quicken data file will not open but was created in quicken 2007 for mac

Had a iMac running Mac os10.11 running quicken 2007.  Logic board crashed and I hav eplacd it iwh a nwMac running Mac OS 11.13.  I have a time machine backup for everything up to the night it crashed.  After purchasing quicken fo mac2018 I tried to open several of the time machine backups as well as the backups from quicken itself.  none of the date files will open.  I get error about older files not being supported. but they where cr on quicken for mac2007.  Help I need one of the accounts for a trust,  any ideas please!

Comments

  • RickO
    RickO SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited December 2018
    You will need to locate your QM2007 data file in your backups. It will end in extension .QDFM. 

    Once you have located, launch QM2019. You should see the screen below. (If you don't, click menu File > New...) Choose "Start from a Quicken for Mac 2007 file", click Next and point the file browser at you restored QM2007 data file.

    Quicken Mac Subscription; Quicken Mac user since the early 90s
  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited December 2018
    Also: be aware that you can still run Quicken 2007 on the new Mac. Restore the Quicken 2007 application from your backup to your applications folder, and away you go. Then you can pursue your move to Quicken 2019 as your time permits going forward.
    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited January 2019
    tried this didn't work. restored quicken 7 and data file to new mac, same error" not supported,  i read something about two flavors for quicken 2007.  one for lion compatible, which i think i had. and the other.  so i gather i just got screwed.  i have tried just about all the time machine backups i had and no avail.  i finally downloaded the data files, (.qdf's i think} from the bank and i guess i'll start over.  bad thing is the bank has gone through a merger  and only the last 8 months are available to download.  so i'll have to get pdf's for the statements i don't have any more and enter the data via the keyboard.  I really feel that quicken has messed up big time on this , and should do something about it, except say "sorry not supported".
  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited January 2019
    Tim, if you were running Quicken 2007 on a Mac running macOS 10.11, then you had the “Lion compatible” version — and that version works equally well on macOS 10.13 and 10.14. Can you do File > Get Info on your Quicken 2007 application and report what version number it says it is? The only not compatible app is the old pre-Lion version — but that wouldn’t have worked on your 10.11 Mac. I’m wondering if you somehow had the old and newer versions of Quicken 2007 on you Mac, and you restored the wrong one.



    That’s one avenue to pursue. A completely separate path to pursue is moving to Quicken 2019, since you said you purchased it. Quicken 2019 will import any Quicken 2007 data file, and it’s not clear from what you posted exactly what happened when you launched Quicken 2019, told it you wanted to start from a Quicken 2007 data file, and pointed it to your data file. There should be no compatibility issues with that, unless what you restored from your Time Machine backup is actually not your Quicken 2007 data file.



    From your original post, I think you should be able to get up and running one or both of these ways, and we can help you with it. Take a step back from what you’ve previously concluded, and help us help you work through it step by step. Start with the question above about the version of your Quicken 2007 application, and a description (screen shots are even more helpful) of what happens when you try to start Quicken 2019.
    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited January 2019
    jacobs:  thank you for your reply.  the orginal mac had a logic board crash and is toast.  i saved the hard drive out of it and trashed the rest.  in my time machine backups, what is the exact location of the the quicken data file and the file extention of it,  it's very possible i have tried to use the wrong one in error. i was very disappointed in the the customer service reply and had just about given up hope.  i also am wondering if i purchase a external drive case and install the old hard drive it, then boot up from it at start up if i could retrieve the data that way.  how would i export a back up file from quicken 2007 that is compatible to 2019?  will the old version of quicken even do that?  what would be the correct file extention to use?  my bank just went thru a merger and all the old records are archived and can not be downloaded directly in to quicken.  my only option is to manually enter the data from old statements.  i have most of these in storage. but it would be quite a job . any help would be greatly appreciated.

    tim
  • smayer97
    smayer97 SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2019
    Tim Glenn said:

    jacobs:  thank you for your reply.  the orginal mac had a logic board crash and is toast.  i saved the hard drive out of it and trashed the rest.  in my time machine backups, what is the exact location of the the quicken data file and the file extention of it,  it's very possible i have tried to use the wrong one in error. i was very disappointed in the the customer service reply and had just about given up hope.  i also am wondering if i purchase a external drive case and install the old hard drive it, then boot up from it at start up if i could retrieve the data that way.  how would i export a back up file from quicken 2007 that is compatible to 2019?  will the old version of quicken even do that?  what would be the correct file extention to use?  my bank just went thru a merger and all the old records are archived and can not be downloaded directly in to quicken.  my only option is to manually enter the data from old statements.  i have most of these in storage. but it would be quite a job . any help would be greatly appreciated.

    tim

    QM2007 does not use default file location for either the main data file nor the backups though the most obvious place to start looking would be in your Documents folder. Alternative, follow the following steps:

    In the Finder, open a new Search window by selecting File > Find (or pressing Command-F). 
    1. Click on Search This Mac
    2. Select search by "Kind is Other", then type "Quicken Data File". 
    That should find the file regardless of file extension, as one is not mandatory with QM2007 and what it might be can vary depending on which version of QMac originally created the file (though if it has one it is likely .qdfm). So the above will bypass that issue.

    BTW, if your backup was complete including applications, you should be able to find a copy of your QM2007 also.

    (If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)

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  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited January 2019
    Tim Glenn said:

    jacobs:  thank you for your reply.  the orginal mac had a logic board crash and is toast.  i saved the hard drive out of it and trashed the rest.  in my time machine backups, what is the exact location of the the quicken data file and the file extention of it,  it's very possible i have tried to use the wrong one in error. i was very disappointed in the the customer service reply and had just about given up hope.  i also am wondering if i purchase a external drive case and install the old hard drive it, then boot up from it at start up if i could retrieve the data that way.  how would i export a back up file from quicken 2007 that is compatible to 2019?  will the old version of quicken even do that?  what would be the correct file extention to use?  my bank just went thru a merger and all the old records are archived and can not be downloaded directly in to quicken.  my only option is to manually enter the data from old statements.  i have most of these in storage. but it would be quite a job . any help would be greatly appreciated.

    tim

    Tim, I concur with everything @smayer97 has written above.


    In terms of your hard drive, yes, you should be able to boot from it if you put the drive in and enclosure. But if you can find what you need on your Time Machine backups, this might not be necessary. Can you find the Quicken 2007 application in the Applications folder?


    In terms of moving to Quicken 2019, you should not need to backup or export your 2007 data file; Quicken 2019 should read it.
    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • smayer97
    smayer97 SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2019
    Tim Glenn said:

    jacobs:  thank you for your reply.  the orginal mac had a logic board crash and is toast.  i saved the hard drive out of it and trashed the rest.  in my time machine backups, what is the exact location of the the quicken data file and the file extention of it,  it's very possible i have tried to use the wrong one in error. i was very disappointed in the the customer service reply and had just about given up hope.  i also am wondering if i purchase a external drive case and install the old hard drive it, then boot up from it at start up if i could retrieve the data that way.  how would i export a back up file from quicken 2007 that is compatible to 2019?  will the old version of quicken even do that?  what would be the correct file extention to use?  my bank just went thru a merger and all the old records are archived and can not be downloaded directly in to quicken.  my only option is to manually enter the data from old statements.  i have most of these in storage. but it would be quite a job . any help would be greatly appreciated.

    tim

    Just to clarify, you may or may not be able to boot from your old drive if you new mac does not support the older macOS but this should not be necessary as it should still mount on your new computer to be able to search and access the contents. 

    (If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)

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  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited January 2019
    i followed the instruction and found the ,qdfm file in my latest time machine backups, copied it to the desktop and tried to import it into quicken.  at first i though it was going to work, but i got a error" data file created before 2004 not supported" . this is the same error i get every time.  the file was created on quicken 2007.  please what is wrong?  do i need to index the file and if so how do i do that?
  • smayer97
    smayer97 SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2019
    Tim Glenn said:

    i followed the instruction and found the ,qdfm file in my latest time machine backups, copied it to the desktop and tried to import it into quicken.  at first i though it was going to work, but i got a error" data file created before 2004 not supported" . this is the same error i get every time.  the file was created on quicken 2007.  please what is wrong?  do i need to index the file and if so how do i do that?

    If that is the error message then QM2007 LC truly believes the file was created by Quicken before 2004 and was never opened by QM2007 LC. That suggests that the data in it is that old too. In QM2007 LC version (v16.1 and newer) Quicken removed support for data files that old. 

    But if you really want to be able to access it you will need a copy of QM2007 PPC version (v16.0.x) but this version will only run on Mac OS 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) or older (as far back as Tiger OS X 10.4.6).

    (If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)

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  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited January 2019
    so just to clarify,  even if i boot from my old hard drive and mount to the new desktop, run quicken 2007 (lion compatible)  that is on it and save  a backup file, it still will not work because quicken still thinks it's a "older" version . is there no way to re save the data file to a version that quicken 2019 will accept?
  • smayer97
    smayer97 SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2019
    Tim Glenn said:

    so just to clarify,  even if i boot from my old hard drive and mount to the new desktop, run quicken 2007 (lion compatible)  that is on it and save  a backup file, it still will not work because quicken still thinks it's a "older" version . is there no way to re save the data file to a version that quicken 2019 will accept?

    No... if you are successful in opening the data file with QM2007 then you should be good to import into QM2019.

    (If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)

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  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited January 2019
    thats the problem.  quicken will not open the data file because it thinks it's to old!!!  but i created it with quicken 2007!!  can you trick quicken to think that a file is correct?  otherwise i'm up the creek without a paddle!!!  very fusturating!! ( i can't spell very well)
  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited January 2019
    Tim Glenn said:

    i followed the instruction and found the ,qdfm file in my latest time machine backups, copied it to the desktop and tried to import it into quicken.  at first i though it was going to work, but i got a error" data file created before 2004 not supported" . this is the same error i get every time.  the file was created on quicken 2007.  please what is wrong?  do i need to index the file and if so how do i do that?

    But Tim says in his original post that he was running Quicken 2007 on MacOS 10.11 — which would mean it couldn’t have been the old PPC version of Quicken 2007 (nor any older version); it would have had to be the Lion Compatible version.
    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited January 2019
    Tim, it seems to me there are two possibilities: (1) your file is corrupted in such a way that Quicken 2007 doesn’t recognize it, or (2) you’ve retrieved from your Time Machine backup some very old Quicken data file which is not the one you were using most recently. The latter seems more likely to me.
    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited January 2019
    (Oops, accidentally clicked Submit above. To continue...)



    Something in what you’ve described still doesn’t add up to me, so can we try to re-trace some steps...



    Can you go back to your Time Machine from shortly before your old Mac died and find your data file again. If you do a File > Get Info on it, what is the Modification Date and Last Opened date on this file? If the date is shortly before your Mac died, then it can’t be from an older version of Quicken; restore a fresh copy of this backup to your desktop.



    Also, can you try to retrieve the Quicken 2007 application from Time Machine? Put it in your current Applications folder or even loose on your desktop. Do a File > Get Info on it; what version number is it? Now, make a copy of the data file you pulled from Time Machine and drag the copy over the Quicken 2007 application to launch it. Describe what happens.
    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited January 2019
    the creation and modified  date is dec 31 2018 8:28 am . and the app. version  says quicken 2007 . the quicken app version is 16.2.4 . when i drag and drop the data file on the quicken 2007 icon it tells me 2004 data not supported. i'm so confused!!!
  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited January 2019
    Well, I'm confused, too. ;)

    So the above settles that you are in fact using Quicken 2007, the Lion-compatible version that still runs today, and the last modification which was released.

    What is hard to explain is why this version of Quicken sees this data file as a Quicken 2004 data file. I'll throw out a few more thoughts and questions to try to help dig into the mystery...

    I don't know what could have changed about a Quicken data file to make it appear to the program to be a 2004 data file. I've never heard of that happening. So I'm still wondering if there's a possibility that there's a different Quicken data file somewhere. That is, could this file you've pulled from Time Machine be an old version of your Quicken data, but not the version you've recently been using? That's the only plausible answer I can think of.

    Is that December 31 time stamp on the file a time when you used Quicken before your old Mac died? Or is that after you replaced your Mac and were trying to recover?

    If you open Time Machine and go a little farther back in time, is the time stamp always recently before the backup? Is the size of the file at all different at different times in the past? Are there recent Quicken data file backups in the backup folder? The questions are aimed at trying to determine if this is indeed the file you were using up until your Mac died. My hope is that somewhere else in your folder hierarchy, there's a different data file which was being used by Quicken 2007 in recent times. (Unfortunately, I'm not aware of a way to search your whole Time Machine backup for files of type-Quicken Data File unless you restore from Time Machine to a hard drive.)


    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • Ps56k2
    Ps56k2 SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2019
    Tim Glenn said:

    i followed the instruction and found the ,qdfm file in my latest time machine backups, copied it to the desktop and tried to import it into quicken.  at first i though it was going to work, but i got a error" data file created before 2004 not supported" . this is the same error i get every time.  the file was created on quicken 2007.  please what is wrong?  do i need to index the file and if so how do i do that?

    ....i followed the instruction and found the ,qdfm file in my latest time
    machine backups, copied it to the desktop and
    tried to import it into
    quicken.  at first i though it was going to work, but i got a error"
    data file created before 2004 not supported" .

    Why are you IMPORTING vs just OPENING it ?

    QWin - R54.16 - Win10

  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited January 2019
    Tim Glenn said:

    i followed the instruction and found the ,qdfm file in my latest time machine backups, copied it to the desktop and tried to import it into quicken.  at first i though it was going to work, but i got a error" data file created before 2004 not supported" . this is the same error i get every time.  the file was created on quicken 2007.  please what is wrong?  do i need to index the file and if so how do i do that?

    Semantics. Quicken 2007 to Quicken 2018/19 is an import. You don't use an import command; you use File > New to "Start from Quicken 2007 data file" -- but what happens then is indeed an import of data into the new format. 
    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • smayer97
    smayer97 SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2019
    One other thing to try, though it may not work, is to extract the core data file out of whatever file you think is good. Follow the instructions here:If this does not work for any of the files you have, then you have corrupted data files that are not recoverable.

    (If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)

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  • smayer97
    smayer97 SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2019
    (Unfortunately, I'm not aware of a way to search your whole Time Machine backup for files of type-Quicken Data File unless you restore from Time Machine to a hard drive.)
    Though you may not be able to search the ENTIRE Time Machine Backup for Quicken Data File, you can search any specific date. Simply mount and open your Time Machine drive. Open the "Backups.backupdb" folder then open a specific date. Now you can perform a search within that dated folder like you normally would, as described above. Just make sure you click on the folder in the Find window as shown:




    (If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)

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  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited January 2019

    One other thing to try, though it may not work, is to extract the core data file out of whatever file you think is good. Follow the instructions here:

    If this does not work for any of the files you have, then you have corrupted data files that are not recoverable.

    (If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)
    i tried this and no joy!  i guess i'm really screwed!  i tried to open the very first back in my time machine.  i'm at a lost for words.  i guess it's time to break out the storage boxes and start entering the data manually.
  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited January 2019

    One other thing to try, though it may not work, is to extract the core data file out of whatever file you think is good. Follow the instructions here:

    If this does not work for any of the files you have, then you have corrupted data files that are not recoverable.

    (If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)
    Boy, I'm really stumped by this Tim -- and sorry for the predicament you're facing.

    It sure doesn't make sense to me. You clearly have the latest version of Quicken 2007 (version 16.2.4), so I just can't understand how ALL your backup files are being read as Quicken 2004 data files.

    You're certain that the data file, and its backups, are not old versions from when you did have Quicken 2004, with your Quicken 2007 data file living somewhere else on your hard drive? That's the only explanation that makes sense to me. But if you've done the Find by Kind search @smayer97 has detailed above and below, and it hasn't turned up any other Quicken Data Files, then it's inexplicable to me how none of your files can be opened.

    The only way to open a Quicken 2004 data file would be to obtain a copy of Quicken 2004 through Quicken 2007 (the original, pre-Lion version), which would require a Mac running MacOS 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) or earlier to run. Neither of those, and particularly the former, are easy to find. And even if you created such a set-up, it's not certain that your Quicken data file would open, because despite the message you're seeing, we believe these files were updated by Quicken 2007.

    There's still an unexplained missing piece to this mystery, but I'm out of ideas what to try next.
    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited January 2019
    thank you for all your help.  this weekend i'll do a search on every backup file in the time machine, not just the lastest ones.  maybe ['ll fine that pot of gold!!!  it's worth a try . thanks again for all your hekp
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