Permissions Problem

Patrick Day

Due to a failure of my primary disk, I had a new disk installed and all data transferred from my external backup. When trying to open my file on the new disk, I was received a message that I did not have permission to write to this file. I am the admin, so I checked permissions and all looked ok. i went back to my external backup and found I could still open the file without any problem. I called support for help, but after an hour of downloading a new app and trying to backup to the new disk, I still received a permissions message, only this time it indicated I did not have permissions on the new disk. The tech gave up and suggested I do back to the repair shop that did the installation and file transfer. Also, I have a copy of the file on my new disk, but when I look for it it does not show in a search. I have the same problem with the backup disk, unless I search by clicking on the Q in the corner of the open file. When I do this, Library is greyed out. Anyone have any thoughts on this problem?

Sue@LR

I received this message when I tried to reopen a quicken file that I created. It further states that I do not have permission to write to the file and that I should change my allowed permissions to read/write for the file. I do not know how to do that and don't understand why it is necessary since I have used this file with no problem for several years

jacobs

If you can successfully use the file on your external backup drive, could you try quitting Quicken, clicking on that file in the Finder, and doing File > Compress. This will create a .zip file. Move that .zip file to your new primary disk, and double-click it to decompress it. Now try opening this file in Quicken.

The Quicken data file is not actually a regular file; it's a collection of many files and folders contained within a wrapper (in Mac parlance, a "package file") which makes it look like a single file. Even though you may have proper permission fo the data file, you may not have the right permission settings for all the files and folders inside it. (To peek inside, Control-click on the data file and select "Show Package Contents". Don't try to start resetting permissions inside here; you're unlikely to be successful.) To avoid permission problems from cropping up, one should always move a Quicken data file by compressing it first. (Note that Quicken backup files ending in .quickenbackup are already compressed, so they are safe to move as well.)

Quicken Jared

Patrick Day said:

Due to a failure of my primary disk, I had a new disk installed and all data transferred from my external backup. When trying to open my file on the new disk, I was received a message that I did not have permission to write to this file. I am the admin, so I checked permissions and all looked ok. i went back to my external backup and found I could still open the file without any problem. I called support for help, but after an hour of downloading a new app and trying to backup to the new disk, I still received a permissions message, only this time it indicated I did not have permissions on the new disk. The tech gave up and suggested I do back to the repair shop that did the installation and file transfer. Also, I have a copy of the file on my new disk, but when I look for it it does not show in a search. I have the same problem with the backup disk, unless I search by clicking on the Q in the corner of the open file. When I do this, Library is greyed out. Anyone have any thoughts on this problem?

Hello @Patrick Day , 

I am sorry for any confusion you may have experienced, and I thank you for reaching out to the Quicken Community to speak with us about this permissions issue. I was wondering, when you mention your 'primary disk', are you referring to an external hard disk? Also, when you save a backup and attempt to restore, are you moving the data file to some place on the MacIntosh HD from any external drives you may be using? I may be a little confused about what is taking place here, so I want to make sure I have some clarification before recommending any troubleshooting steps.

I am happy to discuss this further and look forward to your reply.

Thanks,

Quicken Jared

Patrick Day

To everyone who responded, thanks for your suggestions. I was able to compress file on my backup, copy to my primary disk, unzip and open my file. I have data which dates back to 1991, so this was a little stressful, when I discovered the permissions issue. I am now more educated about the Quicken file(s), location and permissions issues. I may be upgrading my 10 year old iMac before long, so I will save this information for future reference. My only question: Why doesn't the Support Team know about this issue/solution? I have to believe I am not the only one that has to transfer their files to a new drive.

jacobs

@Patrick Day I'm glad to hear you were able to successfully retrieve and move your data file!

I can't answer why the Quicken representatives you spoke with did not suggest the procedures RickO and I offered above; I would think anyone supporting Quicken Mac should know that the data file needs to be compressed before moving it around to avoid potential permission problems.