Lost Files Quicken Mac

kam 2022
kam 2022 Quicken Mac Subscription Member

After installing the latest Quicken software version in early December, I lost all work that had been done since Oct 15th (now the most recent file) even though the files were automatically backed up when shutting down and stored locally, not in a cloud. It's close to 70 hours of work to reinstall the data assuming I can do that. Not much help when calling in to Quicken support other than "Sorry you lost your files". Not happy with the product and the license renewal is coming up next month. Anyone suggest alternatives to Quicken?

Comments

  • jacobs
    jacobs Quicken Mac Subscription SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta

    I don't understand what you're describing.

    Are you saying that the backup files were removed from your Mac? Or that when you opened the backup files, the recent transactions were gone? There is no way that all transactions since October 15 somehow got wiped out of not only your live data file but all your backup data files simultaneously.

    Sometimes after an update, the Quicken preferences file which remembers the location of your most recently-used data file loses track of the file location, and may open an older version of your data file. In that case, you need to manually navigate to find the current data file and tell Quicken to open it.

    By the way, when you install a Quicken version update, Quicken automatically makes a backup of your data file before installing the update, so you should always be able to step back to the pre-update data file; you just have to find it in your Backups folder. If you need help with that, please post back. I can't think of any scenario where all your backup data files would instantly be gone.

    But if you're generally not happy with Quicken aside from this and want to find an alternative, you'll need to look elsewhere for product recommendations; since this is a site run by Quicken, they don't allow discussions of competing products. Best wishes.

    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • kam 2022
    kam 2022 Quicken Mac Subscription Member

    Thanks for your response Jacobs - it does give me a few good pointers.

    Still not confident I can rely on Quicken Classic on Mac to keep my current data and backups - here is why:

    In addition to Quicken update "wiping-out" my data (which I guess could be a data file reference being lost), Automatic back up files ('BACKUP (Automatic) - <filename>.quickenbackup') since Oct 15 (of which there should have been at least 5 according to auto backup settings) - are not there?! Could not find them either in the default Automatic Backups folder, nor in the Time Machine - as if they were never there?! Update should not have interfered with backups, correct ? Nor should iCloud since these are local files ( in \Users\<username>\Library\Application Support\Quicken\Automatic Backups folder), right?

    Any thoughts?

  • jacobs
    jacobs Quicken Mac Subscription SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta

    Hmmm, I've never seen the backups be erased by Quicken doing a backup. So are you saying the Backups folder is there but is empty? Or the backup folder is missing entirely.

    Are you sure your Backup folder is pointed to that default location? In Settings > General, if you click on the Backup Folder button, what folder location does it open to?

    Or… what happens if you do a search for files with "BACKUP (Pre-Update)"; are there any files? This can be tricky, because Finder by default will not search in hidden folders, like the Library. So you need to enter the search terms like this in the Finder Find:

    and then search for "BACKUP (Pre-Update)". You should find the backup file Quicken created prior to installing version 7.4.

    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
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