Carbonite does not back up default location for Macintosh Quicken data file

Tom Auer

You could call this a Carbonite issue, or a Mac OS Catalina issue, but it has important effects on Quicken for those of us who assume that Carbonite is backing up our important files, including, notably, our Quicken data file! The Quicken data file is saved in the path Users\[Account Name]\Library\Application Support\Quicken. That file is not, by default, backed up by Carbonite, and there appears to be an issue with granting Carbonite access to that location in the operating system. (I'm still experimenting with my Carbonite settings, but I've been getting recurrent error messages stating that Carbonite needs more access permissions to back up selected files.)

If something happened to my local hard drive, I know that I would be surprised and disappointed to find out that my (popular) backup service had not backed up my Quicken data file!

jacobs

@Tom Auer  I don't understand your reasoning. I told you how you could easily -- and by easily, I mean with less than a minute's worth -- solve your problem with Carbonite not backing up your Quicken data, and you rejected it. Apparently because things just don't work the way you wish they would?

You wrote: "there is no obvious place within the Quicken interface to specify where the data file should be located." Well, there is a default location Quicken uses, but Quicken anticipates that users might prefer to select their own location, so on the File menu, there is a Move To… command. Quicken Help tells where Quicken places files by default and tells how to use the Move To command "to move the file you your preferred location." I'd say a command on the File menu to move your data file is indeed an obvious place a user can specify where the data file should be located.

Similarly, Quicken establishes a default location for backup files, which it creates by default, and provides an easy way in Preferences for users to select their own location for these files should they prefer to use a different location.

So you have an easy way to move your Quicken live data file and your backup files to an alternate location if you wish.

But you seem to be miffed that Carbonite doesn't back up Quicken's default location. It took me one Google search to find that Carbonite, in fact, can easily back up the hidden user Library folder. (Here's the link.) Because as Carbonite support says: "In some cases, you may want to unhide the User Library folder on your Mac, so you can select files that may be stored in that location."

So there are simple solutions from either the Quicken side of things or the Carbonite side of things to solve your problem. If you want to reject these easy ways to resolve the issue, and take your complaint to Apple for making things hard to understand, best of luck with that.

Quicken Anja

Hello @Tom Auer,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community and telling us about your issue, though I apologize that you are experiencing this.

I, personally, do not use Carbonite and therefore am not qualified to advise you on issues that you are experiencing with Carbonite. Though, I have previously worked with other customers who do use it and can say that I have seen issues in the past where Quicken files (as well as other files not associated with Quicken) located in the hidden library do not backup. 

What I have found that works for some as an alternate solution is to also backup your Mac hard drive using Time Machine. However, this does require using an external storage device. More information on Time Machine can be found in this link from Apple's website.

I apologize that I am unable to be of better assistance to you, however, I will leave this post open for any users that may be more familiar with Carbonite to add to this discussion.

Tom Auer

Anja, thanks for the reply, and thanks for leaving the issue open. An external hard drive would be protection against a major hardware failure, but not protection against a domestic catastrophe. Part of the selling point of Carbonite is the concept, if there were a fire in my building and the sprinklers went off and my possessions were heavily damaged, there would be a remote backup of my documents. It's interesting and surprising to discover that's not entirely true.

jacobs

I'm also not a Carbonite user; my online backup application (iDrive) does allow me to grant permission to backup this folder. 

This simplest solution for Carbonite users may be to move the location of your Quicken data folder -- both live data file(s) as well as backup folder.

If you do not have macOS iCloud settings set to store your Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud, then creating a Quicken folder in your Documents folder is probably the most accessible location you can use. Otherwise, you might want to create a new Quicken folder at the top level of your Macintosh HD (e.g. your boot drive, if you've renamed it), at the same level as Documents and Pictures and Applications. This won't be moved to iCloud, and Carbonite should be able to back it up.

Tom Auer

Anja and Jacob, thank-you to both of you for your thoughtful replies. As I have indicated in the feedback buttons, I don't consider either of them to be fully responsive. I note (and I looked): there is no obvious place within the Quicken interface to specify where the data file should be located.

I have been a Macintosh user since 1984, and a Windows PC user since about 1993. A few things have been constant during that time: the Macintosh allows users to accomplish tasks more easily without a detailed knowledge of the operating system; Windows PCs better accommodate a range of mixed players; and the Macintosh OS sometimes prevents users from understanding the implications of mixing vendors.

jacobs

@Tom Auer  I don't understand your reasoning. I told you how you could easily -- and by easily, I mean with less than a minute's worth -- solve your problem with Carbonite not backing up your Quicken data, and you rejected it. Apparently because things just don't work the way you wish they would?

You wrote: "there is no obvious place within the Quicken interface to specify where the data file should be located." Well, there is a default location Quicken uses, but Quicken anticipates that users might prefer to select their own location, so on the File menu, there is a Move To… command. Quicken Help tells where Quicken places files by default and tells how to use the Move To command "to move the file you your preferred location." I'd say a command on the File menu to move your data file is indeed an obvious place a user can specify where the data file should be located.

Similarly, Quicken establishes a default location for backup files, which it creates by default, and provides an easy way in Preferences for users to select their own location for these files should they prefer to use a different location.

So you have an easy way to move your Quicken live data file and your backup files to an alternate location if you wish.

But you seem to be miffed that Carbonite doesn't back up Quicken's default location. It took me one Google search to find that Carbonite, in fact, can easily back up the hidden user Library folder. (Here's the link.) Because as Carbonite support says: "In some cases, you may want to unhide the User Library folder on your Mac, so you can select files that may be stored in that location."

So there are simple solutions from either the Quicken side of things or the Carbonite side of things to solve your problem. If you want to reject these easy ways to resolve the issue, and take your complaint to Apple for making things hard to understand, best of luck with that.

Tom Auer

Jacobs, easy now, it was neither my intent to be churlish nor to put you on the defensive.

With respect to File: Move To... now that's quite interesting -- I've never seen that command in any program I've used before. If I missed an unexpected feature which was in reasonably plain view, well, I doubt I'd be the first computer user ever to make that mistake.

Thank you for the link to the Carbonite article. I will review it later.