When copying Quicken file from laptop to desktop new 2024 budget disappears - using Goodsync
The 2024 budget I developed when working on my laptop disappeared when I copied (using Goodsync) to my desktop. The older 2023 and 2022 budgets, created months ago, do appear on the desktop. I'm seeking advice on a workaround and if this is a bug. Both systems are running B64.5 Premier.
I routinely use Goodsync to synchronize many different application files between desktop and laptop, including Quicken, MS Outlook, MS Word and Excel, Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, PDFs, and also program install files like exe, msi and zip, and have had zero issues until now.
Right now I am forced to either use only my laptop for budget work, or else laboriously recreate this budget on my desktop. I like that I can vary the expense by month for any category, so this is a powerful tool.
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This might not have to do with the "copy", but more about a bug that has been reported a lot lately since the beginning of the year. People are running Sync to Mobile/Web, and it is wiping out their budgets.
EDIT if this is the case for you, see this thread:
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I don't sync to the cloud from either my desktop or my laptop install.
HOWEVER, HOWEVER, I did manage to find an odd workaround. 🙄 My issue was that I was copying the account files from laptop to desktop, same name on both systems. I was concerned about accidentally wiping out the laptop copy with the 2024 budget, so I did a copy of the original file, with the name of my laptop appended. Then on my next GoodSyync operation both the original and the laptop-suffix files were copied to my desktop. Following so far?
Then on the desktop I opened up the laptop-suffix name file. And whaddya know. THE 2024 BUDGET WAS THERE. 😮 I can't explain any of that. Also, for what it's worth, the original budget file (multiple years of data) was 68 MB. The version with the 2024 budget was 64 MB. So where did those 4 MB go? I dunno.
After some testing to be sure that the 2024 budget was persistent, I saved a copy of this file as the original file name. ☺️
Been using Quicken (and TurboTax) since DOS days in 1990s.0 -
What are you syncing? The QDF file or the QDF-backup files? And how are you loading the files into Quicken?
A QDF-backup file is no different than a QDF file, but the change in the type signals Quicken to do a Restore instead of an open that would do if the type was QDF.
About a year or so ago Restore was changed. Before it was nothing more than asking the user where they wanted to copy the resulting QDF file and then opening it. Now it messes with the Quicken Cloud dataset and does do a "sync".
If you rename a QDF-backup to QDF then it just opens the data file.
One has to understand that "sync" is being done all the time any more for various reasons. What it syncs changes depending on what online services you use, but it is always there now. Sync to Mobile/Web only determines that it starts out syncing two years of transactions, the budget and memorized payees, and who knows what else. And makes that visible on the Mobile/Web "GUIs". Whereas features like Express Web Connect and Express Web Connect + definitely use the same "sync" to get transactions into Quicken, and therefore transactions are being stored in the Quicken Cloud dataset, but one of the differences is that they make sure that the accounts/transactions aren't visible in Mobile/Web.
I will point out one more thing. each data file has a unique Id in it that is used along with your Quicken Id to connect it to the Quicken Cloud dataset (dataset = server storage). So, if you ever copy a data file for use as a "template" for another data file, be sure to use the Quicken copy which since a year or two creates the copy with a different unique Id and disconnects all the online services, so that the data file is really independent of the original data file. Or create a new data file. If you use a "Windows" copy of a data file as if it was an independent data file, you will be syncing two different sets of data to the same Quicken Cloud dataset.
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At any rate I'm glad you got it to work. As you can tell from that comment above all of this is really complicated, especially since Quicken Inc rarely discusses how any of this works, and we (the users) have to figure it out for ourselves.
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you might comment how or what - (using Goodsync) - actually grabs on your system -
There are issues with Quicken and "cloud" software since Quicken opens/closes the QDF file at different random times
and conflicts arise with "backup" software that senses the open/close and wants to grab the QDF fileQWin - R54.16 - Win10
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@Chris_QPW True. And the way that Quicken works internally, that's also pretty opaque at times. Like, what issues do they accept? Do they have a rating system to prioritize bugs or issues according to severity? Have they ever published information on this?
Been using Quicken (and TurboTax) since DOS days in 1990s.0 -
Goodsync is quite configurable as to source drives/directories and targets, which include FTP and cloud options. I do strictly system-to-system syncing.
I deliberately do not do Quicken sync'ing to their cloud.
Been using Quicken (and TurboTax) since DOS days in 1990s.0 -
I always sync the QDF file. Goodsync also sync's all the backup files, but I never sync Quicken file to Quicken backup file.
Until I ran into this issue with the 2024 budget, I never had any problems, and I've been using Goodsync for at least five years now.
Been using Quicken (and TurboTax) since DOS days in 1990s.0 -
Since I was in their betas in the past I can safety tell you internally the definitely have a bug system and they have priorities and such. The "hard part" is "How do issues get accepted into that system?" And the following question "How for sure do you know an issue has been put into it?".
For Ideas in this forum that would be when they change the status to "Planned". For problems it would be when you get or see a problem report number posted that is like CTP-*.
The big problem is getting that to happen. It isn't straight forward. Just because you submit it here doesn't mean it will happen. Help → Report a Problem (any maybe). Contact Support, maybe.
And for the most part once it is on their internal bug/feature list you can pretty much expect no status until it is done and released, and even then, it might not make it into a update on a thread here or in the release notes.
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I just notice that the syntax for the problem reports seem to be this Ticket #10798258. That is from a currently reported problem. Or maybe they use both.
Interesting enough that is one stuck to the top of the forum for a Chase downloading problem, whereas I have Chase checking, credit cards, and investment accounts and they all update without errors. So, even when problems are reported on here and open, you can't even count that you will or will not have that problem even if seems like it should affect you.
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Thanks for these explations. Frustrating but not unique. This is also the experience of Adobe Lightroom (classic) users. Lots of posts about bugs or feature requests, some of them many years old. Many disappear into a black hole, despite many followon posts agreeing with the OP.
Adobe and Quicken (now independent of Intuit) have something in common. They are both dominant in their marketplace. Both seem to take customers for granted.
Been using Quicken (and TurboTax) since DOS days in 1990s.0 -
For what is worth it is/was the same with Intuit, maybe even worse. They treated Quicken about the same, but I find that if you want to get to talk to "TurboTax support" that is next to impossible. You keep getting directed to their forum, where most of the answers are from other users. Or to "tax advisors" which are clearly third-party people they pay for to do that (and maybe you even have to pay them), I don't know because the only times I have been looking for support it had to do with the program itself or my account.
And I might add the very fact that Quicken Inc uses Intuit as their aggregator is frustrating because Quicken Inc is just the middleman for all the problems with download and such. Same goes for the "unnamed" third-party they use for Quicken Bill Manager.
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As many people in this forum probably know, the software business model is based on scale and leverage. High fixed costs, but (very,) very low incremental cost for each new user. [Maybe not in large enterprise, but certainly in consumer software.] The issue is how much of that incremental profit from more users is invested in the business, e.g. more support people or more new features, and how much goes to management and owners.
Sadly, when a software product dominates in its marketplace, there is little incentive is improve customer service beyond "barely good enough." That describes Quicken and as I mentioned previously, Adobe. And Quicken doesn't seem to invest very much in its 1990-vintage user interface.
That all said, I find that Microsoft support, when I've needed it, is very good. Wow, I just said something nice about the Redmond giant. 😱 But it's true, they have earned that reputation. Apple also, can be good or not, depending on the specifics. Also describes some very small companies like Goodsync.
Been using Quicken (and TurboTax) since DOS days in 1990s.0
