Accounting Talk

Toyman · Guest

I've installed Quicken 2008 on a Vista O/S. After converting old data from
Q, 2005, I looked for the QDF files - just to know where they were. I
looked in C:\Program Files\Quicken\ ( and other Q sub-folders), but never
found them. After some head-scratching, I finally found them in
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Quicken\, along
with other Q files, and other Q folders.

I wanted the primary file (Qdata.qdf) in the Quicken folder (C:\Program
Files\Quicken\), and tried to copy it there from the Virtual folder.
Strangely enough, the copy function seemed to work ("one file copied"), but
the file never showed up there (multiple attempts). I WAS able to get the
file copied by creating a Backup location on the desktop, saving the file
(Ctrl+B) there, and then copying the Backup file to a new folder on the
Desktop. From that point I was able to tell Q to open the file on the
Desktop as primary Qdata.qdf.

Incidentally, I have the same problem with the Q\Backup folder. I was able
to create a folder in C:\Program Files\Quicken\, but the Backup function
(Ctrl+B) won't save a file to it. The Backup copy is also in the Virtual
folder).

This lack of control of the file has me uncomfortable. Does anyone have any
idea about:
1) why the Qdata.qdf and Backup files won't copy to C:\Program
Files\Quicken\?
2) Why are the files being stored in the Virtual folder?
3) Is there a work-around?

Toyman
_________________________________

Jerry Boyle · Guest

"Toyman" <o1nyx(nospam)@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Fs2dnYGBn9psff7VnZ2dnUVZ_ozinZ2d@comcast.com...

R. C. White · Guest

Hi, Toyman.

I see that Jerry has answered you here in the Quicken group and Michael in
the microsoft.public.windows.vista.file_management newsgroup. I started
drafting a reply this morning, but suffered a mysterious computer hang and
had to Reset, losing the draft.

Jerry and Michael have given you the right answers: Vista insists on
earlier Windows only "required", that DATA be kept out of C:\Program Files,
reserving that folder only for the application files.

In my case, I got around that requirement - unintentionally - just by
evolution from several Quicken generations ago.

Back when I started dual-booting Win98/NT4, I wanted to be able to run a
single copy of Quicken from both OSes, accessing a single .qdf database. So
I put Win98 on C: and WinNT4 on D: and Quicken on E:. I first booted into
Win98 and installed Quicken so that Win98 could make all its Registry
entries on C:. Then I rebooted into WinNT4 and installed Quicken - again
into E: - so that NT could make its Registry entries on D:. I could make
entries in Win98 in the morning and see them in a report in WinNT in the
afternoon. The system worked well and I've been installing Quicken into
E:\QuickenW (the "W" is a holdover from when Intuit needed to distinguish it
from the DOS version) ever since. I seldom boot anything but Vista Ultimate
x64 now, but I can boot into Vista x86 or WinXP x64 if I want to and run the
program from E:\QuickenW. ;<)

Yes, my .qdf database files (and the automatic \BACKUP folder) are in
E:\QuickenW along with the program files. I agree with those who say that's
poor organization, but it has been working well for me for at least 10 years
and I'll probably keep doing it that way.

In other words, there is nothing in my C:\Program Files about Quicken. (Or
in C:\Program Files (x86), the location for 32-bit applications in a 64-bit
WinXP or Vista installation.) There are some things in
C:\Users\RC\AppData\Roaming\Intuit\Quicken, but they are only some metadata
(reminders, logs and such), not my financial files.

I don't necessarily recommend this arrangement for others, but it works for
me.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(Retired. No longer licensed to practice public accounting.)
rc@grandecom.net
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Currently running Quicken 2008 Deluxe in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)

"Toyman" <o1nyx(nospam)@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Fs2dnYGBn9psff7VnZ2dnUVZ_ozinZ2d@comcast.com...

Al · Guest

On Jun 28, 11:51 am, "John Pollard" <inva...@invalid.com> wrote:

Jerry Boyle · Guest

Hi RC,

You bring up an issue that Toyman didn't raise and that neither Michael
(thanks for the reference!) nor I addressed, namely file sharing.

The issue is particularly insidious for those who upgrade from Windows XP to
Vista with their Quicken data in C:\Program Files\Quicken. Quicken appears
to work for multiple Users; but none can see the others' changes because
Vista Virtualization makes cloned copies of the Quicken DB behind every
user's back.

Moving the data to the Documents\Quicken folder doesn't work either since
each user has their own Documents folder; the same applies to Desktop.

Putting the Quicken data on a separate drive or drive partition that is
shared by all Vista users is one solutuon. I'd probably just use a USB thumb
drive, which gives you both sharing and portability albeit with a
performance loss..

Another solution is using a shared folder. I think it was called Shared
Documents in XP but I believe it's Public Documents in Vista. Microsoft
seems to change their file sharing model with each new OS. If the issue
hasn't already been addressed in this NG,
microsoft.public.windows.vista.file_management might be a good place to go
for an answer.

Jerry

"R. C. White" <rc@grandecom.net> wrote in message
news:R7ednVSPCt8Py_jVnZ2dnUVZ_tvinZ2d@posted.grandecom...

John Pollard · Guest

Jerry Boyle wrote:

Jerry Boyle · Guest

"John Pollard" <invalid@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:N5t9k.229586$yE1.154080@attbi_s21...

Toyman · Guest

Thanks everyone, for the input. I'll take Jerry's advice & put the data
files in the Users\Documents area, mainly because I don't have to dig so far
to get to it.

I hadn't given much thought to file sharing since there's only 2 machines on
the (home) network, and Q is installed on only one of them. However . . .
it would be convenient for either my wife or I to work on Q, while the other
is doing something else. Is there a link somewhere for detailed
instructions on how to do that? Both machines are using Vista (Desktop:
Ultimate; Laptop: Office).

In any event, I'm a little less ignorant about how Vista works, and I can
help my son with his similar problem.

Thanks again.

Toyman
________________________________

"Toyman" <o1nyx(nospam)@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Fs2dnYGBn9psff7VnZ2dnUVZ_ozinZ2d@comcast.com...
I've installed Quicken 2008 on a Vista O/S. After converting old data from
Q, 2005, I looked for the QDF files - just to know where they were. I
looked in C:\Program Files\Quicken\ ( and other Q sub-folders), but never
found them. After some head-scratching, I finally found them in
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Quicken\, along
with other Q files, and other Q folders.

I wanted the primary file (Qdata.qdf) in the Quicken folder (C:\Program
Files\Quicken\), and tried to copy it there from the Virtual folder.
Strangely enough, the copy function seemed to work ("one file copied"), but
the file never showed up there (multiple attempts). I WAS able to get the
file copied by creating a Backup location on the desktop, saving the file
(Ctrl+B) there, and then copying the Backup file to a new folder on the
Desktop. From that point I was able to tell Q to open the file on the
Desktop as primary Qdata.qdf.

Incidentally, I have the same problem with the Q\Backup folder. I was able
to create a folder in C:\Program Files\Quicken\, but the Backup function
(Ctrl+B) won't save a file to it. The Backup copy is also in the Virtual
folder).

This lack of control of the file has me uncomfortable. Does anyone have any
idea about:
1) why the Qdata.qdf and Backup files won't copy to C:\Program
Files\Quicken\?
2) Why are the files being stored in the Virtual folder?
3) Is there a work-around?

Toyman
_________________________________