I am new user of 9650 (Verizon). I got messed up because I had Manual sync with Outlook + by mistake auto sync with Yahoo and gmail. I only wanted to manual sync of addressbook and calender from Outlook to BB.

I have some 2000 contacts that have lots and lots of duplicates.

Is there any way to erase all the contacts in my BB device and start over? I have not been able to do that. Verizon told me that I would need to do it one contact at a time.

You can do a sync with zero contacts on the PC with options set to DM is control.
the method is not easy but it will work. Your other option is to do a wipe and reload from a contacts list you want. A wipe is caused by entering the password wrong 10 times

Try reading some of these and it may help.


Change the location of the configuration file for organizer data synchronization
Connect your BlackBerry® device to your computer.
Open the BlackBerry® Desktop Manager.
Click Options.
Click Data folder options.
In the New Folder Location section, select the Use this specified folder option.
Specify a folder.
Click OK.
If you specify a folder that has a name other than BlackBerry, your computer creates a BlackBerry subfolder.


create a custom addesss book to use.

Synchronize data in custom address book fields during synchronization
Connect your BlackBerry® device to your computer.
Open the BlackBerry® Desktop Manager.
Click Synchronize.
In the left pane, click Configure > Synchronization.
Click Synchronization.
Select the Address Book check box.
Click Advanced.
On the Address Book tab, click Map Fields.
Complete the instructions on the screen.
Click OK.


Select a resolution for conflicts or who wins.

Manage email reconciliation conflicts
You can choose how to resolve conflicts between your desktop email application and your device.
Open the BlackBerry® Desktop Manager.
Click Synchronize.
In the left pane, click Configure > Reconciliation.
In the Folder data synchronization section, select a conflict resolution option.

this will over write

There's a simple way to erase all contacts on the device using BlackBerry Desktop Software on your PC.

Install it and launch it. Connect your BlackBerry. Choose Backup/Restore, Advanced.
In the list of items on your device, highlight the Address Book and choose the 'Clear' option. This will erase the entire contacts database in one shot.

That's the best way. There is no simple one-step solution on the BlackBerry itself.

Penguin's suggestion sure beats mine or RIM's suggestion from their support site. I tried it and it is just about one step

can someone help point me to where that option is with this version of BBDM or perhaps the mac version?

I've tried to use the clear data option but still is not able to clear the address book.

I have a 9650 (new) and the Address Book is grey out. Can't select it. Any ideas here for a newbie?