Multi-user Problems : H202

Hello there, @Rajema.

To start with, here are the things you'll need to prepare before you can set a multi-user network:

• Set Folder Permissions
• Use Database Server Manager
• Install Database Server Manager
• Set Admin Rights

Once done, you can turn on the hosting of your company file for multi-user network:

1. Go to File.
2. Select Utilities.
3. Click Host Multi-User Access.
4. Select Yes.

 I've included an article that you can read to learn more about hosting and multi-user network: Set Up and Install a Multi-user Network for QuickBooks Desktop.

 If the issue persists, you can contact our support directly from the Help menu of your account. I'm here to help you accomplish this.

1. Go to Help.
2. Select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
3. Enter Multi-user Hosting in the Tell us more about your question: field.
4. Click Search.
5. Select Message Us.

In case you need some related articles in managing your multi-user network, here's an article you can read for more insights: General Info about Hosting your Company Data in Multi-user Mode in QuickBooks Desktop.

Please let me know what you're always welcome to post if you have any other concerns. Have a good one. 

I have a QB 2020 Premier version and every time we switch to Single user, the database is disconnected and we can't use it in multi user.  Called tech support multiple times, no help at all, problem was not fixed. I was transferred to Level 2 support, and still no help at all, problem was not fixed. I was told to run database every time after I switch from single to multi user (database disconnects after using singer user) and the Level 2 support person was so rude, he hang up on me!!!!

Help! I have been using QB since the 90's and QB is set up:

• To be single user for certain functions
• Switch from single to multi, vice versa

Why is this problem occurring now??? And, this is latest version 2020 and our server is Microsoft 2016 server.

I have a QB 2020 Premier version and every time we switch to Single user, the database is disconnected and we can't use it in multi user.  Called tech support multiple times, no help at all, problem was not fixed. I was transferred to Level 2 support, and still no help at all, problem was not fixed. I was told to run database every time after I switch from single to multi user (database disconnects after using singer user) and the Level 2 support person was so rude, he hang up on me!!!!

Help! I have been using QB since the 90's and QB is set up:

• To be single user for certain functions
• Switch from single to multi, vice versa

Why is this problem occurring now with the latest version of QB Premier 2020? I have Windows 2016 server.

Let's scan your company file first, Mal2020.

This helps access your company file from other computers in your network. I'll show you how.

1. Go to the Windows Start menu on your server computer (the one that hosts your company file).
2. Type “Database” in the search field and open QuickBooks Database Server Manager.
3. Go to the Scan Folders tab. If you're using Database Server Manager 2019, this process shares all of your folders. You might want to set your folder permissions, so you only give access to specific users.
4. Click on Browse and select the folders that hold your company files (.QBW).
5. Choose OK and select Start Scan.

If you're still having trouble accessing your file in a single user mode, then restart your Database Server Manager. For the detailed steps, refer to this article: Use QuickBooks Database Server Manager.

Otherwise, you can clean install QuickBooks Desktop if the problem persists.

Let us know on how things go once you've tried the steps. We'll be here to keep helping.

Done that many times. 

That's how I fixed the problem every time the error comes up.

What I need is the fix to prevent it from happening again.

The error is generally caused by something is blocking the multi-user connection to your server, Mal2020.

This includes firewall issue or user access permission. You just need to make sure that you follow the guidelines an requirements for setting up multi-user environment.

You can always refer to these articles to avoid getting the same error in the future:

• General info about hosting your company data in multi-user mode in QuickBooks Desktop
• Set up and install a multi-user network for QuickBooks Desktop

You can also get back just in case the error would show up again. The QuickBooks Team is always here to guide and help you. 

Done that too. Didn't help.

I want a definite solution how to stop this error from happening when I switch to and from single to multiuser.

Right now, we have to re-run the database manager to get QB to work. That is not a solution.

Help - this is causing us a lot of downtime as this is happening every week.

Hi there, Mal2020.

For us to investigate more of this error, I'd recommend contacting our Customer Care Team. This way, we can work with our engineers in resolving the issue. 

Here's how you can reach out to us:

1. Click Help located at the top.
2. Choose QuickBooks Desktop Help.
3. Enter a brief description of your issue and click Continue.
4. You can choose Message an Agent or Talk to a Specialist.

Keep us posted if you need anything else. Thanks.

I already did, yesterday we were on the phone for about 3 hours - first talked to an Indian lady, very nice and really tried to help - went through the same steps on the online support, but no help and passed us on to second level support, a guy who was so rude and not even listening to our problem and as we (my IT/network person) were explaining the situation, he just hang up on us!!! So rude, and he had quite an attitude to begin with. Very disappointing.

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@Mal2020 wrote:

Right now, we have to re-run the database manager to get QB to work. That is not a solution.

Help - this is causing us a lot of downtime as this is happening every week.

 

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Check the service of QuickBooksDB30. Make sure to set it as "Automatic" and "Restart the service" in Recovery tab.

If the problem still persists, set one of the client as a temporary host to isolate the issue.

I have already deactivated the firewall and the share folder is configured as writable.

I want to precise that one of the three users can initiate the multiuser. We had no problem if this person is present in the office. But if he is missing, the two others users can not make activate multi user.

Hello, Rajema,

Great job for deactivating the firewall and for following the steps provided in this thread.

The information of this user may be damaged, and that's why you're getting the error H202. Let's perform one more troubleshooting step by deleting and re-creating that person's access to isolate and fix this issue.

Before proceeding, make sure to backup your company file so you can go back and restore the original data. 

To get started, the steps outlined below will guide you through deleting and adding a user:

1. Update QuickBooks Desktop to the latest release. 
2. After that, go to the Company menu.
3. Select Users, then Set Up Users and Roles.
4. Highlight the user, then click the Delete button to delete the user.
5. Choose Yes to confirm the deletion process.
   
6. Go back to step 2 and 3, then select New.
7. Fill out the User Name, Password, and Confirm Password fields.
8. Choose which area of QuickBooks the user has access to, then select OK.

You can also refer to this article for more details with the steps above: QuickBooks Desktop Users and Restrictions.

If the same issue persists, I recommend contacting our QuickBooks Desktop Care Team. They can pull up your account in a secure environment and investigate further what's causing the error to appear when using the multi-user mode.

Let me know how this goes by leaving a comment below. I always have your back.

Thank you.

Hi there!  Did you ever have any luck fixing this problem?

Hi there.  Did you ever have any luck fixing this problem?  I too experience the same errors, same hardware, and get the same terrible solution ideas from QB.

Thank you for joining the thread, @bryansimon.

Let me share additional insights about his error these errors when running QuickBooks in a multi-user mode.

The error happens when something is blocking the multi-user connection to your server. Don't worry, we have several steps you can perform to resolve the issue. First, install the QuickBooks Desktop Server Manager on your server for each version of QuickBooks you use. Your server is the computer that hosts your company files. 

Here's how:

1. Close all open programs on your server computer, including QuickBooks.
2. Open the install file you downloaded. It's called Setup_QuickBooks.exe.
3. Follow the onscreen instructions. If you need to find your product or license numbers, here's how to find them.
4. When QuickBooks asks you to choose an install type, select Custom or Network Options. Then select Next. Don't select Express.
5. Choose the best option for your network setup and then select Next. Both the options install the Database Server Manager. If QuickBooks Desktop is already installed on your server computer, this won’t overwrite any existing company data.
   • If you want Database Server Manager and QuickBooks Desktop on your server computer, select I'll be using QuickBooks Desktop on this computer, AND I'll be storing... We strongly recommend this option.
   • If you only want Database Server Manager on your server computer, select I will NOT be using QuickBooks Desktop.
6. Follow the rest of the onscreen instructions. When you’re ready, select Install. Windows may ask you for permission.

Once completed, you can follow the next steps detailed from this link as your guide: How to fix Error H202 and H505.

If there's anything else I can do for you, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below. I'm a post away to help. Keep safe!

We have a client that had this issue  -they were able to set a company to multiuser mode on their server but not on workstations.  They got H202 error on workstation.  Looking in the database server manager app it appeared that the company files were not using the database.  But they were showing as open in windows.    We had recently changed drive mappings to use the ip address of the server instead of the server name.  It turns out that this was the cause of this issue.  No idea why quickbooks would care but...