Quicken Backup (Part 2)

Don:

If you have your 2003 install CD AND subsequent patches, you could always try re-installing, or installing a newer version of Quicken and see if the problem persists. You can download trial versions of 2007 at Quicken.com.

Bob

I have one hard drive which is the C: drive. I have two external hard drives which are K: drive and L: drive.

I CANNOT backup to any of these hard drives. And this time I am talking about from having Quicken 2003 open and trying to backup from INSIDE the program.

Am I supposed to be able to back up to a hard drive? You would think that I could certainly backup to the C: hard drive, but I can't even do that. A message pops up and says "Unable to access the disk in drive C: Please make sure the drive is ready and the disk is not write protected." (of course it's ready and it is not write-protected). The same message for Drives K: and L:.

Okay that is the question. Now ... I have a floppy drive A:, I have an Iomega Zip Drive J:, and I have an external N: drive which accommodates a memory stick (a USB flash stick). I can backup to any of those. They all have media ... a floppy disk, or a Zip disk, or a flash USB stick. Backing up to those is not problem. So I repeat, should I be able to backup to a hard drive?

When this issue is settled, then I have other questions.

Thanks, Don

Yes.

How about some more information?

1.) What operating system? 2.) What is the fully qualified name of the file you are trying to backup? [I assume you were trying to backup the same file for all of your tests.] 3.) What is the complete backup path name for one of your failed backups? 4.) What is the complete backup path name for one of your successful backups?

Don,

In addition to the additional info that John Pollard asked for are your two external drives attached directly to your computer (and if so is it a USB connection) or are they attached via a network connection ?

Richard Gordon

What happens if you create a brand new folder under your C root folder (C:\QBACK, for example), then try backing up to that folder?

Are you saying that your Qdata.QDF file is located in the root folder of your hard drive? When I said "fully qualified name", I meant the file name and path.

Have you tried to back up to C:\Documents\Quicken\Qdata.QDF?

This is a better place for your data files, especially with Windows Vista.

Oops, sorry - that's a good place for your working copy of Quicken data. Make that a directory underneath C:\Documents, e.g. C:\Documents\Q03Backup.

If this doesn't work it should eliminate file access permissions as a cause of your problem.

OK. I created a folder at C:\Qbackups. Then tried to send a backup there. Got the same error message. "Unable to access the disk in drive C: Please make sure the drive is ready and the disk is not write protected."

My Quicken 2003 is located at C:\Program Files\Quicken. My Qdata files are located there also.

I have been reading my Backup help files in Quicken 2003. It indicates that I can backup to an external floppy disk, a CD or DVD, a Zip Disk etc. Also can backup with the online service. I don't think it allows backing up to a hard drive.

Maybe I should copy/paste some of the help file here:

Back up my files Quicken needs to know more about the task that you want to complete. After you choose a task, Quicken displays more information following the list.

Which do you want to do? Choose one: Back up my files to an external disk Back up my files to the Web

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You can back up your Quicken data to a variety of external sources including CD-Rs or CD-RWs, Zip disks, SuperDisks, floppy disks, and so on. If you subscribed to Quicken Online Backup, you can also back up your files to the Web.

Back up my files to an external disk It's important to have a backup copy of your data in case original data on your hard disk drive is damaged or destroyed. You can back up to a variety of external sources including CD-Rs or CD-RWs, Zip disks, SuperDisks, floppy disks, and so on. Quicken regularly prompts you to back up your current file when you exit the program. Intuit strongly recommends that you do so. In addition, you can make a backup copy of your data at any time.

Before you can back up to CD-R or CD-RW, you must configure your CD-ROM drive to work like an alternate hard disk drive. When you're done, you should be able to copy files from your hard disk drive to a CD-R or CD-RW. In addition, for many Operating Systems, you must install a third party program to enable your computer to copy files from your hard disk drive to a CD-R or CD-RW. You can find an example of this type of program on Quicken Product Support. If you need additional assistance, refer to the manufacturer's instructions that came with the CD-R or CD-RW drive, or contact your computer or hardware manufacturer for more information about using the applications that came with the CD-R or CD-RW drive. Note This procedure does not back up your Quicken Home Inventory data. For information about backing up your Quicken Home Inventory data, choose Property & Debt menu > Quicken Home Inventory. Then choose Help menu > Contents, click Index, and enter "backing up your data."

1 Place a formatted disk in a drive. » Intuit strongly recommends that you alternate between two disks or sets of floppy disks instead of always backing up to the same one.

If the disk you are backing up to is not formatted for read/write access, you'll receive an error message stating that the disk cannot be accessed. For information about how to check file access settings, refer to Quicken Product Support. If you need additional assistance, refer to the manufacturer's instructions for your Operating System.

2 Choose File menu > Backup. 3 Under File to Back Up, make sure the file you want to back up is selected (the current file is selected by default). If you want to back up a different file, click Browse. 4 Under Backup Location, select the drive that contains the backup disk. 5 If the file is larger than the space available on the backup disk, Quicken displays a warning message. Select the backup option you want, then replace the backup disk with another disk and click OK. » Storing other files on disks you use to back up your Quicken data can take up a lot of room. You might be able to avoid using more disks than necessary for your Quicken backups by storing only Quicken data on the backup disks. 6 When Quicken tells you that the backup is complete, click OK and remove the backup disk. Store the disk or disks in a safe place. 7 To create a second backup copy, repeat steps 1 through 6.

Back up my files online with Quicken Online The best way to safeguard your valuable Quicken data is to back it up every day to a remote location. That's akin to storing important family documents like wills or deeds in a safety deposit box in a bank. Should anything happen to your computer-even if it's only your teenager deleting data from your hard disk drive to make room for an MP3 download-you're protected.

But who has time to back up files every day?

Quicken, in partnership with Connected.com, is offering Quicken Online Backup. With this service you back up your Quicken data online. You can even schedule automatic backups. If you haven't signed up yet

1 Choose File menu > Backup. 2 Under Back Up Location, select Online, and then click OK. 3 Follow the instructions on the Web page for signing up. After you sign up 1 Choose File menu > Backup. 2 Under Back Up Location, click Online, and then click OK to start the backup. » When you perform your first backup, some versions of the software give you the chance to specify the files and directories you want to back up. Click the check boxes for the files you want.

These files will be backed up until you specify new files for back up in the Quicken Online Backup window. To do so, click the Backup View tab, click Explore to pick files in the left margin, navigate to the files you want to change, and select or clear the check boxes next to them. Important Wait until the online backup is complete before resuming your Quicken session. If you don't, it could interfere with the backup process.

If you must interrupt the backup, do so by clicking Cancel in the Backup dialog box that displays the progress of your back up.

3 Close the Quicken Online Backup window by clicking the Close button [X] in the upper-right corner when the back up is complete. Note If, for any reason you change computers, you need to reinstall Quicken Online Backup. Go to \quicken\phone.htm, click Common Questions, and follow the onscreen instructions for reinstalling.

I have used every version of Quicken from Q2000 thru Q2007 ... except Q2003. I have always successfully backed up to my hard drive after every time I use Quicken.

So while it is possible that Q2003 *can't* backup to a hard drive, I think it is very unlikely.

< snip >

I didn't attempt to read all the Help you posted, but it said pretty much the same thing my Q2005 Help says about backup. And Q2005 has no trouble backing up to my hard drive.

I tend to think you have a Vista access issue (though I do not have Vista - others here can give you more help with Vista specifics).

I would try moving/copying [using any means: Quicken "Copy"; Windows copy (QDATA.*); restore from your offline backup media; etc.) my current Quicken data out of the "Program Files" folder, to another new folder that you create. I do recall that Quicken backups want to create a file when they run (Q3.dir); perhaps Quicken is trying to create Q3.dir in your Program Files folder and perhaps Vista will not let Quicken do that.

You *might* be able to test my Vista access ("permissions"?) theory by just running Quicken as "administrator", but again, the Vista users can probably give you more insights into this than I.

John,

I believe it must be a Vista issue. However, I have every intention of checking this out more fully. At least, I know from you and others on this board that I should be able to backup to a hard drive. So, I'll keep trying.

Thanks to you very much for your concern and help.

Until you hear from me again, you'll know I'm testing the system, both Vista and Quicken. My next attempt will be moving my Quicken data out of Program Files as you suggested. I have a feeling that I will eventually get this worked out.

You could even have Quicken create a new data file (File > New > New Quicken File) in a new folder, then try backing up that new file.

Nuts, hit that Send button too quickly.

This suggestion is just to *test* the theory, it's not intended as a solution.

But that is a good suggestion.

I AM REALLY PUZZLED ABOUT SOMETHING NOW. I deleted every Qdata.QDF file I found, thinking I would create a new file and a new location then use my restore from my Zip Drive. But with every Qdata.QDF file deleted, I still had my data when I opened Quicken.

This really aggrevated me, so I uninstalled Quicken. Searched my hard drive for every occurance of Qdata and deleted every file.

I made certain every file was gone but the Quicken directory was still there so I deleted it.

I reinstalled Quicken 2003 from my CD. Everything went fine and the program was installed. I then opened quicken, AND SURE ENOUGH THERE WAS ALL MY DATA up to date.

So, where is this data coming from?

"Don" wrote in news:CDTni.4627$SM6.4317@trnddc01:

Was there not a problem with some older Quicken versions insisting the program was run from an administrator account?

Open up Quicken and select File. It should show you the last file that was opened. This should give you the exact path location of the file.

As for your backups, Quicken automatically creates a folder called BACKUP in the same folder that your data files are contained. You should be able to see this default location by selecting File>>backup. I would try (one last time) to backup your file to the default location on your hard drive.