Troubleshooting Dba 2 Csv / Palm2Google (formerly Dba2Csv): Common Issues & FixesDba 2 Csv, now known as Palm2Google, is a small but powerful utility for converting Palm OS contact databases (DB files) into CSV format that can be imported into modern contact systems such as Google Contacts. Because it works with legacy files and a variety of device exports, users sometimes encounter problems during conversion or import. This article walks through the most common issues, why they happen, and step-by-step fixes to get your contacts converted cleanly.
1) Common scenarios where issues appear
- Converting DB files from old Palm devices or emulator exports.
- Exporting Palm contacts from third‑party backup tools (which may change field order or encoding).
- Importing the produced CSV into Google Contacts, Outlook, or other address book services.
- Mixing international characters, custom fields, or nonstandard record formats.
2) Before you start — checklist
- Keep the original .db (or .pdb/.pdb-backup) files intact; work on copies.
- Note the Palm OS source (device model or app used to export) if possible.
- Open the CSV in a plain-text editor or spreadsheet program (Excel, LibreOffice Calc) to inspect structure and encoding.
- Have a small test file (5–10 contacts) to iterate quickly before batch converting large sets.
3) Issue: Dba 2 Csv / Palm2Google fails to open the DB file
Symptoms
- Program reports “cannot open file,” “invalid format,” or simply does nothing.
Causes & fixes
- Corrupt or renamed file: Ensure the file extension and file header match expected Palm DB formats (.db, .pdb). If the file is from a backup tool, try exporting again.
- Locked or in-use file: Copy the .db to another folder and run conversion on the copy.
- Wrong file type: Some backup packages bundle multiple data types; make sure you’re feeding a contacts DB (not a calendar or memopad DB).
- Truncated or partial export: If the file size is unusually small, re-export from your backup source or recover from the original device/emulator.
4) Issue: Output CSV is empty or missing many records
Symptoms
- Converter produces a CSV with headers only or far fewer contacts than expected.
Causes & fixes
- Different record structure: Some Palm contact databases (or vendor-customized contact apps) use nonstandard record layouts. Try alternate parsing modes if Palm2Google offers them, or test other legacy utilities that can convert to more generic formats first.
- Compression or custom packing: Some backup tools compress or encrypt DBs. Decompress or decrypt with the original backup tool before converting.
- Hidden or linked records: Contacts stored as linked records (e.g., separate records for phones and names) may not be combined automatically. Use a tool that can merge linked records or export to a more raw format (CSV or XML) and reassemble via script.
- Partial export from device: Check the original device for export settings — make sure all contact categories/groups are included.
5) Issue: Garbled characters or wrong encoding (e.g., Cyrillic becomes mojibake)
Symptoms
- Non‑ASCII text (Cyrillic, accented letters, Asian scripts) appears as �, garbled symbols, or question marks.
Causes & fixes
- Encoding mismatch: Palm DBs may use legacy encodings (e.g., Windows-1251 for Cyrillic) while the converter or spreadsheet assumes UTF-8. Open the CSV with an editor that allows you to specify encoding and try common encodings: UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, Windows-1251, Windows-1252.
- BOM issues: If the CSV lacks a Byte Order Mark and your spreadsheet app guesses wrong, explicitly re-save as UTF-8 with BOM from a text editor (Notepad++, VS Code) or import using the app’s “Import” wizard where you can specify encoding.
- Field-level encoding differences: Some fields might use different encodings; if so, convert those fields with a script (Python with chardet and .encode/.decode) or use a more flexible converter that detects per-field encoding.
6) Issue: Fields misaligned, wrong columns, or column order unexpected
Symptoms
- Names appear in address columns, phone numbers in notes column, etc.
Causes & fixes
- Different field mapping: Palm contact DBs and CSV targets use different field names and order. Check Palm2Google’s mapping settings; many converters let you map Palm fields to CSV headers. If mapping isn’t available, open the CSV and manually reorder columns or write a small script to rename/reorder.
- Multiline fields: Notes or address fields containing newlines can break CSV parsing. Use a CSV parser that supports quoted fields and proper escaping (most programming libraries do). If you must edit manually, replace internal newlines with a placeholder before conversion and restore afterward.
- Embedded commas: If contact fields contain commas and output isn’t properly quoted, open the CSV in a robust parser and re-export ensuring quoting is enabled (CSV with “quote all fields” option).
7) Issue: Google Contacts rejects the CSV on import
Symptoms
- Import fails with errors such as “CSV format not recognized,” “unsupported columns,” or mismatched headers.
Causes & fixes
- Incorrect headers: Google Contacts expects recognizable headers (e.g., Name, Given Name, Family Name, Phone 1 – Value). Use Google’s sample CSV headers or map columns in Google’s import wizard. Palm2Google may offer a Google-compatible template — choose that.
- Date formats and phone types: Google may expect specific formats for fields like birthday (YYYY-MM-DD) or phone type labels. Normalize dates to ISO (YYYY-MM-DD) and use standard phone labels (Home, Mobile, Work).
- Encoding: Re-save CSV as UTF-8 (no BOM usually works) since Google prefers UTF-8.
- File size limits: If you have a huge file, split it into smaller batches; Google limits import size/records per batch.
- Duplicate checks and group columns: If your CSV includes custom group or duplicate indicators, remove or adapt them to Google’s format or import without those columns and apply grouping later.
8) Issue: Duplicate contacts after import
Symptoms
- Imported contacts appear alongside existing ones instead of merging.
Causes & fixes
- Different matching keys: Google uses email, name, phone numbers to detect duplicates. If your CSV lacks email or phone entries or names are formatted unusually, Google may not detect duplicates.
- Resolve in Google: Use Google Contacts’ “Merge & fix” tool after import. Alternatively, before import, normalize names and primary identifiers (add a consistent email or standardized phone formats) so the service recognizes duplicates.
- Pre-clean the CSV: Deduplicate rows by key fields using spreadsheet functions or scripts (Excel remove duplicates, Python/pandas drop_duplicates).
9) Issue: Custom fields lost or not imported
Symptoms
- Fields like “Spouse,” “Nickname,” or vendor-specific fields disappear.
Causes & fixes
- Target format limitations: Google Contacts and many address books have a defined set of fields. Map custom fields to a generic field (e.g., Notes) or to Google’s “Custom Field” columns where supported (Google Contacts supports custom fields but may require specific column names).
- Use vCard as intermediate: vCard can carry custom fields more flexibly. Convert Palm DB to vCard if possible, verify custom field tags are preserved, then import vCard into the target address book.
- Preserve in ancillary file: If custom data can’t be mapped, export it to a separate CSV labeled with the contact ID so you can reference or reattach it later.
10) Advanced troubleshooting steps
- Inspect Palm DB structure: Use hex editors or Palm DB viewers to confirm record headers and field delimiters if you suspect structural differences.
- Use command-line tools or write a small script: For repeating or complex fixes, a short Python script using the csv and chardet libraries can efficiently normalize encodings, reorder fields, quote fields, and remove duplicates. Example pseudocode idea: “`
- open source CSV with detected encoding
- map field names
- normalize phone numbers and dates
- deduplicate by (email, phone, name)
- write UTF-8 CSV with Google-compatible headers “`
- Try alternate converters: If Palm2Google fails, test other legacy utilities (Palm Desktop exports, pilot-link tools, or third-party converters) to get an intermediate CSV or vCard, then use that as source.
- Reach out to user communities: Retro computing forums and Palm enthusiast groups often have scripts or tools for odd edge cases.
11) Example workflows (quick recipes)
-
Fast path to Google:
- Convert .db with Palm2Google into Google-compatible CSV format (choose Google header/template if available).
- Open CSV in a text editor, ensure UTF-8 encoding, and confirm headers match Google’s expected names.
- Import to Google Contacts and run “Merge & fix.”
-
Handling Cyrillic or other non‑Latin text:
- Convert .db to CSV.
- Open CSV in an editor that can set encoding; re-open as Windows-1251 (or source encoding) then save as UTF-8.
- Import into target service.
-
Preserving custom fields:
- Convert to vCard if possible.
- Inspect vCard for custom tags (X‑ fields).
- Import to target or convert vCard to CSV mapping X‑ fields to Google custom field columns.
12) Preventive tips to avoid issues
- Always work with copies of original DB files.
- Keep a small test set to validate conversions before full batches.
- Standardize encoding and date formats before import.
- Preserve a mapping document that lists how Palm fields map to your target fields (useful for repeat imports).
- Document any manual fixes applied so you can automate them next time.
13) When to consider professional help
- If DB files appear corrupted and recovery tools fail.
- When business-critical contact data includes many custom fields that must be preserved exactly.
- For large-scale migrations involving thousands of contacts, where automated deduplication and normalization are required.
14) Quick troubleshooting checklist (summary)
- Make a copy of the original DB.
- Confirm file is a Palm contacts DB and not compressed or encrypted.
- Test with a small sample.
- Verify and set correct character encoding (prefer UTF-8 for import).
- Ensure CSV headers match target service’s expected fields.
- Normalize dates/phones, quote fields with commas/newlines.
- Use Merge & fix in Google Contacts for duplicates.
- If needed, convert via vCard or try alternate conversion tools.
If you want, provide one sample problematic DB file description (size, source device/export tool, example garbled text) and I’ll give targeted commands/scripts or a ready-to-run Python script to fix that exact issue.
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