Why is my Quicken always so slow? So frustrating

Just Fine

Why is my Quicken always so slow .. entering transactions, clicking on accounts, switching over and back from my bank or investment websites, one step update. It’s like it has to think for at least 30 seconds with each action, even when you hit enter for a transaction

I am on the latest windows version.
I ran validate and repair file as well as the super? V & R
I have 8 gb ram with 7.88 gb usable
My data file is 113 mb
Cleaned up my memorized payee accounts

QuickT

Have you followed some of the performance improvement recommendations such as turning Animation off etc? Also ideas from here: https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7915476/faq-are-there-any-windows-settings-that-can-improve-quicken-s-performance

I switched from Q4Windows to Q4Mac because of similar frustrating issues with Windows and Quicken. Here are 3 things to check

1. Is the available RAM actually useable in memory versus including disk swap size. Check actual RAM memory is available
2. Are you using Quicken after waking up from Windows sleep? Windows seems to go into disk checking (Virus scans) and checking for available updates even though you attempt to limit these intrusions (Win 10 does not seem to care!)
3. Is this consistent or does it slow down as used? I used to X out when it got into that mode and re-loaded and it worked fine.

Use a tool like Task manger and look at CPU, Memory and Disk tabs and click on the sort^ of each to see what process might be hogging your resources causing the Quicken slow down when you have Quicken loaded.

Meanwhile if you can run on a Mac I recommend to switch if you do not mind to lose a bit of functionality/capability. It is a good trade off to get super fast performance and stability versus the horrible experience of the Windows version due to a intrusive and slow Operating system like Win 10 ... it won't even work properly on Win 11 yet!! And p.s. the switch between Win and Mac was super easy and require just a few fix ups here and there.

Just Fine

Thx I will go through the performance improvement recommendations and your other suggestions. It’s slow all the time not just when Windows wakes up. I don’t have a Mac so not a choice for me.

QuickT

p.s. It's not the size of your file. Mine was 250MB before I converted; the performance hits are all to do with the Operating environment not the Quicken program (other than a one time patch update that caused it but got fixed later); If you are up to date with the Quicken program chances are it is your system causing this not the Q program, so I would start there to find out what is hogging resources.

QuickT

p.p.s. You said you are on the "latest windows version" ... do you mean Win 11? I assumed you meant latest Win version supported by the Quicken product. If you have moved to Windows 11 you should check this;

https://www.quicken.com/support/quicken-system-requirements

Just Fine

I’m on the current Quicken version and on Windows Pro. I checked the Q requirements and only upped my screen resolution. I also upped the Quicken program priority but can’t yet tell if this all does the trick. Thanks so much for all the options

Boatnmaniac

QuickT said:

Meanwhile if you can run on a Mac I recommend to switch if you do not mind to lose a bit of functionality/capability. It is a good trade off to get super fast performance and stability versus the horrible experience of the Windows version due to a intrusive and slow Operating system like Win 10 ... it won't even work properly on Win 11 yet!! And p.s. the switch between Win and Mac was super easy and require just a few fix ups here and there.

You gave a lot of good advice but I have to strongly disagree that Win 10 is "slow" and that Quicken "won't even work properly on Win 11". 

I have a 3-1/2 year old moderately low-end HP Pavilion computer.  Until about 4 months ago it was running Win 10 and it has never been slow with any app, including Quicken.  In fact, it was running really fast. 

About 4 months ago I upgraded to Win 11 and my HP is now slightly faster than it was with Win 10.  And it continues to work really good with all my apps, including Quicken. 

I'm not sure where you are getting the idea that Win 10 and Win 11 are issues for Quicken.  They are not.

Regarding converting from QWin to QMac:  You are right that there is some reduced functionality and features.  Whether or not that matters is a personal choice.  But it should also be noted that if later one wants to convert back from QMac to QWin that process will not include any investments data.  So those who value tracking investments data should think carefully about it because making the change from QWin to QMac for investments is a 1-way street with no going back.

Just Fine

Thx Boatmaniac! On Win 10 or 11 all other programs run just fine just not Quicken. I’m on an HP Elitebook for the last year but Quicken was slow on my previous laptop too

UKR

@Just Fine ,

where on your internal hard drive (or SSD) is your Quicken data file located? The recommended (and default) place for Quicken data files is in C:\Users\_your_username_\Documents\Quicken

Do make sure that MS OneDrive is configured explicitly to NOT access your Quicken data file while Quicken is running. MS OneDrive may be on by default for all \Documents files and subfolders, without you being aware of it ...

Chris_QPW

UKR said:

@Just Fine ,

where on your internal hard drive (or SSD) is your Quicken data file located? The recommended (and default) place for Quicken data files is in C:\Users\_your_username_\Documents\Quicken

Do make sure that MS OneDrive is configured explicitly to NOT access your Quicken data file while Quicken is running. MS OneDrive may be on by default for all \Documents files and subfolders, without you being aware of it ...

Note that this means that, if you are using OneDrive to backup your data (which includes Documents) then the Quicken data file shouldn't be located in the default folder.  You should move it to somewhere else, for instance, mine is at C:\Quicken.

I really don't like responding to threads about Quicken performance because it is so hit and miss.  And there are so many misconceptions.  For example, RAM.  Unless you are running tons of programs on a limited amount of RAM it is highly unlikely to be the problem.  Quicken can't make use of more than 2GB and doesn't come close to using even that.  Your web browser is going to be using tons more memory than Quicken does.

I should probably just create a FAQ so I don't have to repeat this all the time, but the problem is like I said hit and miss, I doubt I could create one that would really cover all the use cases.  In fact, I'm quite sure that there are such problems that can never be fixed.

First step, clearly defining the problem.  Luckily you have stated that entries take 30 seconds.  Some people just say "its slow", which can be anything.  There have been people with really fast machines that have complained about Quicken taking a second for this or that.  But the next part of this is that entry in an investment account or not.  Investment accounts are "special" in the sense that they have a lot more potential for performance problems depending on how many securities/security lots/transactions there are in a register.  For people who try to use Quicken for "active trading" or even of one is a buy and hold person with 20 years of investment transactions in one account, they can certainly run into performance problems.

Let's say this is the case.  The next is to see if the problem is in fact with the data file or the machine.  The first step which you took is validate, but another step is to use copy.  Since it does a record by record copy it can sometimes clean up problems.  But note these days the copy operation in Quicken will also deactivate all online services.  On the other hand, you don't have to reconnect the online services to test if the performance is now OK for data entry.

Another radical suggestion that is seldom talked about is exporting/importing with QIF format.  This can be a lot of work and in some cases might not even provide good results.  For instance, the QIF format has no support for security lots and as such defaults to FIFO, and any open options will most likely be wrong. And Quicken has problems with importing transfers.  You will also lose things like attachments, a memorized payees, saved reports, ...
More information here: https://www.quicknperlwiz.com/changetransfers.html

If I had to guess, I would say that what is in the data file, especially corruption, is mostly to blame for bad performance that isn't related to the investment transaction problems I mentioned above.

And then there is the "machine".  The operating system version is never the problem.  It is certainly a possibility that a given Windows Update or such can mess things up, or a bad user profile and such, but it is always wrong to say that it is this operating system problem, with one exception, and that is if you are using a Windows version that is no longer supported by Microsoft, you might have problems with downloading transactions because not being able to get a secure connection.  But blaming Windows 11 is "slow" or Windows 10, ... is always the wrong approach.

When the problem is the machine, I would generally break the problem down into two possibilities.
Driver/hardware conflicts.  Some of the people that have reported having the "fastest GPUs" have had such problems.  Sometimes updating a driver helps.  Bottom line is for whatever reason Quicken tends to find any kind of incompatibility that other programs don't have.  Maybe is because Quicken has so many different APIs used in it.  I personally have used either very generic GPUs or CPUs with the GPU built in and never had such problems.  Generic/common can be your friend sometimes.

The more likely "machine problem" though would be a conflicting program usually in the form of blocking/slowing access to the data file.  These might be cloud folders, anti-virus programs, and backup programs.

Just Fine

I also seem to have a bunch of files I don’t know their purpose likely unrelated as they seem outdated. So if I move the Quicken folder I would just have to reselect the file when I open Quicken?

Chris_QPW

Just Fine said:

I also seem to have a bunch of files I don’t know their purpose likely unrelated as they seem outdated. So if I move the Quicken folder I would just have to reselect the file when I open Quicken?

The *.DAT files are the "log files" from downloading transactions and such.  These are the same ones you would view in Help -> Contact Support -> Log files, they are just the "scrambled" form of them (because they have sensitive information in them).  Not all log files are like this some are store under the user data folder (where they should really be stored).  In this case of the ones you are showing they are the OFX logs and note that the one with the same name as your data file are the current one.  Similarly the "SyncLog" is the "Cloud Sync" log file (note these days Express Web Connect/Express Web Connect + using the sync to download transactions).  In any case being a log file, you can delete them if you want, but they will just get recreated as you use Quicken (provided this is for a data file you are using).
The LOG file that is zero length is some kind of bug that Quicken just creates this file, and in the wrong place at that.
I think the BACKUP and VALIDATE folders speak for themselves.  The @xxFiles folders are copies of your data file as they existed before they were converted to a high year version of Quicken.

Just Fine

So I’m working with the copy version and it’s going o er the top crazy. Entering one transaction, it flips back and forth over to the last page I was on (say my bank website). The screen flashes and blacks out numerous times. I couldn’t even go up on the page with the arrows on the right. This is very messed up 🙄🙄 I guess I have to contact support? I’m not looking forward to a ton more wasted time that usually happens when seeking support. Nervous breakdown!!

jtemplin

Chris_QPW said:

I should probably just create a FAQ so I don't have to repeat this all the time, but the problem is like I said hit and miss, I doubt I could create one that would really cover all the use cases.  In fact, I'm quite sure that there are such problems that can never be fixed.

One thing to try I've not seen mentioned: copying your data file to another PC that has a fresh install of Quicken. If the data file runs with good performance, your issues are more likely to be specific to the other PC or its Quicken installation rather than the data file itself. It would eliminate some variables.

If you don't have another PC, I'd try a Windows Sandbox. Install Quicken and your data file there and see how it behaves.

Just Fine

My windows sandbox is grayed out and I can’t find the options to check in the BIOS

Chris_QPW

Just Fine said:

My windows sandbox is grayed out and I can’t find the options to check in the BIOS

Unfortunately, the setting is different for different BIOSes.  
This article gets you the information to check if it is on and in general how to get into the BIOS, but only one type of BIOS.
https://www.technewstoday.com/how-to-enable-virtualization-in-bios/

This one seems to cover more the different BIOSes.
How To Enable Virtualization In BIOS (technewstoday.com)