Quicken Premier Menu Bar under 64-bit Windows Professional

It's not unusable. It was just that I couldn't do some the things I wanted to do.

OK.

As I said, I went to C:\Program Files (x86)\Quicken and then right-clicked and chose Open while holding down the Ctrl key. This way it opened with only the File and Help menu choices. Neither worked.

Since doing that didn't open my data file, I assumed that that proved it wasn't the file.

I haven't looked that recently, but I had looked earlier. Thanks for doing that. I guess that's evidence that it's *not* a quicken 47.7 problem.

I just tried those. Each of them brought me to the appropriate place on the menu bar and highlighted the menu item, but it didn't open them. Also if I move mouse cursor along the menu bar, it's highlights each item there in turn.

Is there any other way to Validate, without the menu bar?

Perhaps I'll do that later, but if I won't get a response and I now think it's likely it's a data file problem (see below), I'm not inclined to do that.

Since I had gotten the activation code from Amazon, I just uninstalled and reinstalled Quicken. As it turned out, I didn't need the activation code. But after the reinstallation, I still have the problem, so that seems to prove it must be a file problem.

I think I'm again running 47.7, but without the menu bar I'm still not sure.

Again, can I validate without the menu bar? If not is there some other way to do it? I couldn't find anything on the Quicken web site.

I turned out to be easy to do--easier than I thought it would be.

Thanks, but I've already been there. That's where I found out how to download and install it .

Yes.

Yes, that's what I did, as I said above. But I went to the end.

On Saturday, January 28, 2023 at 1:43:11 PM UTC-6, Ken Blake wrote: On Sat, 28 Jan 2023 10:43:51 -0800 (PST), John Pollard wrote

Ok.

Did you make sure Quicken could not access the internet during that install? If yes, and assuming you could access the Menu items after the install, what release did you have when the install finished? Help > About Quicken.

If you could not access the Menu items after that recent install, right-click the downloaded Quicken.exe install file, choose Properties > Details. What "Product version" is displayed?

OK, thanks. I'll try them on Monday.

No, I forgot to. Was that important? If so, I'll try it again, probably tomorrow.

No menus, so I don't know.

27.1.44.28. An old version, so even thought I didn't disconnect the Internet, it apparently didn't do an update . Should I do an update now?

It seems strange, though, that the problem started immediately after doing an update. That doesn't sound like a data file problem.

Normally, for the purpose were discussing here: Yes.

The idea is to get rid of your currently installed version (release) of Quicken (that's the uninstall part), then install an older version (release) of Quicken. You want a release that is old enough so what ever patch file you want to apply will work. If, for example, you were to re-install the same version (release) of Quicken that you previously had, you would not be able to patch to the current release. So, for example; if you have R44.7 installed and you run the patch file for R44.7, nothing will happen.

One of the purposes of that exercise is to insure that the release you end up with is installed by the downloaded patch file, NOT installed automatically by Quicken. Sometimes that auto-install process creates a problem, and sometimes that problem can be corrected by reverting to an earlier release, then running the Mondo patch file (for R44.7), that Mondo patch file would be named QW27.1.47.7MPatch.EXE (where the M stands for Mondo). When Quicken upgrades the release automatically, I do not believe it uses a Mondo patch.

Yes, and just what you want, if you are intending to upgrade to release R47.7 (or any release later than 44.28)

I agree. Preventing Quicken from accessing the internet during the install process is just intended to guarantee that no auto-update takes place.

If you now have R44.28 installed, and you have not already tested it to see whether it exhibits the same problem we're discussing; you should do that first.

And if you've already tried using R44.28 with your regular Quicken data file, and you're seeing the same problem, there's still another test you can do. Try using a Quicken data file that has never been opened in the release where you first experienced the problem - presumably R44.7.

To find such a file, look for the most current backup you know has never been exposed to R44.7; make a Windows copy of that backup in some Windows folder where it will never get confused as a file you want to use regularly. Rename the copied file to remove the "-backup" from the file name (making it indistinguishable from a regular Quicken file). Then open that copied/renamed file with R44.28 to see whether the problem still exists. Presumably that file will have no corruption - however, I would also consider that you may have had some relatively minor corruption in your file for some time, and that when R47.7 started using that data, it turned minor (previously unexperienced) corruption into more serious corruption.

In any event, at the end of the day, the idea is

1.) To try to determine whether R47.7 caused the problem, though I think the best we might conclude is a maybe yes or maybe no. 2.) To try to find a Quicken release that will not exhibit the Menu problem that you can run until a better idea comes along.

Also note: there are quite a few Quicken releases that are newer than R44.28, yet older than R47.7. If R47.7 was the source of your problem, any of those intermediate releases might work, and might be better than R44.28. There should be patch files for all those releases at the quicknperlwiz site you used previously.

OK, so even though I didn't do it, it's OK?

Yes, same problem.

You mean 47.7?

OK, I'll see what I can do (maybe tomorrow)

I suppose that's possible, but it doesn't seem likely to me.

Sounds like a lot of work to try them all, and I don't expect any of them to work, but I'll see what I can do.

You said "daily." Maybe tomorrow.

Yes.

I didn't say it was likely; when something's broken, it's not a good idea to rule out possible fixes just because they don't seem likely.

I wasn't expecting you to try them all. I was trying to convey a conceptual point.

OK, I agree,

This is getting stranger and stranger. I just did what you (John Pollard) suggested and copied and opened an old backed-up document (11/30/2022). The problem remained.

I then deleted that copied backup, shut down Quicken and started it. It asked me to choose the file to open (it usually doesn't ask, just chooses the current file, the last one that was closed). I guess it asked because the last one that was closed no longer existed?

I chose the current file and it opened it. Lo and behold! The menu bar worked. Why did it work with the current file but not with the

11/30 file? Might it have something to do with being asked what file to open?

I checked in Help/About Quicken. It was running 46.12. What happened to 47.7, which is what I thought I was running?

I then went to Help/Check for update and get 47.7.

The message I got said I had the latest version!

I then did a web search on "quicken update" and saw that 47.7 was listed there. I'm tempted to install it, assuming that if it made the problem recur I could redo what I just did.

Do you think I should try that? I don't see anything in the list of what's improved or fixed that looks like I need it. Maybe it's safest to wait for the next version, and see what they say is fixed there.

And why does Quicken Help/Check for update say that 46.12 is the latest version, but the web site says there's a 47.7?

Remember, we were never able to confirm what release you were running.

I would say that when you reinstalled but did not block Quicken from accessing the internet, your install was for R44.28, but because you did not block internet access, Quicken automatically upgraded to 46.12.

Just because the R47.7 patch is available, does not always mean that it is the "latest" (or "current") version for all users.

When a patch is first released, it is only available for a small subset of Quicken users - those users act as sort-of post-release testers. If those post-release users have serious issues, Quicken may pull that release; otherwise, Quicken will make that new release, the "latest" (or "current") release. During the time that the new release is restricted to that small subset of users, all those using the most recent previous release will be told they have the "latest" release and Quicken will not install that newer release automatically.

It's up to you. But before you do, save that downloaded Quicken install file. I also suggest you take a few fairly simple steps that might aid you if you have another experience like this one.

- Create a new Windows folder to hold files you will NEVER use directly

- From Quicken, create a New Quicken data file in that new folder (give the Quicken file a name that describes it and suggests you never actually use it such as: "NEW-Never-used-Never-use", ... whatever name you like, to help you remember).

If, in the future, you are ever unable to create a New Quicken file for testing:

- copy "NEW-Never-used-Never-use" to some other folder where you will test

- give the copied New .QDF file a name informative to you about the test you're going to use it for

- then use the copied .QDF file for your tests

- you can usually expect to delete the copied New file when you finish testing That way you can always use a New Quicken file for testing (or any purpose), even if you can't always create one from within Quicken.

If you do the above before you upgrade to R47.7, you will be able to test R47.7 in a New Quicken file.

See above.

I just thought to add: when you name either the New Quicken file (and/or the folder that contains it), you might want to include the release number in the file name.

Yes, that must be correct.

OK, thanks. I hadn't realized that.

Yes, of course it is, but I asked because your advice is always so valuable. I think I'll wait.

I backup my Quicken data file every couple of days, both to my hard drive and then to a thumb drive. So I always have lots of old data files available (at the moment they go back to 10/4/2022) if I ever need to use them again for something like this.

I delete the oldest backup files every now and then, but there are always at least a couple of months of them that are kept. So there's always plenty of such files I can use for testing.

OK, understood.

Once again, thanks very much for all your help with this and other occasional Quicken problems. I know Quicken pretty well, but not so much with Quicken problems. You know much more than I do, and you've been a big help.

But backup files contain data ... data which may be corrupted, or otherwise interfere with a test. The idea is to have a pristine Quicken file that has NO user data (and never had any user data).

Ugh! Grrrr! Ugh! Grrrr!

I just rebooted Windows (for an unrelated reason). When Quicken started, I went to the menu bar. The problem is back! Nothing happens when I click anything there.

I hate to bother you again, but can you remind me of what I should do to get 46.12 again? My ancient, decrepit 85-year brain's memory is failing. And what, if anything, can I do to make it doesn't automatically update to 47.7 on its own.

Also as I said in an earlier message, when it worked, it asked me to choose the file to open (it usually doesn't ask, just chooses the current file, the last one that was closed). I guess it asked because the last one that was closed no longer existed? Can I erase its memory of the last file that was closed so it will ask me again. Perhaps that will make it work again.

I tried holding down the control key and clicking the Quicken icon. That opened Q without a data file, but since the Menu bar doesn't work there, I couldn't the open a file.

Earlier, when you went online to your Quicken account, you downloaded your Quicken install file (I think the name is Quicken.EXE).

Once you have uninstalled Quicken, you can just run that downloaded Quicken install file.

That install file should install just as it did before; so if you allow Quicken access to the internet during the install (as you did before), Quicken should automatically upgrade the installation to R46.12.

Correct.

I don't think so; not without access to the Quicken File menu.

Instead, create a desktop shortcut to your Quicken executable file. When you right-click that shortcut, click Properties and look on the Shortcut tab. you should see something like this in the Target field:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Quicken\qw.exe"

Edit the Target field and suffix the Windows path to your Quicken data file. When you finish, the Target field should look something like this:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Quicken\qw.exe" "C:\QData\MyQuickenData.QDF"

[NOTE: the quote marks belong be in the Target field.]

Click OK.

From that point on, when you double-click that desktop icon, Quicken should start and open the file you specified - C:\QData\MyQuickenData.QDF in my example.

Shortcut only requires the full data file path with quotes if it contains a space.