Quicken File Sharing?

Does anyine have any idea how I can reliably share the core Quicken data files between two computers on a home LAN?

I am trying to figure out how I can place my Quicken files on a file server or external hard drive and access them easily from two different computerson my home LAN. I placed the Quicken files in a directory on an external hardrive on PC #1 connected to my LAN. From PC #2 on that same LAN I can navigate to them on the external hard drive connected to PC #1 and open them but when I shut down Quicken on PC #2 and then reopen Quciken on PC#2 it doesn't open the files on the external hard drive connected to PC #1. Yes I can navigate to them once again or launch them from the bottom of the File menu in Quicken on PC #2 but I want to make sure that I am always using the same Quicken files.

Reply to
Art Prest
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"Art Prest" wrote in news:tFWyi.4883$wW6.2696@trnddc08:

For me that worked fine for a while.

USB external drive on desktop (fast, but not exceedingly so, XP Pro), which is wired to the ActionTec 1424WR router. Slow Vista Home Basic laptop, wireless to the (upstairs) router. Q2007 trial on laptop

I moved the Quicken file to the laptop after I had opened the file on the ext HD once, and the register only showed a single window of transactions. Apparently, the data were not altered, so moving the data set to the laptop "cured" that problem.

Sorry, I don't think I'm not going to try to reproduce the symptoms.

Of course I will erase the data from the lapop if and when I take it on a trip.

Reply to
Han

As others have said, you should:

1) share the file location on the "file server". 2) Give appropriate security permissions for the users for that folder 3) Map the share on the users' computers to a drive letter

Be advised that Q has no "record locking" capabilities. This means that more than one person can have a record open for editing at the same time. The consequences for this can be significant (even catastrophic). You are responsible to assure that only one person is editing teh database at one time. Intuit/Quicken will not do that for you.

If you proceed, I'd be *VERY* careful to make sure I have good, frequent and restorable backups....

Reply to
Hank Arnold (MVP)

If you want to use Quicken on your laptop when away from home store its data files in an encrypted volume created using TrueCrypt software.

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This is free open source encryption software that can protect an entire hard drive or you can create encrypted virtual disk drives using a password you create with no degradation in performance.BTW, This is not the same as the windows encryption. The only caution is "don't forget your password", there is absolutely no way to recover from a lost password for a true crypt volume. I use this for all my sensitive data files which includes my Quicken files.

Reply to
Marty K

Marty K wrote in news:2Cgzi.10167$dz3.6628@trndny01:

Thanks Marty

Reply to
Han

When I set up my laptop to access Quicken data remotely, I tried an experiment to see how safe it was. I tried to open my Quicken account from both computers on the network at the same time. Windows would not let me open the same Quicken file. It reported that the file was already in use. That is what I would have expected.

On the other hand, when I had the file open from my networked laptop, I did see some delayed write failures. I've worked with file systems on many platforms, and I'm very familiar with some of their limitations. I used to develop software tools for testing storage and file systems. I decide that the benefit of being able to access it remotely was outweighed by the exposure to file corruption. The data is just too critical to me to take chances with.

Reply to
JimH

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