Backup file on external hard drive

Kteach69 · ‎April 23, 2020

I have QB 2016. I was told to create a backup of my files on a external hard drive. It came in Wednesday, and I did a backup today. When I tried to open the file from the external hard drive, it said " you are trying to open quickbooks company back up file. Only QB company files can be opened this way. Solution. Open qb. and gave directions to follow'" We followed directions and it wont open. Please help. Please help as I am new to QB and don't work with it everyday. I have googled for over 2 hours and it is just sending me in circles. Is it possible to open QB from the external hard drive or is this just a vessel to store backup files? Thank you in advance for any and all help

john-pero · ‎April 23, 2020

Qb can only open .qbw working files. To open a backup, .qbb, you have to restore it from the restore option, Open/Restore

Kteach69 · ‎April 24, 2020

Thank you for your reply. I did that last night. I clicked the open/restore and it said it couldn't open the file. I guess I am Quick Books illiterate...:(. I always heard this program was easy to use, but it is proving to not be.

This may be another question... Should I save it on the desktop and THEN save it on the external? I read that yesterday but I am so confused because i have read 100's of threads, thus the reason we bought the external hard drive. 90% of the threads said to back it up on the external hard drive in case of laptop failure. Should I download the entire program on the external? I appreciate any and all help. It is a small company and trying to do this on my own, without hiring an accountant.

Joseph_A · ‎April 24, 2020

I'm here to help you back up and restore your company file, @Kteach69.

Once you create a back up of your company file it will ask you where to store the back up. It could be on your desktop or on an external hard drive. It's not necessary to move it from external to the desktop. Also, you don't need to download the entire program, you just need to save only the company file. Let me guide you on how to back up and restore a company file.

Here's how:

Back up a Company File

Go to the File menu, select Back Up company then Create a Local Back up.
Choose Local Back up, click Next then Save it now. It will be saved on your desktop.
If you want to save it on a hard drive, click Options and it will allow you to browse a storage location.
Click Ok then select Use this Location.

Restore a Back Up

Go to the File menu, select Open or Restore Company.
Since it is a back up, choose Restore a back up copy then click Next.
It will allow you to search for the back up copy. whether it is saved on your desktop or external hard drive.
Click the back up copy, then Open.

You may also want to learn how to use the Accountant's Copy, you can refer to this article: Use the Accountant's Copy.

Feel free to post any additional questions here in Community. The QuickBooks team is always here for you. Take care!

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Backup file on external hard drive