• Locate the GalContacts.db and GalContacts.db.idx files and copy them to a USB stick or the network
• On the 10.9 Mac with the new Lync install go to ~/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Microsoft Lync Data/sip_[user.name]@[domain.com] and import GalContacts.db and GalContacts.db.idx files
• Launch Lync and test the GAL search

 

Microsoft Lync Keeps Requesting a Keychain Password for OC_KeyContainer

We have received several reports that Microsoft Lync (version 14.x) was constantly requesting a Keychain Password and displaying the following dialogue box:

The blocked out area shows the user's e-mail address.

On working systems there was an "OC_KeyContainer" in Keychain:

As well as a saved password in Keychain:

On system that had a problem these items were missing.

The solution we found was to go into ~/Library/Keychains and delete the "OC_KeyContainer_[user's e-mail address]. 

Remember that on 10.7 and above the user's library folder is hidden and you must show it by opening Terminal and typing "chflags nohidden /Users/[user's home folder name]/Library

After deleting the OC_KeyContainer file, launch Lync and log in and you should no longer receive the Keychain pop-up.

If you open Keychain Access.app you will notice that a new OC_KeyContainer Keychain and password have been created.

Note: if the OC_KeyContainer Keychain and password already exist in Keychain Access.app, delete them before removing the file from the user's Library folder.

High CPU usage with Lync and Outlook 2011

We have received numerous reports that having Lync and Outlook 2011 open at the same time is causing one, or both, of the processes to use 100% of the CPU.  This in turn causes Outlook to become unresponsive until you force quit either Outlook or Lync.  Having the applications open separately does not cause a problem- only when they are both open at the same time.

To troubleshoot the problem, open Lync, go to Preferences/General and put a tick in "Turn on logging for troubleshooting".  Restart Lync and then Open Outlook and Process Viewer.  Work normally until Outlook freezes and you see in Process Viewer that the CPU use for Lync and/or Outlook has spiked.

Close (or force quit) Outlook and Lync and open Console Viewer.

In Console Viewer, under Files/~/Library/Logs open the Microsfot-Lync-0.log.  Search the log for multiple (hundreds) of entries referencing the same e-mail address and having an "INFO" line of "FindOrCreateFakeContactModelForQuery"

Open Outlook and remove all references to the offending e-mail account.  This includes contacts and any auto-complete entries.

To clear the auto-complete entries, open a new mail and start typing the user's name; a box should open that displays the e-mail address; to the right will be an "X".  Click on the "X" to remove the entry.

Relaunch Outlook, open Lync and check that you no longer experience the high CPU problem.

When you are sure the problem has been resolved, make sure you turn off logging in Lync.