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Edit Windows hosts file
Get help with error H202 or other multi-user errors when opening QuickBooks Desktop.
If you already followed the solutions on this article but still get an error when opening QuickBooks on multi-user mode, no worries. We’re here to help. Here’s how to edit your Windows hosts file to fix and prevent error H202 or other multi-user errors.
Important:
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Step 1: Get your computers’ names and IP addresses
Before you start with the steps, make sure you have a pen and paper handy. You also need access to both server computer and workstations as a user with admin rights.
Follow these steps on your server computer first. Then, do the steps again on your workstations.
Note: Your server computer hosts your company file. The workstations are the other computers that access the company file saved in the server.
- On the server computer, press Windows+R on your keyboard.
- Type “cmd” in the Run window, then press Enter.
- Type “ipconfig /all” (make sure there’s a space after ipconfig), then press Enter.
- Take note of the host name and IP address (or IPv4).
- Repeat the steps on the workstations.
Step 2: Edit Windows hosts file
Do the following steps on both the server computer and workstations.
- Close QuickBooks.
- Open the Windows Start menu in the server computer.
- Select Computer.
- Go to either:
- C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc
- C:\Windows\Syswow64\Drivers\Etc
- Double-click the host file, then select Notepad.
- Enter the IP address followed by the computer name. Use the Tab key to enter space.
- The server computer should have the workstation’s IP and computer name.
- The workstation should have the server computer’s IP and computer name.
Step 3: Save your changes to the hosts file
After you’re done updating the IP addresses in Notepad on both server computer and workstations, save the file.
- In Notepad, go to File menu, then select Save.
- Enter the file name as “hosts”, including the quotation marks.
- Select Desktop, then Save.
- Find the file you just saved, right-click, then select Copy.
- Browse to the file location you used in Step 2. Either:
- C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc
- C:\Windows\Syswow64\Drivers\Etc
- Find the hosts file, right-click, then select Rename.
- Rename the hosts file to hosts old, then select Continue.
- Press Ctrl+V on your keyboard, then select Continue.