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tedster
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panic with my Quicken

Post by tedster »

I have Quicken 2002. I back up on 2 CDs everytime I use the file. Today I did some trades in one account and backed it up on both CDs. Then I went to look at the Portfolio view and of the accounts that show, no shares exist and that particular account is not listed anywhere at all. All account registers are there. I am quivering :cry:

What should I do?
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Bylo Selhi
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Re: panic with my Quicken

Post by Bylo Selhi »

tedster wrote:What should I do?
1. Don't panic! (Yet ;))
2. Close the Q02 application.
3. Reboot your PC.
4. Start Q02 again and see if the account is back.
5. If it's not then you'll need to restore from a backup previous backup. Let me know and I'll take you through that procedure.
6. Q02 predates XP, let alone Vista and Win7. Perhaps it's time to upgrade to a more recent version that's officially supported to run on your version of Windows.
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Post by tedster »

Thanks Bylo, the reboot worked. I am now going to buy the newest Quicken. :lol:
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Post by AltaRed »

tedster wrote:Thanks Bylo, the reboot worked. I am now going to buy the newest Quicken. :lol:
You might read up on the Intuit/Quicken forums to see whether you can do a Q02 to Q10 data file import/upgrade directly, or whether you might have to go through an intermediate step (e.g. Q07 or so). I went through a Q02 to Q07 upgrade with only some Reports and Graphs messed up (Customized ones). You may have to re-build custom Reports and Graphs, but that would be a small price to pay if the data files upgrade correctly.
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Post by Clock Watcher »

I have Q98 (with the Y2K patch). It will be interesting when I try to upgrade to the latest, especially since I have investment accounts. The only new functionality I want is to be able to enter daily currency values.
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Post by tedster »

I had a quick look through the Quicken currently available. It seems that I cannot get Premier 2010 (which appears to handle investments as well) in Canada. The Deluxe and online versions appear to only handle bank accounts. Home Versions of 2009 available in Canada seem to have the same deficiency. One appears to need the Business version. Aargh, more research. :cry:
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Post by Peculiar_Investor »

tedster wrote:I had a quick look through the Quicken currently available. It seems that I cannot get Premier 2010 (which appears to handle investments as well) in Canada. The Deluxe and online versions appear to only handle bank accounts. Home Versions of 2009 available in Canada seem to have the same deficiency. One appears to need the Business version. Aargh, more research. :cry:
I believe that Quicken 2010 just was released in the US, and based on a quick scan of www.quicken.ca, it does not appear to released here yet.

May I offer the suggestion of moving to something like Quicken 2007 as an intermediate solution. See the discussion here, http://www.financialwisdomforum.org/for ... 789#227789
which covers my own experience moving from Quicken 2002 to Quicken 2007. You may still be able to find Quicken 2007 on ebay or similar sites. Paging Bylo for a link.
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Post by Jaunty »

I went from Quicken 03 to o8 without a hitch.
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Post by AltaRed »

tedster wrote:The Deluxe and online versions appear to only handle bank accounts. Home Versions of 2009 available in Canada seem to have the same deficiency. One appears to need the Business version. Aargh, more research. :cry:
Quicken 2009 Home & Business does what you wish. Just have to cough up $100. I would not be surprised that Staples/FS/Best Buy will be discounting these shortly as 2010 versions come out. Watch over the next 4-6 weeks.

http://quicken.intuit.ca/personal-finan ... -chart.jsp
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Post by tedster »

I will keep my eyes open on Staples/Bureau en Gros as well I will check the ebay et al. I am okay for now thanks to all of you. :lol:

I don't have a blood pressure problem, but I can tell you all, I was pretty upset. :oops: All those years of entries plus the scrupulous, pharisaical back ups I did. :roll:
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

tedster wrote:I was pretty upset. :oops: All those years of entries plus the scrupulous, pharisaical back ups I did. :roll:
The reason you make all those backups is so that you won't have any reason to get upset when your primary copy goes FUBAR or AWOL ;)
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Post by tedster »

The reason you make all those backups is so that you won't have any reason to get upset when your primary copy goes FUBAR or AWOL
Yabbut, I had backed up the defective version on both CDs! I was lucky that your first suggestion worked. :lol:
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Post by AltaRed »

tedster wrote:Yabbut, I had backed up the defective version on both CDs! I was lucky that your first suggestion worked. :lol:
The best way to do this is to do alternate backups on the 2 CDs. That way, you always preserve a previous file. Example:

Data file change Oct 10 - Backup to CD1
Data file change Oct 15 - Backup to CD2
Data file change Oct 20 - Backup to CD1 (overwrites Oct 10 file)
Data file change Oct 22 - Backup to CD2 (overwrites Oct 15 file)
...etc.

That way you do not end up with 3 corrupt data files :wink:
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Post by DenisD »

AltaRed wrote:Data file change Oct 20 - Backup to CD1 (overwrites Oct 10 file)
Data file change Oct 22 - Backup to CD2 (overwrites Oct 15 file)
Why overwrite the old backups? Can't you make each filename unique? Then you have those old backups forever. 8) Or at least as long as the CD lasts.
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Post by tedster »

AltaRed wrote
The best way to do this is to do alternate backups on the 2 CDs. That way, you always preserve a previous file. Example:

Data file change Oct 10 - Backup to CD1
Data file change Oct 15 - Backup to CD2
Data file change Oct 20 - Backup to CD1 (overwrites Oct 10 file)
Data file change Oct 22 - Backup to CD2 (overwrites Oct 15 file)
...etc.
Good suggestion, but at my age, trying to remember which one I used could be a problem. :roll:

DenisD wrote
Why overwrite the old backups? Can't you make each filename unique? Then you have those old backups forever. Or at least as long as the CD lasts.
:lol: This is how I started years ago. I went through lots of CDs.

Maybe I should just "read" the back on the first CD before I move on to the second.
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

Actually Quicken (and I'm sure this goes back to at least Q02) will make regular backups in a BACKUP folder in the data directory. The current version does this on a weekly basis, at least for me. There may be a setting somewhere to change that frequency. In any case, one week is probably OK because if you lose the latest set of data files at worst you'd have to rekey the last week's data manually.

Quicken will also make backups on external media as often as every time you close the program. As DenisD and AltaRed suggest, you can do backups on a rotation basis so that you always have n versions available. The simplest way to do that is with a bunch of 1GB USB thumb drives. Label them 1 through n and use them sequentially every time you make a backup.

E.g. Do weekly backups. Get 5 drives. Use drive n for week n's backup. Now you've got at least a month's worth of backups at any time. Then, once a month, copy the latest drive to a special, 6th drive (or CD, etc.) that you store offsite or in a fireproof safe, etc. in case your home is burglarized or burns down, etc. (Alternatively, attach the contents of a backup to an e-mail that you send to yourself. That way that copy gets stored on your e-mail provider's server.)

If you shop around you can get 1GB drives for a twoonie or so each.
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Post by tedster »

Bylo wrote
Why overwrite the old backups? Can't you make each filename unique? Then you have those old backups forever. Or at least as long as the CD lasts.
I will try to locate this.
Label them 1 through n and use them sequentially every time you make a backup.
This is a good thought. I have been backing onto the CDs RW each I use Quicken.
If you shop around you can get 1GB drives for a twoonie or so each.
You can? I was looking for a USB memory stick for the GF and the cheapest we could find (after Future Shop, the Source, Costco) was Best Buy at around $20.00
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

tedster wrote:You can? I was looking for a USB memory stick for the GF and the cheapest we could find (after Future Shop, the Source, Costco) was Best Buy at around $20.00
I said 1GB. The $20 drives are 4GB or 8GB. You don't need anywhere near that much capacity per drive. You could probably even get away with 256MB or 512MB drives.

The challenge is that such small capacity drives are now difficult to find. I didn't realize that regular stores no longer carry them. Look for them at smaller computer stores or liquidation stores. (Last spring I was at a conference where one of the exhibitors was giving away free 1GB drives with their promotional material on them.)

Here's a 2GB drive for $8. That's still too big and too expensive for your needs. OTOH this one comes in several colours ;)
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Post by tedster »

Bylo, you are amazing. :lol: I was at La Source yesterday and asked the clerk for exactly this. He never showed us this.
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Post by AltaRed »

DenisD wrote:Why overwrite the old backups? Can't you make each filename unique? Then you have those old backups forever. 8) Or at least as long as the CD lasts.
Cause I would have to type in a new filename rather than just say 'yes' to an overwrite. And eventually discard multiple sets of backup files. In any event, I now have an external HDD for backup purposes to avoid messing with 2 CDs.

As Bylo has also said, Quicken does its own backup every now and then too. Not only that, I rarely instigate a backup with every data change. I have Quicken set to 'do backups' to my external HDD every 5th opening of the application.
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Post by tedster »

AltaRed wrote
I have Quicken set to 'do backups' to my external HDD every 5th opening of the application.
This is interesting. How would I do that? And could I do it to a USB memory stick?

However, if the file was defective it would be backed up. :roll:
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Post by AltaRed »

tedster wrote:AltaRed wrote
I have Quicken set to 'do backups' to my external HDD every 5th opening of the application.
This is interesting. How would I do that? And could I do it to a USB memory stick?

However, if the file was defective it would be backed up. :roll:
Yes, you would have that issue of a defective backup with one memory stick. So use 2 and alternate. No reason you cannot do it to a USB memory stick.

Setting the frequency probably depends on the vintage of Quicken, but in my 07 version...

Click on Edit
Then click on Preferences
Then click on Quicken Program
Then click on Backup under Setup and pick the numbers you want
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Post by tedster »

I keep learning from all of you. :lol: I am just scared I will forget it all. :oops: Thanks anyway. I have numbered my two CDs and will use them alternately. I will also do the backup. I have gone to ebay and bid on a Quicken 2008. :lol: 4 days more. but so far no one has bid.
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Post by AltaRed »

tedster wrote:I have gone to ebay and bid on a Quicken 2008. :lol: 4 days more. but so far no one has bid.
Canadian version I assume?
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Post by tedster »

Canadian version I assume?
Aaargh?? not sure. Why, I don't use quicken for tax calculations. :oops: :oops:
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