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Copying file from from OneDrive to computer results in lost transactions

MicrosoftMoney

I'm trying to help my uncle (90 yrs old) move his Quicken file from OneDrive to his computer. We're screen-sharing so that I can see what he's doing, but Zoom Meeting version makes you stop sharing and re-share whenever you open a different application. So there were a couple of times I didn't ask him to do all that and I wasn't seeing what he was doing.

We located the QDF file on OneDrive, copied it, and pasted it to his C:\Users\NAME\ folder. When he double-clicked the file to have it open in Quicken, he got messages that sound like it was looking for the Quicken installation CD. (I couldn't see his screen at the time.)

So then I had him start Quicken and go to File→ Open Quicken File and select the file he pasted in the new location. It opened without any error notifications. He only has 1 account and he immediately noticed that the balance had changed from ~$5000 to negative $25,000. He could see that 1 type of transaction that he enters manually about once a month was missing, going back several months if not years.

Until I could figure this out, I had him open the old file in Quicken (so that is the file Quicken will automatically open next time) and remove the new-location file from it's list of files. We also renamed the new-location file so that my Uncle wouldn't open it by accident.

When he re-opened the original file, he verified that the balance and transactions were correct.

What did I do wrong? Is it necessary to CUT rather than COPY the original QDF file? Should we have also copied any .DAT files associated with the QDF file?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

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Comments

smayer97

P.S. It seems you are sharing only the screen of one application, or windows for a single application but Zoom allows you to share the entire screen too.

Quicken Kristina

Hello @MicrosoftMoney,

Thank you for reaching out! Was the Quicken program open when the file was being moved? If it was, that may be why some of the data changed. To move the file, I recommend making a backup of the file, then following these instructions from our article on the OneDrive warning and how to move your file off of OneDrive:

Step 1: Confirm the location of your data file

1. Open Quicken and go to File > Show this file on my computer.

A File Explorer window will open, showing you the folder where your Quicken file lives.

2. Look at the address bar near the top of the File Explorer window. This shows the file path — the location of your Quicken file on your computer.

How to read the file path: It will look something like a chain of folder names separated by backslashes (\). You're looking for the word OneDrive anywhere in that chain — for example: C:\Users\[your name]\OneDrive\Documents\Quicken If you see OneDrive in the path, your file needs to be moved. Continue with Step 2.

Don't see OneDrive in the path? Your file may already be in the right place. The path should look something like C:\Users\[your name]\Documents\Quicken. If that's what you see and Quicken is still showing a warning, scroll down to the troubleshooting section below.

Step 2: Move your data file from OneDrive

Before you start: Close Quicken completely before moving any files. Quicken should not be open during this process. Keep the File Explorer window open.

1. In the File Explorer window, find your Quicken data file. It will end in .QDF and usually has your name or "Quicken" in the filename.

Not sure which file it is? Look for the file with the largest size — it's usually several megabytes (MB). If you see multiple .QDF files, use the one with the most recent date modified.

2. Right-click on that file, and select Cut.

3. Navigate to this location in File Explorer: This PC → Local Disk (C:) → Users → [your name] → Documents → Quicken

The Quicken folder doesn't exist? That's okay — you can create it. In the Documents folder, right-click on an empty space, select New, then Folder, and name it Quicken.

4. In the Quicken folder, right-click on an empty space and select Paste.

Windows asks if you want to move or copy? Choose Move. You want the file here, not a copy.

5. Double-click the data file that you've placed in the local folder to open it in Quicken.

Nothing happened when you double-clicked? Try opening Quicken first, then go to File → Open Quicken File and navigate to the Documents\Quicken folder to find and open the file manually.

How to know it worked: Quicken will open without the OneDrive warning, and your accounts and transactions will look exactly as they did before. Nothing has changed in your financial data — only where the file is stored on your computer.

I hope this helps!