QMac backup issue [Title changed to reflect issue]

Papaduke1457

I have Quicken 2020 on my Mac and when I try to backup to my disc it gives me a message that says that I cant backup to Quicken 2017, I have 2020, what do I do?

Quicken Francisco

Hello @Papaduke1457

Thank you for reaching out on the community and telling us about your issue. I do apologize for the issue you're having. That's an odd message since you're using the 2020 version. Did you previously have the 17 version as well? I'm wondering if we may have opened the 17 version since the icons look very similar. If you wouldn't mind could you take a screenshot of your screen along with the error when you back up. It'll help us figure out exactly what's going on.

Once you get a chance to upload a photo let us know and we'll take a look.

Thanks,

Quicken Francisco

jacobs

Thanks for confirming that you have older versions of Quicken instaslled, but for some reason don't have the current version.

You definitely can delete Quicken Essentials, and you probably can delete Quicken 2017. But they won't interfere with getting you back operating.

Since you said you have Quicken 2020, but find it is not on your computer currently, the key now is to re-install Quicken 2020. Visit Quicken.com, log in using your Quicken ID, and on the resulting page about your subscription, click the Download for Mac link to download the Quicken 2020 installer. Run the installer and Quicken.app (Quicken 2020) will be installed in your Applications folder. Now you should be able to drag your backup file over the Quicken application in the Applications folder, and it should launch and open your file.

After you get up and running, and verify you're seeing your mosrt recent data, you can go back and delete the older applications. Make sure that you remove any old application icons from your Dock (you should have just the plain red Q icon for the current Quicken app, and not a Q17 icon). 

Going forward, make sure you have a regular backup process which backs up both your data file and your application. Apple's built in Time Machine is one of the best ways to accomplish this in set-and-forget fashion. 

Quicken Francisco

Hello @Papaduke1457

Thank you for reaching out on the community and telling us about your issue. I do apologize for the issue you're having. That's an odd message since you're using the 2020 version. Did you previously have the 17 version as well? I'm wondering if we may have opened the 17 version since the icons look very similar. If you wouldn't mind could you take a screenshot of your screen along with the error when you back up. It'll help us figure out exactly what's going on.

Once you get a chance to upload a photo let us know and we'll take a look.

Thanks,

Quicken Francisco

NotACPA

@Papaduke1457 Please do QUICKEN, About Quicken and tell us the exact BUILD of QMac that you're currently running.

jacobs

" when I try to backup to my disc it gives me a message that says that I cant backup to Quicken 2017, I have 2020"

It would really help if you could capture and post a screenshot of what you are seeing, as it's a little hard to understand what you're describing. Are you trying to create a backup, or to restore a backup? If you're trying to create a backup, the program shouldn't care what version of Quicken you're running. If you're trying to restore/open a backup, then it definitely matters, as  the Quicken 2017 application can't open a Quicken 2020 backup data file.

Papaduke1457

Jacobs here it is let know.

jacobs

@Papaduke1457  Thanks for posting that screenshot. It actually contains a bit of a mystery to me. The main message says you're trying to open a file that can't be opened in Quicken 2017. The filename says Quicken 2020 so it makes sense that a Quicken 2020 file can't be opened in Quicken 2017. We can get to the bottom of that, but what made me do a doubletake is on the right side of the screen, where it says the backup file is a "Quicken Essentials Backup."  The plot thickens!

Quicken Essentials is the 2010-era predecessor to Quicken Mac. It doesn't even run on any recent Mac operating system. Do you possibly have an old copy of Quicken Essentials on your computer? Dive into your Applications folder and let's see what's there. The current version of Quicken (aka Quicken 2020) is called simply "Quicken" or "Quicken.app". The previous version was "Quicken 2017" or "Quicken 2017.app"; the really old Essentials was "Quicken Essentials.app". What do you find with a Quicken name in the Applications folder?

If you have the plain "Quicken" application, you should be able to use it to open the backup file. Simply drag the .quickenbackup file onto the Quicken application to launch it. Does that work?

Papaduke1457

I find essentials and quicken 2017 in the application should I delete all of them

jacobs

Thanks for confirming that you have older versions of Quicken instaslled, but for some reason don't have the current version.

You definitely can delete Quicken Essentials, and you probably can delete Quicken 2017. But they won't interfere with getting you back operating.

Since you said you have Quicken 2020, but find it is not on your computer currently, the key now is to re-install Quicken 2020. Visit Quicken.com, log in using your Quicken ID, and on the resulting page about your subscription, click the Download for Mac link to download the Quicken 2020 installer. Run the installer and Quicken.app (Quicken 2020) will be installed in your Applications folder. Now you should be able to drag your backup file over the Quicken application in the Applications folder, and it should launch and open your file.

After you get up and running, and verify you're seeing your mosrt recent data, you can go back and delete the older applications. Make sure that you remove any old application icons from your Dock (you should have just the plain red Q icon for the current Quicken app, and not a Q17 icon). 

Going forward, make sure you have a regular backup process which backs up both your data file and your application. Apple's built in Time Machine is one of the best ways to accomplish this in set-and-forget fashion.