Quickbooks - Is this really how we do things?

March 25, 2015 10:19 AM

My friend's computer died. I was able to get most of his files off by plugging his hard drive into my computer. Except for Quickbooks - because his backup was a little old. I remember from the last time that trying to grab the current file didn't work. Really?
posted by notned to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

While the backup is the way to go, I have been able to open the database (Enterprise Edition) using just the quick books DB file. Granted, the company file was sometimes buggy and slow as all get out, though whether that was what caused it to crash in the first place or whether it was by circumventing the in app backup, is a chicken and egg question, but it is possible and fairly simple for the Enterprise edition at least. What is the extension of the file you are trying to launch QB with?
posted by Debaser626 at 10:23 AM on March 25, 2015

I remember that being at best a "maybe" the last time I had to deal with that. I ended up dealing with the ordeal of backing up (it was a huge file) and moving that bastard every time I needed a fresh copy, just so I wasn't playing QB Roulette with whether the file would open.

But if you can install QB from scratch and try pointing it at the existing file location on that hard drive, that might let you make a fresh backup? It's been a year and I don't remember, but I feel like I had to do that at one point.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:29 AM on March 25, 2015

I am a Quickbooks pro advisor and I would like to help, but I don't quite understand your question. (Which is literally "Really?") Are you asking if it's possible to open a Quickbooks company file (rather than restoring a backup) on a computer that is different from the computer it was created on? I've been able to do that.

Which version and year of Quickbooks are you using?
posted by layceepee at 10:38 AM on March 25, 2015

Response by poster: Mine was a linux computer so I wasn't going to be able to install/open on that. I left him a message to try the DB file, we did move it but didn't try opening it based on our last experience.

If he calls me back then I'll give an update and ask about the version and year.

Thanks.
posted by notned at 11:41 AM on March 25, 2015

If it is not Enterprise edition, as of some years back all you needed was the .qbw file. I'm pretty sure that remains the case. User preference type things will be lost, but the company data should be fully intact, assuming the file itself is not damaged.
posted by wierdo at 12:26 PM on March 25, 2015