After R30.xx - Manual Backup freezes - but Auto Backup appears ok

our.ebills

I am no longer able to create manual backups. Whenever I attempt to do so the backup process goes about halfway thru and then Quicken freezes up. I have tried rebooting, restarting etc. and the problem persists. The automatic backup seems to work. It's the manual backup that has been consistently failing. I believe this began occurring shortly after installing the update Release R30.19 (US Versions, Dec 2020). I have since installed the Release R30.21 (US Versions, Jan 2021) yet the problem persists. Is anyone else having this issue?

Ps56k2

our.ebills said:

 As stated previously, the manual backup process ultimately completes, it simply takes several hours to do so. This was never the case until about a week ago.

The backup process is merely a "copy" function - so this is bizzare -

What happens if you do a Windows copy of the same file to the external USB drive ?

My slow laptop....
Q backup
C: drive = 7 secs ....
USB drive = 45 secs ....
Win copy to USB = 20 secs

Sherlock

I suggest you follow the Copy and Validate instructions described in: https://www.quicken.com/support/advanced-data-file-troubleshooting-correct-problems-quicken-windows

jdanderson54

I have the same problem after I have run Super Validate.

our.ebills

Yes. The super validation was suggested by Quicken support and it didn’t remedy the issue for me either.

g_sample74

Yes, it seems Quicken subscription just provides a program that freezes all the time. I only recently renewed my program because I thought the update of the software would correct the ability to download transactions from an online account. Nope... after two years, it still does not work. Even "support" could not get it to work properly. Now the manual backup turns the screen to black and unable to use anything else while it is trying to back up the file... then displays an error that the program has stopped working.

Quicken Francisco

Hello Everyone, 

Thank you for reaching out on the community and telling us about your issue. Thank you for also letting us know how the copy and validate went. The next thing we can try here is to try is a Qcleanui. This will delete quicken from your computer (your data file will still be saved this only deletes the program from the computer) and then we'll want to reinstall quicken to see if we're able to get manual back ups back up and running. 

https://www.quicken.com/support/using-qcleanui-uninstall-quicken

Once we've uninstalled we'll want to reinstall quicken.

https://www.quicken.com/support/how-do-i-download-quicken-quickencom-after-i-buy-it

Once you get the chance to try this out let us know if you're still having issues. If you are let us know and we'll see what to do next.

Thanks,

Quicken Francisco

our.ebills

I tried this solution. Uninstalled Quicken using Windows uninstaller. Downloaded the latest version of Quicken from the Quicken website and reinstalled the same. Tried a manual backup and received the same result. The process begins and then slows to a complete crawl. The backup feature functions but takes about two hours to complete. The strange part is the automatic backup function seems to work fine. What's next?

Greg_the_Geek

What is the full path to the folder that contains your Quicken data file on the hard drive? Do you have Controlled Folder Access enabled in Windows Defender? Are you using OneDrive, Dropbox or Google Backup? What is the full path to the folder that contains your Quicken data file backup?

thecreator

Hi @our.ebills ,

Are you backing up, online or to an external Hard Drive?

Online is subject to Network Speed as well as Line Noise.

our.ebills

I am backing up locally. Up until January 6, 2021 I backed up to an external hard drive without any issues. Since the problem began I have tried different locations including my C: drive. No change in the problem. It begins to backup and then slows to a crawl. Given enough time the backup actually completes. The other odd part of this problem is the automatic backup works normally.

thecreator

our.ebills said:

I am backing up locally. Up until January 6, 2021 I backed up to an external hard drive without any issues. Since the problem began I have tried different locations including my C: drive. No change in the problem. It begins to backup and then slows to a crawl. Given enough time the backup actually completes. The other odd part of this problem is the automatic backup works normally.

Hi @our.ebills ,

When you began to have problems backing up to your External Hard Drive, did you try copying other large files to your External Hard Drive to see what happens, outside of Quicken?

Also when you say External Hard Drive, what type is it? USB? A Mapped Hard Drive?

Have you De fragment your Hard Drives?

Have you cleaned your Hard Drives?

See this procedure, which includes cleaning:  https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7844658/installing-reinstalling-windows-quicken-subscription-editions

How much free space is available on your Hard Drives?

our.ebills

I am backing up to an external hard drive that's connected via USB. I have no other issues transferring large amounts of data to this drive. I also use this same drive for the automatic backups from Quicken and that completes without any problems.

our.ebills

I have already completed the Defrag, Clean and uninstall/reinstall processes. All to no avail. The same issue continues. As stated previously, the manual backup process ultimately completes, it simply takes several hours to do so. This was never the case until about a week ago.

Ps56k2

our.ebills said:

 As stated previously, the manual backup process ultimately completes, it simply takes several hours to do so. This was never the case until about a week ago.

The backup process is merely a "copy" function - so this is bizzare -

What happens if you do a Windows copy of the same file to the external USB drive ?

My slow laptop....
Q backup
C: drive = 7 secs ....
USB drive = 45 secs ....
Win copy to USB = 20 secs

UKR

After Manual Backup eventually completes ...

How big (in MB) is your _.QDF data file?

How big is the Manual Backup file?

Do you have any documents attached to your transactions? If yes, about how many?

I'd also like to see the "File Information" window  (See below)

Is any cloud backup software (Dropbox, MS OneDrive, etc.) actively accessing your Quicken data file while Quicken is running?
What is the complete path and file name of your Quicken data file  (e.g. C:\Users\username\Documents\Quicken\QDATA.QDF)?
 

- File Information:
Click Help in the Menu Bar. CTRL+click About Quicken and it'll give you a File Information box. Please capture an image snapshot of this File Information box and attach it here.

The Windows Snipping Tool (available with Windows 7 and newer) can be used to capture a partial screen image and save it to a file of file type PNG, JPG, or GIF only.

To attach the image here please review

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7867159/faq-how-do-i-post-a-screenshot-in-the-community-from-windows

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7663259/faq-how-do-i-post-a-screenshot-in-the-community-from-a-mac

our.ebills

When using the Windows copy function to copy my Quicken file to my backup location it copies over in approximately 16 seconds without any issues. It's definitely an issue with the Quicken Manual Backup.

Green Visor

I too am having issues making backups in Quicken - both manual and automatic. If I manually copy my 2.8 GB QDATA.qdf file to my external drive it takes approximately 1 minute. Having let the Quicken initiated backup run for over 1 hour I get a message that Quicken has stopped responding after copying 1.7 GB.

Is there a file size or time limit to make the backup?

Ps56k2

Green Visor said:  If I manually copy my 2.8 GB QDATA.qdf file to my external drive it takes approximately 1 minute. Having let the Quicken initiated backup run for over 1 hour I get a message that Quicken has stopped responding after copying 1.7 GB.

Why is your QDF so HUGE ..... do you have a lot of "attachments" ?

Green Visor

I left the backup to run overnight. After approximately 3 hours it completed and returned a successful backup message. While I did not time how long the automatic backups took in the past, I estimate that they ran for about 15 minutes +/-.

Green Visor

I am running Quicken 2020, Version R31.12, Build 27.1.31.12.

Green Visor

> @Ps56k2 said:
> Why is your QDF so HUGE ..... do you have a lot of "attachments" ?

Hi Ps56k2.

Not sure what you mean by "a lot" of attachments, but I do attach back statements, pay stubs, receipts of online payments, and documentation from large purchases. (I use Quicken as a database to search for those records.) Are attachments stored in the QDATA.qdf file or are links to the files stored? What is the recommended max size of a QDATA.qdf file?

I have been using Quicken for more than 20 years and have not purged data from old accounts. Maybe I should purge older, closed accounts. The slow backup is a recent development. maybe I crossed a limit?

Thanks for your reply!

Ps56k2

EVERYTHING is stored in the single QDF file -

UKR

@Green Visor ,

I don't have any file attachments in my QDF file, but I know that you can view the internal file structure with a program called 7-zip. QDF files are zip-files under the covers. This should show you a folder structure with your attachments next to the standard set of QDF, IDX, QEL, QPH and QTX files making up your Quicken data file.
I'd be interested in seeing an image snapshot of the 7-zip file manager view.

Be careful. Work with a file copy to not accidentally change / mess up your production QDF.

I'd also be interested in seeing your File Information window, as requested in my prior response to the originator of this discussion. You get this by clicking Help in Quicken, then press and hold Shift while you click "About Quicken". Attach the resulting popup window to your next response.

our.ebills

I don’t think that’s the solution. My Quicken file is half that size and I started this thread because I was having and continue to have the same problem. I was contacted by several levels of Quicken support and they were stumped as well. The automatic backup works flawlessly. That automatic backup file is the same size as the manual backup file. My work around as suggested by Quicken support is to copy my active .qdf file from its resident location to my manual backup location. Again, that works flawlessly. I have received either two or three Quicken updates since this problem began and still the problem persists. The size of your .qdf file isn’t the issue. The problem lies with the Quicken program.

UKR

our.ebills said:

I don’t think that’s the solution. My Quicken file is half that size and I started this thread because I was having and continue to have the same problem. I was contacted by several levels of Quicken support and they were stumped as well. The automatic backup works flawlessly. That automatic backup file is the same size as the manual backup file. My work around as suggested by Quicken support is to copy my active .qdf file from its resident location to my manual backup location. Again, that works flawlessly. I have received either two or three Quicken updates since this problem began and still the problem persists. The size of your .qdf file isn’t the issue. The problem lies with the Quicken program.

As far as I can determine,

Automatic Backup uses a binary file copy process similar to the DOS COPY command and creates a mirror image of the file, warts and all.

Manual Backup uses a Quicken-internal process similar to File / File Operations / Copy which processes the file logically, record by record and will trip over structural damage in the file. I do not know how it processes attached documents and if there are any limits to the number of folders and files held within this type of zip file.

The fact that you received several software updates since starting this discussion does not mean that the programmers were able to develop a magic patch for your specific problem. They may still have someone working on it or they may have decided that they can't fix it without a major database redesign ... we'll probably never know, because they usually don't tell us what they're working on ...

Green Visor

I was not expecting the QDATA.qdf backup to include the attachments subdirectory (Attach). I have alot of scanned images of bills there.

@Ps56k2 - how did you get the screens shot showing accounts, categories, etc. details?

My statistics from Quicken Deluxe are ported above.

Ps56k2

Green Visor said:  - how did you get the screens shot showing accounts, categories, etc. details?

for the internal stats..... Help --> (hold Shift) --> About Quicken

Green Visor

Internal stats

thecreator

Green Visor said:

I was not expecting the QDATA.qdf backup to include the attachments subdirectory (Attach). I have alot of scanned images of bills there.

@Ps56k2 - how did you get the screens shot showing accounts, categories, etc. details?

My statistics from Quicken Deluxe are ported above.

Hi @""Green Visor" ,

You are entering your transactions manually and not using Quicken Servers.

You are not running the latest Quicken Version.

See this FAQ:  https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7307115/add-your-quicken-information-to-your-posts-plus-how-you-are-connected-to-the-internet

And this Article: https://www.quicken.com/support/quicken-data-file-set-extensions

Green Visor

Hello @thecreator;

I am running the latest version of Quicken that was pushed to my PC and have verified this by running "Check for updates".

Not all of my accounts provide transaction files, so my registers are made up of both manually entered and downloaded (when available) transactions. I likely do add more attachments than most, but I think Quicken does provide a good way to search for receipts and keep track of important documents.

Thank you for the article on Quicken file names. It looks like I have some files from old versions of Quicken that I can clean up.

Thank you all for you help!

Rocket J Squirrel

UKR said:

Manual Backup uses a Quicken-internal process similar to File / File Operations / Copy which processes the file logically, record by record

I have never heard this before. What is the source of this information?