TurboTax, restoring 2011 file from a backup drive

Hi, John.

Bummer! :>(

You DO have a paper copy of your 2011 return, don't you? How big is your return: just a few pages or like a big, complicated book? If it is small and simple, you could just reload TT 2011 and re-enter the data from your paper return. But, from your comments, it sounds like that is not practicable. You did NOT use TT online, right?

If you still have your TT 2010 files, you could reload TT 2011 and Import from 2010 into 2011. THEN you could Import from 2011 to 2012. There would be many gaps, of course, but much of your non-changing entries (name, SSN, address, etc., plus employer's name, investments, partnerships or whatever) would be inserted into TT 2012 for you. Not a perfect solution, but it could save several hours on a complex return.

While it won't do you much good immediately, my practice might give you some ideas. I don't let TT install into Drive C:. Each year I guide it to a separate partition and folder: E:\TurboTax\Tax12, for example, and run the program from there. My return data goes into E:\TurboTax\Tax12Dat. (The TurboTax tree gets saved to a USB thumb drive, stored separately from the computer; several years' files are there. And I also have paper copies of many years,) TT saved my return as "2012 WhXXX R Form 1040 Individual Tax Return.tax2012"; there is also a PDF file, "2012 WhXXX R Form 1040 Individual Tax Return_Records.pdf", in the same folder. Did you also save a PDF copy? In a non-crashed location?

How badly did your computer "crash"? Many times, all or part of the data on an HDD can be recovered. I assume you've already pursued that option, but if not, check with your local guru or computer shop. If it is worth enough to you, there are professional disk recovery businesses.

Good luck! Let us know how this turns out.

RC

-- -- R. C. White, CPA San Marcos, TX (Retired. No longer licensed to practice public accounting.) snipped-for-privacy@grandecom.net Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010) (Using Quicken Deluxe 2013 R 11 and Windows Live Mail in Win8 x64)

I'm trying to reconstruct my 2011 Turbo tax return which was lost when my computer crashed. I had a backup: E:\HP Easy Save drive and I can see it seems to contain the file with my data. The identification on the E drive is "C.:... XXXX... tax return.tax2011". (I had ordered the backups to be saved in their original folders, so I'm stuck with this C: which might make a problem). I want to reload TurboTax 2011 and reconstruct it by using this data on drive E:, but I can't seem to find a way to import the file. Having the 2011 data would, of course, help with the 2012 return. John Polasek

return.tax2011"

Restore that file from your backup into some convenient place. Start Turbotax 2012. Choose to start a new return. Turbotax will then look for a file to import from. If it finds your 2011 return, continue on with your 2012 return.

If not, I expect it will offer some kind of a "Browse for file" option. Choose that then navigate to where you restored your 2011 file and choose the file. You should then be able to continue with your return.

Of course, this won't work if your backup is corrupted.

Hope this helps

Mike

Thanks. I have a paper copy of the 1040 but not a copy of the complex schedule E. Now I can't even find the file, for which there was a listing, but I don't know if there really was a 2011 file restored. I did see listings of 2010 and 2009 in the recovered files. For what it's worth, the "crash" actually occurred (iirc) when I could not operate the computer, I think due to a lost driver, and I accidentally selected the "Recover" option. This had the effect of wiping the disk clean. Thank you for your help.

I don't understand the question.... and am confused on your usage of "Import & Backup"...

If you find a file with the dot-suffix of ".tax2011" that IS the TT file for 2011.... there is no importing or backup of anything.

Just have the TT2011 software OPEN the "xxx.tax2011" FILE.

-> TurboTax -> File -> Open .... (browse for file)

hmmmm... since we previously had an entire thread with you on how to "email a report" involving a PDF file...

this somewhat simple "Open File" discusssion may take the same amount of effort, time, and explanation.

Just to cover all bases.... You can TRANSFER data from your previous 2011 tax return/file. You "IMPORT" data for your "current" return from your "current" financial institutions. Merely clearing up the symantics to match the TT menu items.

IF you are wanting to create your 2012 TT tax return, and are starting a NEW 2012 return, and want to TRANSFER any info from the 2011 file, then it again is a semi-automatic feature.

TT will then search locally for previous ".tax2011" files, or you can click on the BROWSE to help locate your file.

Proceed with the your 2012 return.....

Mike I was able to find a tax return for 2010 as a recovered file. I was able to determine the proper folder for that file by setting up a dummy file in my 2011 attempt. (Long folder path ending in\my documents\TurboTax). So I cut and pasted it there. Then I had to load TT10 to recognize it, which it did. (You click file, open\-Otherwise TurboTax opens up by engulfing you with offers to help, "let's get started", but with no indication how to start if you just want to start with forms which can be done by selecting\views\forms). Another gripe is that when you're installing TurboTax there is no installation program, instead it exhibits nothing but a static screen and you can watch the drive lights blink for about 15 minutes, accompanied by an advertisement that covers half the screen, still nothing going on, but if you our alert enough to push away the advertisement, you are greeted with the invitation to launch TurboTax. I was somehow able to restore 2011 from the HP easy save and was able to print out the whole tax. So now it will help to buck up my 2012 effort. Thim him him him him himhe 2011 printout is stamped all over in giant letters "Do not file" And "form not final" and some of it backgrounded in blue. thank youand John for your help

"ps56k" wrote in news:kkce0g$cao$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

And I would guess if you can't TRANSFER from the .tax2011 file, chances are if you install TTax 2011 and attempt to open the .tax2011 file as a return that won't work either. But you might be able to TRANSFER from 2010 in that version and then save the resulting 2011 return and then TRANSFER that into 2012. Worthwhile if you have business assets. Not so much with carryovers (you would first have to effectively complete the 2011 return again to make sure are correct).

scott s. .

Thanks. The trouble I had was that I could see the file I needed on drive E. which is the Simple Save backup drive from Hewlett-Packard. What I failed to realize was that that file was unusable as it existed. I needed to open up the simple save software and let it restore the file to usable form. As usual I did not study the handbook But merely plugged in the backup drive at the beginning of last year and it "simply saved" as we went along, just as the name implies. The restoration is to some "restored" folder, from which I was finally able to bring it into TurboTax 2011. John