I have a client who is currently using QB 2003. I rec'd a back up to review from the client and there were some odd things on the reports so I ran the Verify Data Utility. It indicated there were some problems with the data so I ran a Rebuild. I re-ran the Verify and all the problems were corrected.
I called the client and advised her to run the Rebuild. When she goes to File->Utilities->Rebuild Data - the Rebuild Data is grey (unhighlighted in black). She was logged in as ADMIN and in Single-User mode. She didn't have any windows open in QB.
Any suggestions on why she isn't able to run the Rebuild (or Verify) Utility?
There is an accountant's review copy outstanding so that is a problem why the original data file isn't eligible for rebuild. Have them either wait or cancel the review, rebuild & then send you a new review.
On one or more of my versions I can't have any windows open inside QB if I want to do a rebuild. Advise your client to close all windows (reports, register, COA, etc) until she has a blank screen inside QB then the rebuild option should appear.
You ASKED about open QB windows, but does your client distinguish between windows that are MINIMIZED vs actually closed? A couple of my clients don't understand the difference. To be certain, have her click Window, Close All.
Thank you for being thorough. When I ASKED her about open QB windows, I did review w/ her what that meant - i.e. no minimized reports/input screens/etc. I did have her click Window, Close All just to be sure.
You did verify that she really was in single user mode. In the file menu is says "Switch to multi user" You also had her verify she is logged in as the admin by going to the company menu and bringing up the users window. You had her cancel accountant review copies just to be sure one wasn't created without her knowledge.
Of course you also had her quit QB and restart the machine just in case there was some residual funniness.
Of course you had her run a spybot and virus scan just to be sure that isn't the issue.
Once you are here, it is getting thin on solutions as the possibilities are getting numbing about possible X+Y+Z combos. Best bet, have her burn the data file [not a backup] to a CD, take a walk to another machine with QB on it, drag the file off the CD onto the machine's hard drive and double click the data file. See if the other machine and it's QB will allow it. If it does then the problem is local to her machine and not the data file. If the other machine fails, it's time to send the CD off to a QB data recovery place with $. Actually one last thing to try before that, make a backup of the company file and restore from that backup to a new name. See if that works. Then off to data recovery if it doesn't.
Good luck and I h> Thank you for being thorough. When I ASKED her about open QB windows, I did
Yes to all (verified single user mode, logged in as admin, no accountant's review copy, quit QB and rebooted, ran virus scan, all windows closed, no other applications running) except the spybot scan. Not sure she has any such software - will try it. She does not have access to any other PC's. The backup she gave me I restored on my PC and had no problem running the Verify/Rebuild Utility.
At this point - I suppose my only option is to have her send me another backup, not work on her QB, run the REBUILD on my pc, and send her a backup to restore on her PC. It's a short term fix as far as the data integrity problem but still stumped as to why she can't run the Utility herself.
If you can run it on a restored version of the file on your machine, can she? In other words, have her back up her file and restore it to a new name on her machine. Open the restored file and see if she can run rebuild. If she can't then I'd advise things like re-installing QB or the entire OS as I would suspect some .dll somewhere was corupt or missing, because we know it isn't the file because you can run the rebuild. If it does let her run the rebuild then the process of the backup and restore took out some nasty in the file.
Only two suggestions, as I suspect Terry and many good contributors are getting tired:
Why not do the Rebuild for her on your system and give her a CD with the rebuilt file? (She may have to turn off the CD read-only file attribute after copying it.)
Why not email Rich snipped-for-privacy@intuit.com, as I am now doing? After we try EVERYTHING, Rich often gets top Intuit tech support people to help, (while deciding on changes to new versions).
Mike Block - QuickBooks Tax Cut C.P.A. Intuit paid me to make QuickBooks better!
I would say that unless she has decent knowledge of computers she shouldn't try anything, it could make the problem worse. Also, some data recovery companies are just going to run logical recoveries on the drive and make it worse. If she sends it to ESS Data Recovery right away, she could get an evaluation for free and decide where to go from there. Their number's 1-800-237-4200
BeanSmart website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.