Hi,
I'm trying to remove the old files from my File dropdown menu. This menu lists all the old Quicken files that have ever been opened. I'd like to delete the obsolete ones.
I've googled around but the best I could find was a reference to Q2006 - which suggested editing the c:/windows/quicken.ini. My Q2005 quicken.ini file doesn't contain this info?
Any suggestions?
Try Quser.ini.
It's located in C\:Documnets and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Intuit\Quicken\Config on my computer but may be elsewhere on yours.
Hi, Q_Lover.
If you don't find QUser.ini where Jerry told you, please post back and tell us which Windows version you are using. In Vista, for example, substitute C:\Users\{UserID}\AppData\Roaming\Intuit\Quicken\Config\QUser.ini, where {UserID} is up to you.
RC
R. C. White said
Hi RC (and all)
I've loacted a Quicken.ini in both C\:Documnets and Settings\All Users \Application Data\Intuit\Quicken\Config and C:\Windows. Neither has this recent file information.
I'm using Q2005 with XP home.
I also searched the drive for quser.ini - but it's nowhere to be found?
Maybe I'll have to reinstall? ;-) This is very strange.
Hi, Q_Lover.
Are you SURE? Sometimes the old tricks from MS-DOS still work better than anything in the GUI. The Command Prompt window in WinXP is not really MS-DOS, but most of the old commands still work.
Open a Command Prompt window. Then use the Dir command with the /s switch to also search Subdirectories; you may also want the /a switch to see ALL files and folders, including System and Hidden files. For example: dir c:\q*.ini /s/a
If there is ANY file that starts with the letter Q and has an .ini extension anywhere on the C: drive, that command will show it. You may have a long wait if it's a 300 GB drive with lots of files, but within a few minutes, you should know if either quser.ini or quicken.ini exist on your HD. If you have multiple drives, just substitute another letter for C: and do it again.
RC
Make sure you are looking for a "quser.ini" file and not a "quicken.ini".
It should be located in C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data\Intuit\Quicken\Config, where {user name} is your winxp logon name and NOT "All Users"
-- Dennis
Where it is depends on your Quicken version, your Windows version and, I think, whether or not you install Quicken under an Administrator account. It may also depend on what day of the week it is -)
My quser.ini is under "All Users"; another responder's is under ; yet another user has the info in C:\Windows\quicken.ini.
Jerry
Dennis said
RC's suggestion of using "DOS" and this post nailed it. The file was indeed in the {user name} path. I could have swore I looked there numerous times. Obviously, I did not.
What is wierd... This file refuses to appear in any Explorer search. I'm unsure why but I'm going to find out.
Thanks again for all the help! This newsgroup is great!
Regards
It's not that strange yet.
I have Q2006H&B with WinXP; I think RC has Q2007 with Vista; another poster has Q2002. I don't think any of us have Q2005 with WinXP and they move stuff like this around from release to release just to keep us confused. Also, Q2005 (and other releases) may look in multiple places to gather this information and may be finding it in a place where an earlier Quicken release used to store it.
Reinstalling probably won't help because it isn't a missing file or data problem - you're getting the old file names so they have to be coming from somewhere.
Here are more suggestions:
1) Check Quicken.ini and any other .ini files in your Config directory very carefully.Make sure you can (temporarily at least) see system files and hidden files. [In Windows Explorer set these options under Tools -> Folder Options... ->
"View" tab.]
2) Search your entire hard drive for a one of the dropdown names.Try searching your drive for "A word or phrase in the file:" and under "More advanced options" make sure "Search system folders", "Search hidden files and folders", and "Search subfolders" are selected and "Case sensitive" is
*not* selected.For the search word or phrase, choose a Quicken file name or a segment of the directory name that isn't likely to appear elsewhere in any file on your disk. For example, I chose "QdataATT" [one of my test DBs]. If necessary, you can create a new dummy Quicken DB with an unusual name.
3) Search the Windows registry.Repeat the above search in the Windows registry. Type "regedit" in the "Open:" box under Start -> Run. In the "Registry Editor" window under Edit -> Find type your search string in the "Find what:" box, select "My Computer" in the left pane, then click "Find Next". You'll have a long wait until the search fails or the string is found. You can use the F3 key to find subsequent occurrences of the search string.
BE VERY CAREFUL - DON'T TOUCH ANY OTHER KEYS OR INTERRUPT THE SEARCH.
If you find the file names here don't try to delete the entries unless you feel very comfortable editing the Windows registry. Just exit the registry editor using File -> Exit , post back to this group and someone will give you further instructions.
4) The data may be somewhere in your Quicken DB (bad design, but possible).If the file names are here a search won't find them because the Quicken DBs are encrypted. I don't see any solution in this case but perhaps someone else can help.
Good luck,
Jerry
Is your Explorer set up to show hidden files?
Check your search and folder view options (see my latest post).
Hi, Q_Lover.
Now that you've found it, just use Notepad (or any other text editor of your choice) to edit it to suit yourself.
In my Q2007/Vista setup, I start Notepad, then click File | Open and navigate to the folder where I know the file is. It doesn't show up - until I notice that Notepad's Open browser is set to show "Text Documents (*.txt)". The .ini files are text, but they don't have the .txt extension, so they don't show up in the list. But all I have to do is click the drop-down box and select "All Files (*.*)". And there it is! Load it, edit it, then close Notepad, accepting its offer to save the edited file.
RC
DP said
Yea, that's the first thing I do when I get a new computer. Show hidden files, don't hide extensions of know file types, use windows classic, show details....
Oh yea, turn off the XP "Fisher Price" start menu! ;-)
Regards
Jerry Boyle said
I followed this path per one of the dejanews posts. I see where Quicken has indeed moved it's configuration files around under different versions. One post discussed some configs set in the registry.
Empirically, 2005 is the same as 2006. Quser.ini. Unfortunately, this file doesn't appear in the windows search for some reason. It's rather disturbing when you think of it. Each version of windows seems to remove the operator further and further from the base operating system. Makes me think of things like index.dat. Orwellian? (sp?)
I'm all fixed now. Thanks again for all the various posts.
Regards
"Q_Lover" wrote in news:45ac387e$0$97223$ snipped-for-privacy@authen.yellow.readfreenews.net:
I have both quser.ini (has [recent files], [quicken] and [recentbackupfiles] headings
and quicken.ini has lots of settings, but not the quser ones.
simply "2=" then restart Quicken. Tested on XP with Q 2006 Home & Business.
Although many programs store such things in MRU (stands for Most Recently Used) lists in the registry Intuit apparently doesn't.
Most likely the file or part of the file path was either hidden or set to "system" and the Explorer is set to not such such files/paths.
The ignorant operator that is (And don't take offense until you understand the meaning of ignorant). There are many things in Windows that are purposely "hidden" from the user in an attempt to keep them from doing something with something they don't quite understand or to make things more "user friendly". For example, start Windows Explorer and replace the "C:\" with "C:\RECYCLER".
It's only Orwellian to those who have not sought out what's going on under the hood.
Hi, Andrew.
As Will Rogers used to say, "We're all ignorant, just about different things."
Ignorant doesn't mean stupid. It just means we don't know THAT...yet.
RC
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.