Can't Read Data File

[rodgersmail]

When my hard drive crashed, I re-installed Money Plus Deluxe (the most recent
version) in a new computer and downloaded my data file (for my checking
account) from Mozy, the online backup system. When I try to restore the
file, the "Account Register" page comes up blank. When I then try to read
the restored file, I get a message asking if I want to back up the file, and
then a message that "The path name is invalid." On the advice of Microsoft
support, I deleted the password, but that didn't help. They also advised
creating a backup file in one computer and restoring it in another computer.
That didn't help, either. I have tried to restore other, older backup files,
but the same thing happens. My main computer runs Windows 7 and the other
computer runs Windows XP; I have tried restoring the file on each computer
with no luck.

Does anybody have any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[Cal Learner-- MVP]

When my hard drive crashed, I re-installed Money Plus Deluxe (the most recent
version) in a new computer and downloaded my data file (for my checking
account) from Mozy, the online backup system. When I try to restore the
file, the "Account Register" page comes up blank.

Find your *.mbf files, and restore the newest or second-newest one.
Your *.mny file may have been damaged before being copied onto Mozy.

Do File->Restore of the backup file. Do not accept the default
location to restore to. Instead, Browse to your "Documents" and
specify a filename that does not yet exist there.

When I then try to read
the restored file, I get a message asking if I want to back up the file, and
then a message that "The path name is invalid."

Once inside, change the location for the backup locations in
Tools->Settings->BackupSettings before backing up. The old path may
not exist anymore.

 

[rodgersmail]

Thanks for the suggestions, but I just tried them with no luck.

 

[Cal Learner-- MVP]

Thanks for the suggestions, but I just tried them with no luck.

What happened when you tried them? Error messages? Couldn't find the
multiple backups?

 

[rodgersmail]

Found the backups, but the problem as I originally described it re-appeared.
Don't think this was a problem anyway, since I had already tried to restore
older backups. Also changed the backup location, but again the original
problem re-appeared. (Anyway, the path seems to be the same as that in my
old computer before the hard drive crashed.)

I'm not a "computer person," but I've got a gut feeling that the problem
somehow involves the path name--I wish I knew more about computers so I could
fool around with it. When I try to restore a file, I get a quick blue dashed
line moving from left to right as if the restoration is actually taking
place. But the account register page comes up blank. If I try to open a
file, the computer acts as if I'm trying to close a file--it asks me if I
want to back up. When I hit the backup button, I get another left-to-right
moving blue line that says my file is being compressed. This is immediately
followed by the "path name not valid" notice.

 

[Cal Learner-- MVP]

Found the backups, but the problem as I originally described it re-appeared.
Don't think this was a problem anyway, since I had already tried to restore
older backups. Also changed the backup location, but again the original
problem re-appeared. (Anyway, the path seems to be the same as that in my
old computer before the hard drive crashed.)

I'm not a "computer person," but I've got a gut feeling that the problem
somehow involves the path name--I wish I knew more about computers so I could
fool around with it. When I try to restore a file, I get a quick blue dashed
line moving from left to right as if the restoration is actually taking
place. But the account register page comes up blank. If I try to open a
file, the computer acts as if I'm trying to close a file--it asks me if I
want to back up. When I hit the backup button, I get another left-to-right
moving blue line that says my file is being compressed. This is immediately
followed by the "path name not valid" notice.

Open Money by right-clicking the Money launch icon and choose
RunAsAdministrator.

Then do File->RestoreBackup, and select to restore from a Money
backup file. Next. Choose LetMeBrowsToADifferentBackupFile. Next.
Browse to the second-newest backup file (*.mbf)and choose Restore.
Note that the date and time of each backup is incorporated in the
filename of each backup file.

Do not accept the default location to restore to. Instead, Browse
to your "Documents" folder, and specify a filename that does not yet
exist there. For example, enter roger2 as the new name. Money will
use the name roger2.mny, tho the .mny part may be hidden from you in
some cases.

After that file opens, change the backup settings.

In M+: Tools->Settings->BackupSettings
I suggest checking
x Automatically backup my Money file every time I close Money
Save in [a place on your hard drive ]. It is best to Browse to
a location rather than typing the path.
x Ask me before backing up each time*
x Compress Backup Files
Keep only the _20_most recent backup files [adjust to taste]

x Perform scheduled backups every _28_ days
Save in [a USB flash drive location]
x Ask me before backing up each time*
x Compress Backup Files
Keep only the _2_most recent backup files [adjust to taste]

Then periodically, perhaps each month or three, copy your latest
backup (uniquely named by Money) to a CDR.

I strongly suggest use of a USB Flash drive rather than floppies.
They are bigger, so you don't have to swap media to back up. Plus
they are much more reliable (but not failure-proof).

* The reason I have Money ask me, is that I don't want to back up
each time I exit. If I went into Money 5 times in a day, I would
not want to back up 5 times, nor would I want to delete 5 other
backup files. You will be given the choice to BackUpNow or to
Postpone.

If a problem occurs, note where in the process it happened.

 

[rodgersmail]

I hate to say it, but I got to the last step in your procedure where I
clicked OK on the backup settings page, and got the "not a valid path name"
notice.

Microsoft support has concluded that I must have an empty file, although I
find that hard to understand when my directory indicates a file of more than
3 megabytes.

Found the backups, but the problem as I originally described it re-appeared.
Don't think this was a problem anyway, since I had already tried to restore
older backups. Also changed the backup location, but again the original
problem re-appeared. (Anyway, the path seems to be the same as that in my
old computer before the hard drive crashed.)

I'm not a "computer person," but I've got a gut feeling that the problem
somehow involves the path name--I wish I knew more about computers so I could
fool around with it. When I try to restore a file, I get a quick blue dashed
line moving from left to right as if the restoration is actually taking
place. But the account register page comes up blank. If I try to open a
file, the computer acts as if I'm trying to close a file--it asks me if I
want to back up. When I hit the backup button, I get another left-to-right
moving blue line that says my file is being compressed. This is immediately
followed by the "path name not valid" notice.

Open Money by right-clicking the Money launch icon and choose
RunAsAdministrator.

Then do File->RestoreBackup, and select to restore from a Money
backup file. Next. Choose LetMeBrowsToADifferentBackupFile. Next.
Browse to the second-newest backup file (*.mbf)and choose Restore.
Note that the date and time of each backup is incorporated in the
filename of each backup file.

Do not accept the default location to restore to. Instead, Browse
to your "Documents" folder, and specify a filename that does not yet
exist there. For example, enter roger2 as the new name. Money will
use the name roger2.mny, tho the .mny part may be hidden from you in
some cases.

After that file opens, change the backup settings.

In M+: Tools->Settings->BackupSettings
I suggest checking
x Automatically backup my Money file every time I close Money
Save in [a place on your hard drive ]. It is best to Browse to
a location rather than typing the path.
x Ask me before backing up each time*
x Compress Backup Files
Keep only the _20_most recent backup files [adjust to taste]

x Perform scheduled backups every _28_ days
Save in [a USB flash drive location]
x Ask me before backing up each time*
x Compress Backup Files
Keep only the _2_most recent backup files [adjust to taste]

Then periodically, perhaps each month or three, copy your latest
backup (uniquely named by Money) to a CDR.

I strongly suggest use of a USB Flash drive rather than floppies.
They are bigger, so you don't have to swap media to back up. Plus
they are much more reliable (but not failure-proof).

* The reason I have Money ask me, is that I don't want to back up
each time I exit. If I went into Money 5 times in a day, I would
not want to back up 5 times, nor would I want to delete 5 other
backup files. You will be given the choice to BackUpNow or to
Postpone.

If a problem occurs, note where in the process it happened.

.

 

[taunton]

I have exactly the same problem, using my my Money file on my new computer.
Followed Microsoft support advice as rodger, except that on my old computer
was instructed to remove the password before saving the backup. Cannot open
backup or money file on new computer even after doing this. One thing I know
is so that the file is not "empty" as rodger was advised because it can still
be read by Money in my old computer. Enquiry is still open with Microsoft
support. Its the same version of Money on both machines, but a different copy
as I bought 2 some time ago, and activated the 2nd on new computer.

I hate to say it, but I got to the last step in your procedure where I
clicked OK on the backup settings page, and got the "not a valid path name"
notice.

Microsoft support has concluded that I must have an empty file, although I
find that hard to understand when my directory indicates a file of more than
3 megabytes.

Found the backups, but the problem as I originally described it re-appeared.
Don't think this was a problem anyway, since I had already tried to restore
older backups. Also changed the backup location, but again the original
problem re-appeared. (Anyway, the path seems to be the same as that in my
old computer before the hard drive crashed.)

I'm not a "computer person," but I've got a gut feeling that the problem
somehow involves the path name--I wish I knew more about computers so I could
fool around with it. When I try to restore a file, I get a quick blue dashed
line moving from left to right as if the restoration is actually taking
place. But the account register page comes up blank. If I try to open a
file, the computer acts as if I'm trying to close a file--it asks me if I
want to back up. When I hit the backup button, I get another left-to-right
moving blue line that says my file is being compressed. This is immediately
followed by the "path name not valid" notice.

Open Money by right-clicking the Money launch icon and choose
RunAsAdministrator.

Then do File->RestoreBackup, and select to restore from a Money
backup file. Next. Choose LetMeBrowsToADifferentBackupFile. Next.
Browse to the second-newest backup file (*.mbf)and choose Restore.
Note that the date and time of each backup is incorporated in the
filename of each backup file.

Do not accept the default location to restore to. Instead, Browse
to your "Documents" folder, and specify a filename that does not yet
exist there. For example, enter roger2 as the new name. Money will
use the name roger2.mny, tho the .mny part may be hidden from you in
some cases.

After that file opens, change the backup settings.

In M+: Tools->Settings->BackupSettings
I suggest checking
x Automatically backup my Money file every time I close Money
Save in [a place on your hard drive ]. It is best to Browse to
a location rather than typing the path.
x Ask me before backing up each time*
x Compress Backup Files
Keep only the _20_most recent backup files [adjust to taste]

x Perform scheduled backups every _28_ days
Save in [a USB flash drive location]
x Ask me before backing up each time*
x Compress Backup Files
Keep only the _2_most recent backup files [adjust to taste]

Then periodically, perhaps each month or three, copy your latest
backup (uniquely named by Money) to a CDR.

I strongly suggest use of a USB Flash drive rather than floppies.
They are bigger, so you don't have to swap media to back up. Plus
they are much more reliable (but not failure-proof).

* The reason I have Money ask me, is that I don't want to back up
each time I exit. If I went into Money 5 times in a day, I would
not want to back up 5 times, nor would I want to delete 5 other
backup files. You will be given the choice to BackUpNow or to
Postpone.

If a problem occurs, note where in the process it happened.

.

 

[teabag]

3Mb is a typical size for a ***.mny or a ***.mbf file that has NOT yet had
user data added to it.
The opinion of 'Microsoft Support', in this case, is reasonable.

teabag

I hate to say it, but I got to the last step in your procedure where I
clicked OK on the backup settings page, and got the "not a valid path
name"
notice.

Microsoft support has concluded that I must have an empty file, although I
find that hard to understand when my directory indicates a file of more
than
3 megabytes.

Found the backups, but the problem as I originally described it
re-appeared.
Don't think this was a problem anyway, since I had already tried to
restore
older backups. Also changed the backup location, but again the original
problem re-appeared. (Anyway, the path seems to be the same as that in
my
old computer before the hard drive crashed.)

I'm not a "computer person," but I've got a gut feeling that the problem
somehow involves the path name--I wish I knew more about computers so I
could
fool around with it. When I try to restore a file, I get a quick blue
dashed
line moving from left to right as if the restoration is actually taking
place. But the account register page comes up blank. If I try to open
a
file, the computer acts as if I'm trying to close a file--it asks me if
I
want to back up. When I hit the backup button, I get another
left-to-right
moving blue line that says my file is being compressed. This is
immediately
followed by the "path name not valid" notice.

Open Money by right-clicking the Money launch icon and choose
RunAsAdministrator.

Then do File->RestoreBackup, and select to restore from a Money
backup file. Next. Choose LetMeBrowsToADifferentBackupFile. Next.
Browse to the second-newest backup file (*.mbf)and choose Restore.
Note that the date and time of each backup is incorporated in the
filename of each backup file.

Do not accept the default location to restore to. Instead, Browse
to your "Documents" folder, and specify a filename that does not yet
exist there. For example, enter roger2 as the new name. Money will
use the name roger2.mny, tho the .mny part may be hidden from you in
some cases.

After that file opens, change the backup settings.

In M+: Tools->Settings->BackupSettings
I suggest checking
x Automatically backup my Money file every time I close Money
Save in [a place on your hard drive ]. It is best to Browse to
a location rather than typing the path.
x Ask me before backing up each time*
x Compress Backup Files
Keep only the _20_most recent backup files [adjust to taste]

x Perform scheduled backups every _28_ days
Save in [a USB flash drive location]
x Ask me before backing up each time*
x Compress Backup Files
Keep only the _2_most recent backup files [adjust to taste]

Then periodically, perhaps each month or three, copy your latest
backup (uniquely named by Money) to a CDR.

I strongly suggest use of a USB Flash drive rather than floppies.
They are bigger, so you don't have to swap media to back up. Plus
they are much more reliable (but not failure-proof).

* The reason I have Money ask me, is that I don't want to back up
each time I exit. If I went into Money 5 times in a day, I would
not want to back up 5 times, nor would I want to delete 5 other
backup files. You will be given the choice to BackUpNow or to
Postpone.

If a problem occurs, note where in the process it happened.

.

 

[taunton]

I had same problem , but eventuallly solved it by-
-in Money going to tools, settings, backup settings, and browsing till i
specified a valid directory, cause before i had a path to a folder did not
exist
-then I copied my old backup which I wished to restore in that folder.
And BINGO it worked when I opened Money and it read the file, biginners
luck, investment gone down whilst I been fiddling around these last few days,
thinking of suing Microsoft.

3Mb is a typical size for a ***.mny or a ***.mbf file that has NOT yet had
user data added to it.
The opinion of 'Microsoft Support', in this case, is reasonable.

teabag

I hate to say it, but I got to the last step in your procedure where I
clicked OK on the backup settings page, and got the "not a valid path
name"
notice.

Microsoft support has concluded that I must have an empty file, although I
find that hard to understand when my directory indicates a file of more
than
3 megabytes.

In microsoft.public.money, rodgersmail wrote:

Found the backups, but the problem as I originally described it
re-appeared.
Don't think this was a problem anyway, since I had already tried to
restore
older backups. Also changed the backup location, but again the original
problem re-appeared. (Anyway, the path seems to be the same as that in
my
old computer before the hard drive crashed.)

I'm not a "computer person," but I've got a gut feeling that the problem
somehow involves the path name--I wish I knew more about computers so I
could
fool around with it. When I try to restore a file, I get a quick blue
dashed
line moving from left to right as if the restoration is actually taking
place. But the account register page comes up blank. If I try to open
a
file, the computer acts as if I'm trying to close a file--it asks me if
I
want to back up. When I hit the backup button, I get another
left-to-right
moving blue line that says my file is being compressed. This is
immediately
followed by the "path name not valid" notice.


Open Money by right-clicking the Money launch icon and choose
RunAsAdministrator.

Then do File->RestoreBackup, and select to restore from a Money
backup file. Next. Choose LetMeBrowsToADifferentBackupFile. Next.
Browse to the second-newest backup file (*.mbf)and choose Restore.
Note that the date and time of each backup is incorporated in the
filename of each backup file.

Do not accept the default location to restore to. Instead, Browse
to your "Documents" folder, and specify a filename that does not yet
exist there. For example, enter roger2 as the new name. Money will
use the name roger2.mny, tho the .mny part may be hidden from you in
some cases.

After that file opens, change the backup settings.

In M+: Tools->Settings->BackupSettings
I suggest checking
x Automatically backup my Money file every time I close Money
Save in [a place on your hard drive ]. It is best to Browse to
a location rather than typing the path.
x Ask me before backing up each time*
x Compress Backup Files
Keep only the _20_most recent backup files [adjust to taste]

x Perform scheduled backups every _28_ days
Save in [a USB flash drive location]
x Ask me before backing up each time*
x Compress Backup Files
Keep only the _2_most recent backup files [adjust to taste]

Then periodically, perhaps each month or three, copy your latest
backup (uniquely named by Money) to a CDR.

I strongly suggest use of a USB Flash drive rather than floppies.
They are bigger, so you don't have to swap media to back up. Plus
they are much more reliable (but not failure-proof).

* The reason I have Money ask me, is that I don't want to back up
each time I exit. If I went into Money 5 times in a day, I would
not want to back up 5 times, nor would I want to delete 5 other
backup files. You will be given the choice to BackUpNow or to
Postpone.

If a problem occurs, note where in the process it happened.

.

.

 

[Cal Learner-- MVP]

I hate to say it, but I got to the last step in your procedure where I
clicked OK on the backup settings page, and got the "not a valid path name"
notice.

And by that sentence you are referring to this as the last step:
:> x Perform scheduled backups every _28_ days
:> Save in [a USB flash drive location]
:> x Ask me before backing up each time*
:> x Compress Backup Files
:> Keep only the _2_most recent backup files [adjust to taste]

Did you have that USB drive in place? Did you try clicking Browse
instead of typing in the folder name to make sure you are not
mis-typing part of the path? Make sure that there are not odd
characters in the name you select once you Browse to the folder on
the USB drive.

Microsoft support has concluded that I must have an empty file, although I
find that hard to understand when my directory indicates a file of more than
3 megabytes.

Found the backups, but the problem as I originally described it re-appeared.
Don't think this was a problem anyway, since I had already tried to restore
older backups. Also changed the backup location, but again the original
problem re-appeared. (Anyway, the path seems to be the same as that in my
old computer before the hard drive crashed.)

I'm not a "computer person," but I've got a gut feeling that the problem
somehow involves the path name--I wish I knew more about computers so I could
fool around with it. When I try to restore a file, I get a quick blue dashed
line moving from left to right as if the restoration is actually taking
place. But the account register page comes up blank. If I try to open a
file, the computer acts as if I'm trying to close a file--it asks me if I
want to back up. When I hit the backup button, I get another left-to-right
moving blue line that says my file is being compressed. This is immediately
followed by the "path name not valid" notice.

Open Money by right-clicking the Money launch icon and choose
RunAsAdministrator.

Then do File->RestoreBackup, and select to restore from a Money
backup file. Next. Choose LetMeBrowsToADifferentBackupFile. Next.
Browse to the second-newest backup file (*.mbf)and choose Restore.
Note that the date and time of each backup is incorporated in the
filename of each backup file.

Do not accept the default location to restore to. Instead, Browse
to your "Documents" folder, and specify a filename that does not yet
exist there. For example, enter roger2 as the new name. Money will
use the name roger2.mny, tho the .mny part may be hidden from you in
some cases.

After that file opens, change the backup settings.

In M+: Tools->Settings->BackupSettings
I suggest checking
x Automatically backup my Money file every time I close Money
Save in [a place on your hard drive ]. It is best to Browse to
a location rather than typing the path.
x Ask me before backing up each time*
x Compress Backup Files
Keep only the _20_most recent backup files [adjust to taste]

x Perform scheduled backups every _28_ days
Save in [a USB flash drive location]
x Ask me before backing up each time*
x Compress Backup Files
Keep only the _2_most recent backup files [adjust to taste]

Then periodically, perhaps each month or three, copy your latest
backup (uniquely named by Money) to a CDR.

I strongly suggest use of a USB Flash drive rather than floppies.
They are bigger, so you don't have to swap media to back up. Plus
they are much more reliable (but not failure-proof).

* The reason I have Money ask me, is that I don't want to back up
each time I exit. If I went into Money 5 times in a day, I would
not want to back up 5 times, nor would I want to delete 5 other
backup files. You will be given the choice to BackUpNow or to
Postpone.

If a problem occurs, note where in the process it happened.

.

 

[rodgersmail]

What joy! I was finally able to open the file that contained all my
checking account information. Many thanks to Cal Learner--MVP, Taunton,
Teabag, and John of Microsoft support for all your help.

I was fooling around with the suggestions and some improvisations of my own
when the file opened, so I'm not sure what finally worked, but I think the
key was assigning a new name to the file for its restored version. It turns
out there were complicating factors: my Mozy program had become corrupted,
so the files I was trying to restore from that source were empty; I was
getting an "invalid path name" for the files I was trying to restore from my
thumb drive because I hadn't noticed that Money thought they were on the "E"
drive instead of the "G" drive. The file that I was ultimately able to
restore was from the thumb drive and was listed at only 2 meg but it expanded
to 11 meg when I restored it--I guess it was a compressed file that was
unzipped; it had more than six years of data in it.

 

[teabag]

Good to hear.

Teabag

What joy! I was finally able to open the file that contained all my
checking account information. Many thanks to Cal Learner--MVP, Taunton,
Teabag, and John of Microsoft support for all your help.

I was fooling around with the suggestions and some improvisations of my
own
when the file opened, so I'm not sure what finally worked, but I think the
key was assigning a new name to the file for its restored version. It
turns
out there were complicating factors: my Mozy program had become
corrupted,
so the files I was trying to restore from that source were empty; I was
getting an "invalid path name" for the files I was trying to restore from
my
thumb drive because I hadn't noticed that Money thought they were on the
"E"
drive instead of the "G" drive. The file that I was ultimately able to
restore was from the thumb drive and was listed at only 2 meg but it
expanded
to 11 meg when I restored it--I guess it was a compressed file that was
unzipped; it had more than six years of data in it.

 

[mikels]

Long Path Tool works excellent to copy or delete, long path files quickly. It's very easy to use for everyone. You can try it and see the result yourself. good luck!