Quicken requires write access to documents in order to open them.

Pesh115

I recently had to replace my 2018 MacBook Pro and i'm trying to restore my Quicken Data File by copying it out of my Time Machine Backup. When I try to open the Quicken Datafile, I get a "write access" error. I have checked the permissions on the datafile and all users (me, "staff", "everyone") are all enabled with "Read & Write" as the privilege.

I'm at a loss how to get past this and get access to all my Quicken data???

Here is the specific error message:

Quicken needs write access to data files it opens in order to perform its work. The non-writable state of your data file is likely caused by one of the following issues:

1. The file is on read-only media (such as a CD).
2. You don’t have permissions to work with the document package, or one of the files/folders inside.
3. The document package or one of the files/folders it contains has been marked as read only in the Finder.

Please check the access permissions of the document package and its contents in the Finder, and correct them if needed. You may need to copy the data file to your Documents folder if it’s not already there since that folder should always have write access enabled.

Try opening your data file again after making sure it’s writable.

jacobs

Another thought: instead of trying to restore the Quicken data file from your Time Machine, try to restore the latest backup (e.g. file ending with .quickenbackup) of your data file. That would likely avoid the file permission problem you've encountered.

Pesh115

@RickO I tried both of your suggestions. Sadly neither option worked. I get the same error message.

Pesh115

@Jacobs restoring from Time Machine isn't working at all. The issue is that original computer that was backed up was a work computer which has been replaced due to hardware issues. Time Machine doesn't recognize the New Computer as a valid place to restore / access the original backup.

jacobs

@Pesh115  If you press Option when clicking the Time Machine icon in the menu bar, you'll see the option to "Browse Other Backup Disks", which will allow you to browse backups made on other computers.

Pesh115

I tried that and it doesn’t work. I have access to the Sparse bundle and manually got the Quicken data file out but I cannot restore the file thru Time Machine. No idea why not.

The file and all its contents are marked as read / write for every user.

I don’t understand why this is so complicated?

Pesh115

I finally got the time machine image to work and restored the original data file and it works.

This issue can be closed.

Thanks to all who provided tips and ideas.