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Restore your QuickBooks data with Intuit Data Protect

by Intuit• Updated about 9 hours ago

Learn how to restore and copy your QuickBooks Desktop data for a successful recovery with Intuit Data Protect (IDP).

Use Intuit Data Protect to restore your QuickBooks company files and folders. This helps you secure your data and gives you peace of mind. Here's how you can restore and copy your data when you back up with Intuit Data Protect.

If you haven’t yet, set up Intuit Data Protect to back up your data.

Know the requirements to successfully restore your data

To make sure your data recovery goes well, set up the following:

  • Internet Connection: Make sure your computer has a connection to the internet.
  • Admin Rights: Make sure you log in to Windows and QuickBooks with full administrative rights.
  • IDP Installed: Make sure you install and run Intuit Data Protect on your computer.
  • Restore Location: Set up a temporary location with a short file path on your local computer to restore your files to.

Set up a temporary restore folder

Intuit Data Protect restores mostly fail because Windows has a limit on the length of file paths. Set up a short and simple one.

Important:

  • Don't restore data to your main QuickBooks folder or a folder with a long path. (C:\Users\YourName\Documents\QuickBooks Files\Intuit Data Protect Restores...).
  • Create a simple folder in your local C: drive (for example, C:\QBRestore or C:\IDPTemp). Don’t use a networked drive or a long path for your temporary restore folder.

To create the recommended short path:

  1. Open File Explorer, then select This PC.
  2. Select Windows (C:), then select New Folder.
  3. Create a short name for the folder, such as IDPRestore. It should look like: C:\IDPRestore.

Once your temporary folder is set up, you can now download your files from the Intuit Data Protect cloud service. Here's how:

  1. Go to the Intuit Data Protect icon from the Windows notification area.
  2. Select the Intuit Data Protect icon, then select Open Intuit Data Protect.
    Note: If you see a prompt, log in with the ID and password for your Intuit Data Protect subscription.
  3. In the main window, select Restore from Backup.
  4. In the Restore backup window, select the files/folders you want to restore.A picture of a tabula rasa on a laptop.
    Note: To restore an older version (for example, if you need to restore for data corruption), select Choose, then select the specific date of the backup you need.A screen shot of a web page with a driver installed.
  5. Select Continue.
  6. When prompted for the restore location, select New Location, then Restore.
  7. In the Select a folder to restore your files to screen, select Browse.
  8. Find and select the short path folder you created (for example, C:\IDPRestore). Select OK, then select Continue.A screen shot of a person on a laptop.
  9. When the process shows Restore Completed, select OK.

Copy your data to a permanent location

Now that the files are safely downloaded to your temporary folder, you can copy them to their permanent location. This location is where QuickBooks can access them.

  1. Open File Explorer and go to your short path folder (for example, C:\IDPRestore).
  2. Verify that your QuickBooks company file (.qbw) and Transaction Log File (.TLG) are present.A picture of a bunch of different things on a disk.
  3. Copy the restored files (usually the entire folder contents) from the short path folder.
  4. Paste the files into their permanent location.
    Note: Use common locations such as a network server location, or C:\Users\Public\Documents\Intuit\QuickBooks\Company Files.
  5. Open QuickBooks Desktop.
  6. Select Open or restore an existing company.
  7. Browse to the new/permanent location of your files, then open your company file (.qbw).

For more info, you can check out our frequently asked questions for Intuit Data Protect.

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