Launch QuickBooks for Mac. Click the 'QuickBooks' tab in the main menu bar, and then select 'Preferences' followed by 'Backup' to open the Backup preferences dialog window.
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If your business uses QuickBooks for its financial accounting needs, it is essential that you maintain current backups of your data in the event the computer crashes or is lost or destroyed for some reason. In most cases, you use the program’s Backup wizard to back up QuickBooks data for your business. However, if you forget your administrative password or if the company data file becomes corrupt, this option is not available. Additionally, newer versions of QuickBooks monitor and lock the company database file even when the application is not active, which prevents normal file copy methods as well. Consequently, before you can copy or back up the QuickBooks data file, you must stop the Windows services that lock it.
1.Click “Start” and type “Services.msc” into the search box. Press the “Enter” key to open the Services window.
2.Scroll down to and double-click the “QuickBooks Directory Monitor” value in the Services list. Click the “Stop” button, then “OK” to halt the QuickBooks Directory Monitor service in Windows.
3.Double-click the “QuickBooks Server Manager” service in the list. Click the “Stop” button and then “OK.”
4.Open Windows Explorer on the computer. Navigate to the folder that contains the QuickBooks company data file you want to back up. The data file as a .QBW file extension.
5.Highlight the .QBW data filename and press “Ctrl-C” to copy the file to the Windows clipboard.
6.Navigate to the folder in Windows Explorer where you want to save a copy of the .QBW data file. After you select and open the destination folder in Windows Explorer, press “Ctrl-V” to copy the file from the original folder location.
7.Connect a USB external hard drive or flash drive to the computer. After Windows detects and configures the external storage device, double-click drive letter for the drive in Windows Explorer. Press “Ctrl-V” to paste another copy of the original QuickBooks .QBW data file to the external drive.
8.Restart Windows to restart the QuickBooks services you closed in the Services window.
Things Needed
- USB external hard drive or flash drive (optional)
Tips
- After you make a backup copy of the .QBW file, perform password removal or data recovery for the file as needed. If you have a registered version of QuickBooks, you can use the Password Reset Tool from the Intuit website to reset the password for some versions of the applications (see link in Resources).
- If the QuickBooks .QBW data file is corrupt or damaged, you should seek a qualified data recovery specialist or service to recover your accounts and transaction date from the file. There are applications available for download on the Web that help you recover the data, but most are for advanced users and many do not work with all versions of QuickBooks. Outsourcing the recovery to a professional is the most prudent approach to retrieving data when you don’t have a current backup set.
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Resources (1)
About the Author
Jeff Grundy has been writing computer-related articles and tutorials since 1995. Since that time, Grundy has written many guides to using various applications that are published on numerous how-to and tutorial sites. Born and raised in South Georgia, Grundy holds a Master of Science degree in mathematics from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Cite this Article Choose Citation Style
Grundy, Jeff. 'How to Back Up a Locked QuickBooks.' Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/back-up-locked-quickbooks-48847.html. Accessed 25 December 2019.
Grundy, Jeff. (n.d.). How to Back Up a Locked QuickBooks. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/back-up-locked-quickbooks-48847.html
Grundy, Jeff. 'How to Back Up a Locked QuickBooks' accessed December 25, 2019. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/back-up-locked-quickbooks-48847.html
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