Backup File Naming Convention

CSBB-FW

I notice that there are 2 naming conventions used in the BACKUP folder. It appears that one is a backup related to an update (R-45.13) followed by a date; however, the Date Modified (Windows Explorer) is 7 days earlier.
The other convention is the date and time, which match the Date Modified (Windows Explorer).
What is the difference in these backups? Is it better to restore the one that includes the date and time?

Snowman

The backup related to the update was done by Quicken when you updated Quicken to R45.13. That backup is created in the Backup folder on the C drive. That is fine as far as it goes.

I would recommend that you do a manual backup that includes the date and time to a thumb drive or an NAS drive. If you C drive crashes you will lose all of your backups.

To answer your question if the backup with the date and time was made after you updated Quicken to R45.13 then yes, use that file to restore.

q_lurker

The Backup with the release number (R-45.13 in your example): 
-- These are made each time Quicken OFFERS to install an updated version program release for you.  Through your Windows access control, you might reject the offer but the backup still gets made.  The release number reflects your current release, not a newly installed release.  In my case, I probably have more than a dozen referring to R-43.32, my current installed release.  If you happen to use multiple Quicken files, the only file getting backed up that way is the 'last file used'.  That would be the file Quicken is expecting to open after installing the new release.  But it is first making a backup of the file as last written by your prior release, just in case the new release screws something up unexpectedly.    

In my case I can see up to a three day differential between the last modified date Windows shows and the date used in the backup file name.  I suspect the backup is essentially a Windows copy of the last file used and that modified date carries over from that last use.  In your case, that suggests you were not using Quicken for that seven day period.  You closed the program and file; seven days later you opened Quicken, it offered (and maybe installed) a new release, it made a R-45.13 backup of that closed file with the more current date shown but the actual last modified date.

The other backups are ones created either by your instruction (Ctrl-B or similar) or by Quicken's automatic backup setting. 

As to which to restore?  It depends on what you need.  If you need to get back to a file written before your current release, choose the one with the Release number.  If you are just trying to go back in time to some other point, choose the proper time point.

Snowman

The backup related to the update was done by Quicken when you updated Quicken to R45.13. That backup is created in the Backup folder on the C drive. That is fine as far as it goes.

I would recommend that you do a manual backup that includes the date and time to a thumb drive or an NAS drive. If you C drive crashes you will lose all of your backups.

To answer your question if the backup with the date and time was made after you updated Quicken to R45.13 then yes, use that file to restore.

q_lurker

The Backup with the release number (R-45.13 in your example): 
-- These are made each time Quicken OFFERS to install an updated version program release for you.  Through your Windows access control, you might reject the offer but the backup still gets made.  The release number reflects your current release, not a newly installed release.  In my case, I probably have more than a dozen referring to R-43.32, my current installed release.  If you happen to use multiple Quicken files, the only file getting backed up that way is the 'last file used'.  That would be the file Quicken is expecting to open after installing the new release.  But it is first making a backup of the file as last written by your prior release, just in case the new release screws something up unexpectedly.    

In my case I can see up to a three day differential between the last modified date Windows shows and the date used in the backup file name.  I suspect the backup is essentially a Windows copy of the last file used and that modified date carries over from that last use.  In your case, that suggests you were not using Quicken for that seven day period.  You closed the program and file; seven days later you opened Quicken, it offered (and maybe installed) a new release, it made a R-45.13 backup of that closed file with the more current date shown but the actual last modified date.

The other backups are ones created either by your instruction (Ctrl-B or similar) or by Quicken's automatic backup setting. 

As to which to restore?  It depends on what you need.  If you need to get back to a file written before your current release, choose the one with the Release number.  If you are just trying to go back in time to some other point, choose the proper time point.

CSBB-FW

Thank you, both. It is very helpful to know exactly what is being backed up. Unfortunately, I probably need to restore a version previous to the last update and try to verify which one has the data I need. Understanding why the modified date is different from the backup file name is good to know.

Greg_the_Geek

You don't need to actually restore a Quicken backup. You can change the file extension from .QDF-backup to .QDF and open it directly in Quicken.

CSBB-FW

Thank you for that tidbit. Somehow one of my accounts is off by quite a bit so I hope the backup in early December is good. Unfortunately, we've done a lot in another account and will probably have to re-do quite a lot. I'll follow your suggestion to do my research.