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Posted by JulesP on July 4, 2006, 7:12 pm
Please log in for more thread options R. C.,
Thanks for the response and summary of how backup should work. My Edit
Backup Preferences are Remind after running ... 3x, Maximum number of
backups ... 9. I should have said that at times I use the default automatic
backup location for my manual backups, but in reality I select different
manual backup locations each time to minimize overwrites of recent backups.
Automatic backups are not happening with this database named Personal; i.e.,
no Personal1.*, Personal2.*, etc.
I wonder - I have my XP operating system set for an administrator logon and
two user logons. Quicken will not run under either of the user logons, but
only runs from the one with administrator privileges. I don't use that one
for much else, and I run a "window cleaner" on it every couple of days to
clean up cookies, unwanted registry entries, and temp files. I wonder if
this may also be erasing some file that Quicken writes to, say date of last
backup. This is conjecture only, but I intend to test it.
Thanks for the responses.
JP
> Hi, Jules.
>
>> Quicken.ini has autobackup=3, autocopy=9.
>
> I'm running Q2006 Basic, so some of the details may be slightly different.
> For one thing, my Quicken.ini has no backup entries at all.
>
> As we've discussed in several older threads, those two settings are
> slightly misleading. When I open Quicken and click Edit | Preferences |
> Quicken Program | Backup, the first box says "Remind after running
> Quicken: ___ times (0-99)"; the second says "Maximum number of backup
> copies: ___ (1-9)". I've forgotten what the defaults were, but I have
> them set to 3 and 5.
>
> This means that the 3rd time I shut down Quicken after my last manual
> backup, it will ask if I want to backup before closing. If so, I can pick
> the location for the backup, just as if I had pressed <Ctrl>+B. I can
> backup to a folder on this HD, to a different HD, or to a CD-R (maybe;
> this behavior has been inconsistent in recent versions of Quicken and
> Windows) or other location. The point is, the choice is mine.
>
> The other setting tells Quicken to keep 5 generations of automatic backups
> (one per week) in the QuickenBackup folder - or the Backup folder
> created in whichever folder holds my Quicken data file (actually a fileSET
> containing the QDF and related files, as I'm sure you know). I don't get
> to choose the location for these automatic backups.
>
>> What do I need to do to get auto backups?
>
> Nothing. Just use Quicken. The automatic backups should, as the term
> suggests, just happen automatically. You can choose how many of these,
> from 1 to 9, but since the minimum setting is "1", there should always be
> at least one - after the first week, of course. For the first seven days
> after you install Quicken, there will be no automatic backups YET. After
> a week, you should see at least one, with one more added each week until
> you hit the number you have set. The first one will be named QDATA1.*.
> Assuming you've set it to 5, the second week QDATA1 will be renamed QDATA2
> and the new backup will be saved as QDATA1. Each week thereafter, each
> set will be renamed by adding 1 to the QDATAx number. When you hit the
> maximum (5 weeks in my case) plus one week, the oldest set (QDATA5) will
> be deleted before the others are renamed, so that you will always have the
> full number of automatic backups you have chosen, numbered from QDATA1 to
> QDATA5 (or whatever).
>
> From your second post...
>> I don't know if it's relevant, but I do manual backups of the Personal
>> database to the this backup folder where the autobackups should be.
>
> BAD idea, in my opinion. Let Quicken handle the automatic backups. Put
> your own manual backups (whether in response to Quicken's reminders or
> not) into some OTHER location. Then, even if the automatics get lost, you
> still have your manual ones - or vice versa. Put at least one recent
> backup and at least one "milestone" backup (from year-end or other
> important cut-off point) onto media (floppy, CD-R, USB flash drive...)
> that you can remove from the computer and store in some other physical
> location so that even a fire or theft won't cost you your data, even if
> you lose Windows and Quicken.
>
> and...
>> a computer-wide search doesn't show autobackups of this database anywhere
>> else. I have the show hidden files option set.
>
> Quicken backups are not hidden, by default. But, even if they are, they
> can't really hide. Here's how to find them, using an old MS-DOS tool, the
> Dir (Directory - that's what we used to call a Folder):
>
> Open a Command Prompt window and type at the prompt:
> dir c:*.qdf /s/a
>
> This will produce a listing of files with any filename using the .qdf
> extension, starting at the Root of Drive C:. The /s switch will cause it
> to search all subdirectories and the /a switch will cause it to show ALL
> files, even those with Hidden or System or other attributes set. If any
> .qdf file is anywhere on Drive C:, this command will show it. If you have
> multiple drives, just try again with Dir X:*.qdf /s/a. Once you find the
> *.qdf file, the related files (*.qtx, *.qel, etc., depending on how YOU
> use Quicken) should be in the same folder.
>
> In summary, Quicken provides for three kinds of backup:
> 1. Automatic - no action required on your part - always to
> QuickenBackup, every seven days.
> 2. Manual - voluntary - press <Ctrl>+B (or click Backup) and put them
> wherever you want, as often as you want.
> 3. Reminded - same as Manual, just in case you forgot to do that for a
> while.
>
> RC
> --
> R. C. White, CPA
> (Retired - no longer licensed to practice)
> San Marcos, TX
> rc@grandecom.net
>
>> Q2004 Deluxe R5. Windows XP. From other posts I see that Auto backups
>> should be done every 7 days and stored in Program Files/Quicken/Backup.
>> I have no Backup folder in the Quicken folder, and a search of all files
>> for *.qdf shows no backups other than those I do manually. When I do it
>> manually it overwrites the most recent backup as I understand it should.
>> Quicken.ini has autobackup=3, autocopy=9. What do I need to do to get
>> auto backups?
>
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