Basic troubleshooting to correct data file damage

Legacy KB ID: 3162

Question

How do I correct damage to my data file?

Answer

Damage in Quicken data files may occur for a variety of reasons. It generally occurs when the information stored on your computer's hard drive or on diskettes becomes damaged. Improperly shutting down the computer, general protection faults, software conflicts, and voltage fluctuations are typical causes of file damage.

In circumstances where a hard disk is not regularly maintained using Microsoft® Windows® utilities (such as ScanDisk or Disk Defragmenter), your files can lose integrity and become cross-linked, a situation where two or more files occupy the same physical space on the hard disk.

Symptoms of a damaged data file may include:

  • Categories and/or numbers wrongly associated in reports when all report settings are correct.
  • Dates missing from reports when all report settings are correct.
  • Missing categories or classes.
  • Inability to assign categories in split transactions.
  • File backups that cannot be restored.
  • Inability to reconcile your current bank statement when all numbers are otherwise correct.

Follow these procedures to regain file integrity:

  1. When possible, the easiest solution is often to restore a backup of your Quicken file that was made before the damage occurred.
  2. Use your operating system to make a copy of the Quicken data file, and then open the copied file in Quicken and check if any of the above symptoms exist. In some cases, when the file is located on a bad or corrupted location on a hard disk or diskette, copying a file to a new location will solve the problem.

    Note: If this procedure solves the problem, or if an error occurs while copying the file, it may be necessary to perform maintenance on the hard disk. For more information on hard disk maintenance, please read the Microsoft Windows Help topics for Scandisk and Disk Defragmenter.

    If the only copy of the Quicken information is stored on a floppy disk or other external media, Intuit does not recommend the use of Scandisk, Disk Defragmenter, or any other information recovery tool on the original media    . Use of these tools may lessen the ability of Intuit´s Data Recovery Service to rebuild your data should that become necessary.
  3. Make a copy of your file using Quicken's copy feature.
  4. Use Quicken´s Validate utility to check the copy of the file for damage.
    1. From the Quicken File menu, choose File Operations, and then choose Validate.
    2. Select the copy of your Quicken file, and then click OK.


    Note: Intuit does not recommend using the Validate utility on your original data file, as in some cases damaged information may be removed from a file during the repair process. For this reason, the Validate utility is not recommended for regular use on a Quicken data file.

    If the Validate utility detects damage within the file, you will receive a prompt to view the data_log in Notepad. This file is a record of which parts of your data were repaired. The Quicken program saves a backup copy of this file before you validate. This file is located in the Validate folder in the same location as your Quicken file on your hard disk.
  5. Use Quicken´s Super Validate utility to check the copy of your file for damage only if evidence of corruption persists after performing Validate on the file copy. Super Validate will rebuild the Quicken file regardless of whether damage is detected in the file.

    Intuit does not recommend using the Super Validate utility on your original data file, as in some cases damaged information may be removed from a file during the repair process. For this reason, the Super Validate utility is not recommended for regular use on a Quicken data file.

    To run Super Validate on a copy of your Quicken file:

    1. Open the Quicken program, and then press Ctrl+Shift on the keyboard. You must keep these keys held down throughout this procedure.
    2. From the Quicken File menu, choose File Operations, and then choose Validate.
    3. Select the file to validate from the Validate Quicken File window. A progress indicator will appear, with the message Super validating file...
    4. Release the Ctrl+Shift keys when the Super Validate process is complete.

    If the Super Validate utility detects damage within the file, you will receive a prompt to view the data_log in Notepad. This file is a record of which parts of your data were repaired. Quicken saves a backup copy of this file before you validate. This file is located in the Validate folder in the same location as your Quicken file on your hard disk.

Quicken also offers data recovery services for damaged files, please see 'Data Services' under support on the Quicken web site.



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