Backup fails with "File not backed up"

[Jim Flaherty]

Hi,

Recently my Quicken file backups fail with "File not backed up". When I
look in the backup directory the following files are created Any ideas?

QDF, QDL, QTX

There are over 7GB free on my drive so disk space is not the problem.
Note: My QDF file is approaching 22MB is there any chance I've reached some
upper limit?

-Jim

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Jim.

Wow! I thought for a moment that my mind was playing tricks on me! I KNEW
that I had seen this exact message from you within the past day or two, but
I couldn't find it. Finally, I found the thread "Subject: File not backed
up" started by Steve back on 12/31/06 and there was your reply in that
thread, dated 3/28/07, with exactly this question - and with my reply.
(There was also a reply there from Buck Frobisher.) It would help us help
you if you post in just one thread - or at least provide a cross-reference.

I'll just copy'n'paste my first reply, rather than type it all again:

Hi, Jim.

I don't have all the answers, but here are a couple of thoughts:

22 MB is NOT over (or near) the limit for a QDF file. Mine is over 25 MB
and going strong; other users have reported files much larger than this. We
discuss this topic here several times a year.

We also often discuss the fact that what Quicken calls "a file" is actually
a set of related files, so we've created the term "fileset" to refer to the
whole group. There's always the QDF file and there may be up to a
half-dozen others, depending on how YOU use Quicken. (I have QDF, QEL, QPH,
QTX - and IDX.) When we let Quicken handle jobs like backup and copy, it
automatically works with the full fileset; when we use other programs or
Windows functions, such as Copy or Backup, then we have to remember to
include ALL the related files. The 3 you mention may or may not be the full
set. I haven't heard of a QDL file in Quicken.

Quicken automatically creates a BACKUP folder as a sub-folder under the main
Quicken folder. This is where it puts the 5 (by default) automatic backups
(named QDATA1.* through QDATA5.*, by default) that it creates each week. In
addition, Quicken reminds you periodically as you close the program to
backup your files; YOU pick the location for these backups. And, of course,
you can choose to make additional backups whenever and wherever you like.
When you say "the backup directory", are you referring to the
QuickenW\BACKUP folder, or to a directory you've created on your hard drive?

Which operating system are you running? Vista includes some new security
features that can keep us from writing to some folders if we don't have the
proper permissions. Also, which version of Quicken are you using?

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(Retired. No longer licensed to practice public accounting.)
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Currently running Vista Ultimate x64)

 

[Jim Flaherty]

Hi, Jim.

Wow! I thought for a moment that my mind was playing tricks on me! I
KNEW that I had seen this exact message from you within the past day or
two, but I couldn't find it. Finally, I found the thread "Subject: File
not backed up" started by Steve back on 12/31/06 and there was your reply
in that

thread, dated 3/28/07, with exactly this question - and with my reply.
(There was also a reply there from Buck Frobisher.) It would help us help
you if you post in just one thread - or at least provide a
cross-reference.

I'll just copy'n'paste my first reply, rather than type it all again:

Hi, Jim.

I don't have all the answers, but here are a couple of thoughts:

22 MB is NOT over (or near) the limit for a QDF file. Mine is over 25 MB
and going strong; other users have reported files much larger than this.
We
discuss this topic here several times a year.

We also often discuss the fact that what Quicken calls "a file" is
actually
a set of related files, so we've created the term "fileset" to refer to
the
whole group. There's always the QDF file and there may be up to a
half-dozen others, depending on how YOU use Quicken. (I have QDF, QEL,
QPH,
QTX - and IDX.) When we let Quicken handle jobs like backup and copy, it
automatically works with the full fileset; when we use other programs or
Windows functions, such as Copy or Backup, then we have to remember to
include ALL the related files. The 3 you mention may or may not be the
full
set. I haven't heard of a QDL file in Quicken.

Quicken automatically creates a BACKUP folder as a sub-folder under the
main
Quicken folder. This is where it puts the 5 (by default) automatic
backups
(named QDATA1.* through QDATA5.*, by default) that it creates each week.
In
addition, Quicken reminds you periodically as you close the program to
backup your files; YOU pick the location for these backups. And, of
course,
you can choose to make additional backups whenever and wherever you like.
When you say "the backup directory", are you referring to the
QuickenW\BACKUP folder, or to a directory you've created on your hard
drive?

as I noted it created the QDF, QDL, QTX each of which match the size of the
original. It appears it is having trouble IDX and QPH files.

Which operating system are you running?

Vista includes some new security

 

[John Pollard]

Was the \temp directory directly under your root directory? If
not, try that.

as I noted it created the QDF, QDL, QTX each of which
match the size of the original.

I've never heard of any Quicken version having a file with a
"QDL" extension; do you mean "QEL"?

It appears it is having trouble IDX and QPH files.

The IDX file is not important, it's recreated from scratch each
time you run Quicken. But the QPH file is your price history,
and you wouldn't want to lose that.

How long is your Quicken file name? And does it have any
special characters? I would try making my Quicken file name
less than 8 characters and making sure all the characters were
alphabetic or numeric ... with the last character being
alphabetic. See if the results differ.

If that didn't help, I'd try creating a Quicken Copy of your
data (the data with the short file name with no special
characters), Validating the Copy, and trying to backup the
Validated Copy.