Fix issues when QuickBooks Desktop has stopped working

Learn how to resolve issues that cause QuickBooks Desktop to stop working.

Did you get an error when you try to open QuickBooks Desktop? Or maybe you didn't get an error, but the program is frozen. There could be several possible causes:

• Your company name may be too long
• You may have a damaged or missing QBWUSER.INI file
• You may have corruption on your hard drive
• Your program files or QuickBooks Desktop installation may be damaged
• You may have a damaged Windows operating system

In this article, you'll learn about 3 possible solutions for this issue.

• Solution 1: Run Quick Fix my Program from the QuickBooks Tool Hub
• Solution 2: Run the QuickBooks Install Diagnostic Tool from the Tool Hub
• Solution 3: Rename the QBWUSER.ini file

Solution 1: Run Quick Fix my Program from the QuickBooks Tool Hub

Step 1: Download and install the QuickBooks Tool Hub

The QuickBooks Tool Hub helps fix common errors. For the best experience, we recommend using Tool Hub on Windows 10, 64-bit.

1. Close QuickBooks.
2. We recommend you download the most recent version (1.4.0.0) of the QuickBooks Tool Hub. Save the file somewhere you can easily find it (like in your Downloads folder or on your Windows desktop). Note: If you've already installed Tool Hub before, you can find out which version you have. Select the Home tab.  The version will be displayed on the bottom right or you can select About to view the version.
3. Open the file you downloaded (QuickBooksToolHub.exe).
4. Follow the on-screen steps to install and agree to the terms and conditions.
5. When the install finishes, double-click the icon on your Windows desktop to open the tool hub.

Note: If you can't find the icon, do a search in Windows for QuickBooks Tool Hub and select the program.

Step 2: From the Tool Hub, run the Quick Fix my Program

The Quick Fix will shut down any open background processes QuickBooks uses. It'll run a quick repair on your program.

1. In the QuickBooks Tool Hub, select Program Problems.
2. Select Quick Fix my Program.
3. Start QuickBooks Desktop and open your data file.

Solution 2: Run the QuickBooks Install Diagnostic Tool from the Tool Hub

The QuickBooks Install Diagnostic Tool automatically diagnoses and fixes issues with Microsoft components the QuickBooks program uses.

1. Open the QuickBooks Tool Hub if it's not already open.
2. In the Tool Hub, select Program Problems.
3. Select QuickBooks Program Diagnostic Tool. Let the tool run. It can take up to 20 minutes.
4. When the tool finishes, restart your computer and relaunch QuickBooks.

Solution 3: Rename the QBWUSER.ini file

If your QBWUSER.ini file is damaged or missing, the error may be resolved if you rename the QBWUSER.ini file.

To rename the file:

1. Open the folder where the QBWUSER.ini file is saved: Users[Your user name]AppDataLocalIntuitQuickBooks [year]
   If you can't see the folder, you might need to enable hidden files and folders.
2. Right-click the QBWUSER.ini file and select Rename.
3. Add .old at the end of the file name (as in QBWUSER.ini.old).
4. Rename the EntitlementDataStore.ecml file.
5. Reopen QuickBooks Desktop.

If the program opens after you rename either QBWUSER.ini or EntitlementDataStore.ecml, try to open a sample company file.

If you can open a sample company but not your own, copy your file to a different folder. Open it from the new location. (We recommend a local folder and not a network location.) If you can open your file, the problem might be a damaged folder or folder permissions.

If you can't sign into your file even after that, your company file is most likely damaged. Try to restore an earlier backup of that file instead.

If you can't open the sample company file or QuickBooks won't start, the QuickBooks installation is damaged.