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How to troubleshoot error messages that you receive when you try to restore a backup file in Money

Article ID: 310858 - View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q310858

Notice

If you've been managing your finances with the help of Microsoft Money, you should be aware that Microsoft discontinued all online services and assisted support for all versions of Money on January 31, 2011. (Microsoft discontinued sales of Money on June 20, 2009.) If you're looking for an alternative program, Microsoft has made the Money Plus Sunset versions available as a replacement for the following expired programs: Microsoft Money Essentials, Microsoft Money Deluxe, Microsoft Money Premium, Microsoft Money Home, and Microsoft Money Business. For more information about Money Plus Sunset, refer to this article in the Microsoft Knowledge base: What Is Microsoft Money Plus Sunset?

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2118008/ )

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SYMPTOMS

When you try to restore the Microsoft Money data file from a backup file, you may receive an error message that is similar to one of the following:

Money cannot locate ‘<location of your Money data file>’ or cannot open it, possibly because it is a read-only file or your disk drive is write protected.

‘<location of your Money data file>’ is corrupted or is not a Money data file. Make sure you are opening a file with an .mny extension.

Money cannot create a temporary file in C:\Windows\temp\

There is not enough disk space to create your Money data file in Temporary Files.

The Path Name Is Invalid

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CAUSE

This issue may occur if any one of the following conditions is true:

The path that you are trying to restore your file to is no longer valid. Typically, this issue occurs after you upgrade the Microsoft Windows operating system to Windows Vista.
You are trying to restore a backup file that was created in a later version of Money than the version that is installed on the computer.
You are running out of free disk space on the hard disk.
Your backup medium is damaged.
Your backup Money data file is damaged.
You are trying to restore or convert a data file from Money 98/99 to Money 2006 or later.

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RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use the following methods in the order that they appear in.

Method 1: Verify the validity of the restore path

When you restore the Money data file, the path where you want to restore the file must be valid. To verify this, make sure that you are walking through the restore process correctly. For more information about how to restore a backup file in Money, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

178850

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/178850/ )

How to restore a backup file in Microsoft Money

Method 2: Make sure that you are not trying to restore a backup file from a later version of Money

When you are using multiple versions of Microsoft Money, note that Money is not backward compatible. For example, if you are using Microsoft Money 2006 on one computer and Microsoft Money 2005 on another computer, you cannot open the Money 2006 backup file in Money 2005. However, you can open the Money 2005 file in Money 2006 program.

Note If you reinstall Money 2005, you will need to update Money first to insure that you have the latest updates prior to restoring a Money 2005 backup file. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

320193

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320193/ )

You receive the "Money cannot locate <filename>" error message when you try to open a Money data file

KB "for more information"

Method 3: Increase Hard Disk Free Space on Your Computer

On a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP, double-click My Computer. On a computer that is running Windows Vista, double-click Computer.
Right-click the disk that you want to restore the backup file to, and then click Properties.
Note the amount of free disk space.

If the disk is almost full (very little free space), free some space. To do this, delete all Temporary files and Temporary Internet files, uninstall nonessential programs, and delete unnecessary data files.

For more information about how to free space on the hard disk, see the Microsoft Windows documentation.

If there is sufficient space on the hard disk to restore the backup file, but you are still cannot restore the backup file, go to Method 4.

Method 4: Copy file to the hard disk

On a computer that is running Windows XP, double-click My Computer. On a computer that is running Windows Vista, double-click Computer.
Double-click your backup disk.
Right-click the file, and then click Copy.
On the standard toolbar of the My Computer window or the Computer window, click Back. The focus returns to My Computer.
Double-click Local Disk (C:).
Double-click My Documents or Documents.
Click Edit or Organize, and then click Paste.

If you receive any error messages during this copy and paste scenario, you have damaged backup medium. There are few repair scenarios that you can use in this situation. See the Microsoft Windows documentation for more information about how to repair damaged disks. After your file is copied to the hard disk drive, follow the restore backup procedure again. If you continue to receive an error message, it is likely that your backup data file is damaged.

Method 5: Confirm that Money is working correctly

Quit Money.
Search your computer for the Sample.mny data file.
Double-click the file to open it.
Create a backup of the Sample.mny file, either to a disk or to a location on the hard disk drive.
After the backup is complete, follow the process to restore the backup file.

If this process is successful, the Money product is working as expected. If you have another backup file that you can try to restore, that is recommended. If you do not have another backup data file, re-create the Money data file. If you also receive an error message when you try to restore the Sample.mny Money data file, your Money installation files may be damaged. For more information about how to remove and reinstall Money, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

895866

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/895866/ )

How to remove and reinstall Microsoft Money

Method 6: Converting files from Money 98/99 to 2006 or later

If you are trying to convert a data file from Money 98/99 to Money 2006 or later you will receive one of the messages listed above. This issue occurs because of the enhanced security features in Money 2006 or later. Money 2006 or later does not let you directly convert a Money 99 data file or a Money 98 data file to Money 2006. For more information about converting data from Money 98 or 99 to 2006, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

913108

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/913108/ )

You cannot convert Money 99 or Money 98 data files into Money 2006 or later data files

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MORE INFORMATION

To minimize loss of data because of a corrupted backup file, we recommend that you back up data to at least two different backup mediums. You can perform each backup two times, one time to each backup medium. For example, use a floppy disk and a Zip drive, or other backup files by alternating the backup medium every time that you back up data.

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