Quicken is S L O W - Everyone affected Please chime in.

Mark1104

@retird - if you set up a few new Q files recently which means they are quite small, I agree with other posts that it is your computer.

I have a Q file that is 30 years old and is 280mg. ALso, I have a running WIn11 on a fairly new computer (3 months) that has a intel7 13th generation chip.

Q launches in 5 seconds, OSU takes about 30 seconds (I haven't actually timed it) and accesses 3 different FIs.

and please define "slow"; evenone has a different tolerance level for 'slow". Curious how old your computers are and how much memory is in each one of them.

retird

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20374752#Comment_20374752

The slowness was there on both computers long before I set up the 2 new data files… I disagree with your guess that both of my computer(s) are the issue……… I defined slow in many previous post over the past year, some posts a long time before setting up the 2 very small new 2 files on just 1 of the computers . I to had a data file that was over 20 years that was no where close to the max size per Quicken. Their tech support said, at the time that I needed to start a new file that should correct the slowness which I did set up but it did not correct anything… but fractured my data from a very old active working single data file going back over 20 years to an archieved 20 year file and a newer current file started per Quicken recommendtion.

For your request I just finished starting Quicken on the computer with just 1 data file (data file size 22.4 meg)… 27 seconds… and did an OSU (2 financial institution) and it took 2 minutes 27 seconds and returned 0 transactions.

splasher

@retird

I am similar results to @Mark1104 with my Lenovo desktop with the following specs:

It came with Win10 and was upgraded to Win11 and is 30 months old, so it is anything but new.

My Quicken file statistics are (CTRL +HELP→About Quicken):

There are no attachments in the data file and Quicken startup takes about 30 5 seconds. I don't do OSU, so I can't give you a time on that.

[edited] Typo, 30 should have been 5, just rechecked to confirm 5 second startup.

retird

@splasher I'll show mine too…. so Quicken startup take you about 30 seconds too….

#1 computer: (largest and only data file on this computer)

#2 computer: (largest data file)

So maybe those who say this is a computer issue can post their spec's for comparison too….

Mark1104

@retird - which computer gives you the better performance?

Since the 2nd computer is a intel5 chip with only 12g of RAM, I'd submit that is a generation behind. I would understand why the performance is 'slow' on that machine. Suggest the focus be on the 1st machine.

Since the 1st machine appears to be "current" (intel 7 with 16g of RAM), and no one else is complaining, there has to be a setting on your computer that is causing this - otherwise, EVERYONE would have the same experience. have you checked that you don't have a large number of programs operating in the background (esp. programs that are part of start-up?), Also, what happens if you turn off any spyware programs and then test the results.

I have a small Q file and i just checked the launch speed: 3 seconds. For my large file, 6 seconds.

Also, for your internet provider, what is the download speed you experience? that could affect OSU. Have you tested each FI separately? is the one FI that takes a lot longer than all the others?

retird

@Mark1104 Internet speed consistant at 596 Mbps. To add that the router is a tri-band gigabit router. Both computers run wirelessly. Yes I also tested by hard wiring each computer via ethernet cable to the router with a 6 foot cable. Computer and router less than 6 foot apart. Still slow…..

The second computer is the newest chip… has a newer chip than the first (chip launched 2nd quarter of 2021). First computer chip launched in 3rd quarter of 2017…. Both more than adequate per spec's to run all my software. Quicken the only slow contributor…

Yes I created test files with each single financial institution twice… Once on each computer. Same slowness….

All this "lay" discussion is good… lots of thoughts and things to consider and it is appreciated… I think I have ruled out computer, internet, and router (with and without wireless operation). Test files made no difference.

THX for the discussion all. Still no resolution but hopeful Quicken wizards will fix it….

Mark1104

while your 2017 computer meets the Quicken performance minimum requirements, those requirements do no include "speed" as a requirement. Even a computer from 15 years ago could meet the minimum performance requirements, but it will not process very quickly.

You have added a new performance requirement - your own - called "speed' (the oppositie being "slow") that is not a Quicken minimum performance requirement.

I will tell you from personal experience, that when I run quicken on my Intel7 generation 13, 16 RAM computer (purchased 3 months ago), "speed" is simply not an issue.

However, when I move Quicken to my wife's Intel5 8 RAM computer, wow, is it "slow". That computer was 'state of the art' in 2017 when it was originally purchased.

Logically, if it was not your computer and it was Quicken software, there would by 100's of posts on these boards. But you have a few of us that say the Quicken speed is quite fast and we are both running state of the art computers. Sorry, but dismissing your own computer doesn't logically make sense to me.

retird

All my computers run all software fast except for Quicken….. not to labor on this subject but was snooping around and I will just post this for you guys…

Now a picture of my task manager: (only 32 bit software running is Quicken). Microsoft Excel and Access, both running, loaded in less that 2 seconds. May have found what I needed….

BK

As an FYI, I am on the latest Win11 Pro, Gen11 core i7 laptop, Internet download speed of 250-400 Mbps, Quicken deluxe R48.15, 25 FIs (only 3 are DC now) with almost 40 OSU connected accounts, Mobile Sync is off, no bill pays, no scheduled transactions, data file size of 60MB:

• Quicken startup: 4-5 seconds
• OSU completion: 20-35 seconds (first time for the day when no prior update was performed)

My Quicken performance has been similar since 2020, with insignificant improvements since Win11, newer laptop and faster ISP speed. I did create a new fresh data file in 2020 and then added key older historical data to it in order to eliminate dependency on the older 160MB file.

DotCom

[Removed- Third Party Question]

Rocket J Squirrel

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20374750#Comment_20374750

Startup is 8 sec not including time to input my file password. OSU is 37 sec accessing 11 logins to 7 FIs with a mixture of DC & EWC+. The EWC+ FIs take all the time.

Internal QDF is 148,517K, outer QDF is 395,372K.

This is QWIn R50.16 on my 11-year old tower machine with an Intel i5 @ 3.3 GHz and 8 GB RAM running Win10 Pro x64 hard wired to gigabit Internet.

Do these statistics clarify anything for you?

retird

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20374856#Comment_20374856

THX…. only thing is that all my FI's are EWC+. Could be possible there is a bottle neck, packet loss, or latency somewhere in the flow of data transfer from Q, Intuit, and FI"s servers and thru all the other transfer devices along the way to my computers.

Rocket J Squirrel

@retird

No, wait, you asked about a lot of my PC's attributes. We already knew EWC+ is the biggest slowdown for OSU. I would like to hear your conclusions about other QWin slowness based on comparison of my PC with yours. Otherwise, you've wasted my time.

AlexisoftheShire

Don't mean to interrupt the conversation and wanted to provide my experience. Been a Quicken user for over 25 years. I am using a Dell XPS-13 with 8gb of memory and a 11th gen I5 processor. I am on Windows 10 22H2 and up-to-date on all updates and Dell drivers. My Quicken release is R51.10. My Quicken data file is 140mb. It loads in about 8 seconds. I have 12 accounts (2 banks, 2 investment, 8 credit card). I update every day and it takes around 2 minutes for it to update my accounts. When I am using Quicken the transactions are pretty fast. In the past I have seen downloaded updates take a little longer but they do download complete. I backup my Quicken data file after every use and cut and paste it into the Google cloud. Over those 25+ years I have experienced problems with Quicken but also over time they have been resolved. It is not elegant or what I would call modern software but it does what I need. I don't use Quicken Mobile nor Quicken cloud. Both have corrupted my Quicken Windows data file due to both lacking data integrity. Just an FYI of someone's experience.

retird

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20374920#Comment_20374920

This thread is for folks to chime in on slowness. Tons of folks have posted in this forum about slowness. There has to be a common link for all those who have slowness. How old a computer apparently is not one since yours is really old. A solution is what I search for and why I came here. Sorry you feel your time is wasted. Again I search for solutions so can you offer any to me and all the others so effected?

LarryB in FL

RIDICULOUSLY SLOW!!!! Been a user of Quicken since 1989. It has gotten worse and worse. Recently I had Quicken damage my data file during a download and even with backups from way before the error, all support could do was tell me that "things were corrupted back at the server" and I had to completely start over! Can you imagine? Reconstructing ALL the accounts, all the scheduled transactions, all the memorized transactions, etc, etc. And ALL of this is because they want to FORCWE people into their subscription model by eliminating the ability to download directly.

AND AFTER THAT, with a truly minimal dataset, it STILL takes well over 2 minutes to update my accounts.

I'm an IT guy and I used to recommend Quicken to friends. I NEVER recommend it any more.

retird

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20374935#Comment_20374935

Good to see another IT guy popping in…… I.ve been on a hunt to determine why so slow…… Computers here significantly exceed Quicken's requirements, internet also, and network too….. The most significant information I can find in Quicken about performance troubleshooting is in this link….

https://www.quicken.com/support/quicken-performance-troubleshooting

From my previous post I checked both computers and all software runs very fast except Quicken and Quicken is the only 32 bit software on my system. Then this morning I found the link above. From the above link I copy…..:

• Check if other programs are running slowly. This could indicate an issue with your system instead of Quicken. 

Mark1104

@LarryB in FL - So, can you please provide some details about your computer? age, RAM, etc? Being an "IT" guy does not bestlow any magical priveleges to me. Maybe your background is with servers and not PCs?

Also, how many FIs do you connect to during OSU? what are the connection types? it is possible that 'slow' on OSU is a function of the integration with Quicken providers and the security protocols now implemented on EWC+ connections. what is the download speed on your internet connection?

Let's not 'broad brush' your issue - there are too many potential root causes……

markus1957

I'm hesitant to chime in but here is my experience. @retird is having what is described as slowness with a very small data file so file size is not the issue. Generally, slowness can be put in 2 categories. Slowness navigating thru the application and slowness encountered during OSU.

Slowness navigating thru the application is usually the result of old hardware that can't handle the inefficient old processes used by Quicken, data file corruption or an extremely large internal data file size containing an account with more than 15,000 transactions. Navigating investment accounts with thousands of transactions is typically slower than in a spending account with a similar number of transactions because of the different underlying structure of the data tables and the different processes used to navigate the tables.

OSU slowness is the most often reported slowness issue and is almost exclusively associated with the EWC/EWC+ (EWC) process. Direct connect accounts update in about 5-10 seconds per FI regardless of the number of accounts per FI. The EWC issue is a back-end server issue and not application related.

There are 3 log files which demonstrate what is going on under the hood during OSU. The Connection Log which shows summary info for start and finish of OSU as well as start and finish for direct connect accounts. The OFX Log which shows detailed connection info and data received for Direct Connect FIs. The Cloud Sync Log which shows connection info and data received for EWC/EWC+ and mobile sync.

If you review the timestamps in these logs, you will see that direct connect is relatively fast and that EWC/EWC+ is disproportionately slow. In my case 4 direct connect FIs take about 25 seconds while 4 EWC/EWC+ FIs take about 120 seconds. You will also see that the desktop app is in constant communication with the back-end servers and most of the time spent during EWC/EWC+ OSU is waiting for the server to transmit data. Quicken Support has never provided an explanation for why the EWC/EWC+ process should be so disproportionately slow compared to direct connect. In fact, there is an argument to be made that since EWC/EWC+ could be holding data received on a scheduled back-end server update rather than on demand (direct connect), that EWC/EWC+ should be a faster process.

So, with respect to slowness related to the OSU process, it is the back-end servers causing the delay rather than the desktop app. Only Quicken or their 3rd party aggregator can speed that process up.

Adding- The EWC/EWC+ process can also be deceptively fast when OSUs are performed back-to-back or within a short time frame of each other. The back-end server basically responds quickly that there is nothing new to report so the process completes quickly. The direct connect part of the OSU process proceeds the same as it always does, contacting the FI server and downloading data that Quicken recognizes as already received.

retird

Thanks @markus1957 for popping in and for the very detailed straight facts.

tbf47

I am the initial poster here. My experiences with Quicken are much like a lot of you. Many Many years. I have tried all suggested things suggested here. I wrote to the Quicken C suite. I received a response and a cordial call offering to help. The solution to our common problem is to reduce the size of our Quicken file. They said that is the only fix. They wanted to schedule time with me to eliminate all but a couple of years of data. I am not real crazy about that idea. It is frustrating to see these regular updates and they have work things that are never on my radar. It seems to me they should be able to develop a Quicken program feature with user driven parameters that will effectively pare down file size that meets the needs of the user nation.

I like all of you am in hopes they will get this done to our liking before the program stops working altogether.

Mark1104

@tbf47 - again, as I ask others, can you please post the age and attributes of the computer you are using. The Quicken minimum system requirements will ensure your Qdata file, no matter how large, can be processed by the Quicken software. Mind, you those minimum system requirements do not discuss 'speed' or 'slowness', which is a function of a human's patience (or lack thereof!).

if there was no need to upgrade the computer, we'd all be on a Windows95 software running on a 1990's intel chip. The world progresses……so what is the age and attributes (chip, RAM, etc.)

DotCom

Quicken on my new computer with 32GB RAM and Win 11 Pro runs slower than prior versions did on my old Win 7 machine with 16GB RAM. The problem is Quicken, not the hardware. Using up-to-date HB&RP edition. Other applications, like the massively large Adobe Photoshop and even Outlook 2016 run just fine.

Time to load Quicken from taskbar icon click to display of checking account register: 47.5 seconds

Time from clicking Update Accounts icon to dialog box display: 50.6 seconds

Time to perform One-Step Update with 1 checking, 1 savings, 1 credit card, 1 IRA accounts: 1 minute 24.4 seconds

It's an abomination. It's abby-normal.

markus1957

if there was no need to upgrade the computer, we'd all be on a Windows95 software running on a 1990's intel chip. The world progresses……so what is the age and attributes (chip, RAM, etc.)

Part of the problem with slowness when navigating the app is that Quicken is still using database, drive access and graphics rendering processes that date back to the Windows 95 era that cannot leverage newer more efficient processes. I'm not sure Quicken can even use more RAM than Win 95 allowed. Faster chips and SSDs just help mask the underlying inefficiencies.

It's still the best product for what it does. If Quicken ever expands Simplifi to include the cash flow (looks like they did that) and tax planning features in the desktop app, the newer coding alone will evoke Model T to Tesla performance comparisons.

retird

Yes guys and gals I agree Quicken is the best product currently available for what it does however antiquated the coding and processes are. The slowness can be fixed. Having the latest computer, SSD drive, fastest internet, and most efficient network can't fix old code or modify processes nor convert 32 bit to 64 bit software.

As the OP @tbf47 asked in the closing sentance of his original post: I hope that all of you who have posted similar issues only to become frustrated with Quicken's apathy will chime in here. Maybe we can persuade them to fix it.

I would respectfully ask the Community folks that manage this Community to consider adding the ability to vote here on whether Quicken Users want Quicken to fix this…. THX

Mark1104

@retird - what is QUicken's incentive…. until a product comes a long that can complete with it.

The CEO is 66 years old and was employee #4 of Intuit which later spun off Quicken. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't be interested in rocking the boat - my entire 40 year career has been nuturing this product - no need to make changes now. . Let my successor take all the risks……

retird

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20375061#Comment_20375061

Well producing a quality product for consumption used to be the goal of most businesses. Quicken has had several major investors since Intuit sold it. Here is a video I watched about the first sale when it was occuring (#4 employee of Intuit). It is interesting that way back then it was said Quicken needed some TLC…. and etc. going forward…. At that time I thought that sounds great….

Here is the video from 2016 if you care to watch it @Mark1104 …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAtj1qpKcpI&t=124s

And another more recent video…2021 I think??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxgBlGCYRLs&t=112s

tbf47

I am beginning the think we are dinosaurs. It is my belief that the late 20's and early 30's crowd do not use check books, do not balance checking accounts or brokerage accounts. I am wondering what the average age of the devout Quicken user is. Another question, when we launch the program or run the OSU are those functions dependent on contact and communication with the Quicken mothership? If so maybe all of our activity is being throttled. Just a thought. the C-Suite's solution to these issue are for the users to reduce the size of our data files. The caveat is (I believe) it has to be done correctly. It sounded to me like(when I talked with a someone from the C-Suite ) IMO It is not a simply removing data to regain speed. It think your correct. Enough of my rambling thoughts.

Quicken Jasmine

Hello All,

Thank you for taking the time to visit the Community to report this issue, though we apologize that you are experiencing this.

When are you experiencing slowness? Upon opening Quicken, running OSU, etc.? What OS are you working with on your desktop?

We have forwarded this issue to the proper channels to have this further investigated. In the meantime, we request that you please navigate to Help > Report a problem and submit a problem report with log files, a sanitized data file, and screenshots (if possible) attached in order to contribute to the investigation.

While you will not receive a response through this submission, these reports will help our teams further investigate the issue. The more problem reports we receive, the better.

We apologize for any inconvenience! Thank you.