Mac crashed - can my QMac 2007 data be saved?

Question

My Mac crashed and will not restart.  It was a 2012 model so it was time to replace.  I was using Quicken 2007, according to the file kind, as I'm really just keeping track of household expenses - not connecting electronically to any bank, etc.

I have a backup of my whole drive - can I manually find and move move my Quicken files to my new computer and get access to my account info somehow?

jacobs · Answer

If you have a good backup of the hard drive it should be possible to access the data.

One problem you face is that your very old Quicken 2007 software won't run on any modern Mac. If you get a used Mac which can run macOS Mojave, then you should be able to pull over the Quicken 2007 application and the Quicken 2007 data file to the newer Mac and get running. But macOS Mojave is getting to be a pretty dated operating system; Apple doesn't support it or patch it for security issues any more, and some websites (especially financial institutions) may not work with the Safari or Chrome web browsers which are capable of running on Mojave — and that will just get worse over time. And more and more other software won't run on that operating system now or in the near future.

If you are going to replace your old Mac with a new one, or a recent-year used one, and you will be running the current macOS, then you will need to purchase the modern Quicken Mac. The good news is that it should be able to import the data from your old Quicken 2007 data file. The bad news is that there will be a bit of a learning curve, as the user interface and way of doing things is somewhat different from what you're used to. The other bad news is that Quicken is now sold as subscription software, meaning you need to pay for it on an annual basis, whether you are using all the latest features or not. You can let the subscription lapse after a year and continue using Quicken for manual entry (as long as you get Quicken Deluxe, not Quicken Starter), but the program will appropriate the right 25% of your screen with a permanent message to renew your subscription, which can be really annoying to work with.

If you decide you want a long-term solution other than paying for a Quicken subscription, you could buy a subscription and use to import your Quicken 2007 data. Within 30 days of purchase, you can get a full refund from Quicken if you decide not to continue using the software. Exporting data from Quicken to some other product isn't straightforward, but you can get your basic transaction data out if that's what you need to do. (You may find that most other products also carry fees of some sort, but I'm not really familiar with what's available if all you want is to manage your checkbook.)

NotACPA · Answer

You weren't backing up Q on it's own?  Not a great idea.