How to restore a backup file in Microsoft Money

This article describes how to restore a backup file in Microsoft Money.

To restore a backup file, use the appropriate method for your situation.
If you are trying to open a file from a previous version of Money, you can locate your Money data file and double click on it to open it. For more information about how to find previous versions of your Money files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

To open a recently used file that is not in the recently used Money file list , follow these steps:

1. On the File menu, click Restore Backup.
2. In the Restore backup dialog box, click Open a recently used Money file.
3. Click the file that you want to open, and then click Next.

To restore a backup file, follow these steps:

1. On the File menu, click Restore Backup.
2. In the Restore backup dialog box, click Restore from a backup file.
3. Click Next.

To restore a Money file from the default backup file, follow these steps:

1. Click Restore from default backup file.
2. Click Restore.
3. In the Name the Restored file or the Restore Backup dialog box, click Browse.
4. Select a location where you want to restore your file.
5. Give the file a name.
6. Click OK. You are taken back to the Name the Restored file or the Restore Backup dialog box.
7. Click Restore.

To restore a Money file from a different backup file and have Money do the search, follow these steps:

1. Click Have Money search my hard drive for other Money backup files.
   
   In Money 2003 this option will read Open a Different backup file.
2. Click Next.
   
   Money will perform a search of your hard drive for all Money data files. If this search appears to stop responding or if you want to end the search and locate the file on your own, press the ESC key on your keyboard.
3. In the Available Backup Files dialog box, click to select a file from the list or click Browse to find the file that you want to restore, and then click OK.
   
   In Money 2003, the option is Select other backup file.
4. Click Restore.
5. Choose a location where you want to store the restored file.
6. Give the file a name, and then click OK.

To restore a Money file from a different backup file and locate the file on your own, follow these steps:

1. a. Click Let me browse for a different backup file.
   
   In Money 2003 this option will read Open a Different backup file.
2. Click Next, locate the data file that you want to restore, and then click OK.
3. Locate the place where you want to store your restored data file.
4. Give the file a name.
5. Click OK, and then click Restore.

Note If you restore a backup file to the same location with the same name as an existing file, you will overwrite that file and potentially lose any data that was entered since the backup was created. It is recommended that anytime that you restore a data file you provide a unique name for the file.

Click the Play button to view this streaming media demonstration.

For more information about how to restore your backup files, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: