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3H
Level 2

QB starts without being requested.

We have two people with separate/individual Windows accounts/log-ins using a single Desktop Windows PC. Only one of the people does the accounting using QB. Now no matter which person opens their account; QB launches itself automatically in a new window on their individual desktop without being requested. This is very annoying and suggests that some setting was changed in the process of doing the new QB revision.

 

I have been to the user forum and have done the following suggestions:

First,

  1. Go to your "Task Manager".
  2. Select the "Processes" tab, and click on the "Name" header to sort the processes alphabetically.
  3. Locate and select "QBW32.EXE", and select "End Process".


Next, suppress the desktop while starting QuickBooks. This enables you to open a company data file without any windows open.

NOTE:  This did not resolve the issue.

 

My results to this suggestion

This did not do the job.  I also used the <QuickBooksDesktopInstallDiagnosticTool > and the Repair Rebuild tool in QB.  None of them has resolved the unrequested opening of a QB Window in both of the individual Windows accounts.

 

FWIW:  When the QB window opens, it is empty except for the box for selecting which company is to be opened.  That box has a notice at the top that says is "No Company Open".

 

Additional information:

This did not do the job.  I also used the <QuickBooksDesktopInstallDiagnosticTool > and the Repair Rebuild tool in QB.  None of them has resolved the unrequested opening of a QB Window in both of the individual Windows accounts.

 

FWIW:  When the QB window opens, it is empty except for the box for selecting which company is to be opened.  That box has a notice at the top that says is "No Company Open".

 That was where I've ended up.
 
Since this problem raised it's ugly head shortly after the Win 10 v1809; I did one little test on a hunch.  I made MS Internet Explorer 11 unavailable in the system settings and restarted the the system.
Upon opening my User desktop; QB tried to open un-commanded; but through an error message about not being able to open dues to the unavailability of MS Internet Explorer.
 
Internet Explorer 11 has been deprecated by Microsoft for some time now.  I'm suspecting that this is a bug caused by a bunch of old underlying QB code that uses old Microsoft IE 11 calls and thus is messing up when running under the latest Windows Update.

Can anyone make suggestions on how we can resolve this issue?

Thanks.

14 Comments 14
FritzF
Moderator

QB starts without being requested.

Thanks for reaching out to us here in the Community, @3H.

 

I'm here to help make sure that your issue about QuickBooks starts without being requested is taken care of.

 

First of all, I appreciate all the troubleshooting steps that you've done to get this working and for providing the complete details of your concern. I checked if there's an ongoing investigation about this, but there isn't currently one.

 

Since the issue still persists even after performing those steps, I highly suggest contacting our Phone Support team. They have tools such as screen-sharing (remote access) that can check your QuickBooks and further investigate why the software automatically launches itself.

 

You can check out this article for the detailed steps on how to reach them: Contact the QuickBooks Desktop Customer Support Team.

 

Please let me know how it goes after contacting them. I'm only a few clicks away should you have any follow-up questions or concerns. Take care and have a great rest of the week!

3H
Level 2

QB starts without being requested.

Simple answer is NO there was no resolution from QB Support.

 

I'm still searching my machine for some remnant of a QB update that may have not been cleaned up by the update process which may be lurking with a dll or some such the is interfering with the new year's update.

Anonymous
Not applicable

QB starts without being requested.

Hi, @3H.

 

Let me help share additional steps for you to try. When all else fails, the Super Clean Install is intended to be the last resort. 

 

You can refer to this article for the steps: Reinstall using a Super Clean install.

 

If you're unsure about performing the troubleshooting steps, I'd recommend consulting an IT professional since this process can result in damage if not done correctly.

 

Keep me posted how it goes. I'll be here to help if you have other questions about QuickBooks.

3H
Level 2

QB starts without being requested.

Hey Lily,

Thanks for the reference to the Super Clean installation process.

 

In doing my research in the issue, I did a full search of everything that exists on the computer using Belarc Advisor tool.  It found a residual QB 2015 license still residing in the system.  (We are using QB 2018 at this time.)  While there is no QB 2015 still installed on the machine,  that lead me to wonder if there is some simpler solution than going through the Super Clean process? 

 

FWIW:  There have been some other inconveniences with the overall operation of the system since since Microsoft botched the Win10 Fall Update and it has been some time since we have done a full clean reinstall of our Win10 OS so I've been considering doing that.  It's sort of a "nuclear option" sort of thing; but, I'm pretty certain that would resolve the issue.  :-p

 

 

JaneD
Moderator

QB starts without being requested.

Hey there, 3H.

 

Allow me to chime in and share a few details about the Super Clean Install process. 

 

A Super Clean Install fixes some issues that keep you from opening file and a few other situations that is necessary to completely remove QuickBooks Desktop from your computer. This process replaces all files used to install it.

 

I recommend performing the detailed steps in the article above provided by my peer, LilyC.

 

On the other hand, I suggest checking with an IT expert to help you with your Windows concern.

 

That should do it. Don't hesitate to let me know if you have other questions. Have a wonderful day.

lyn
Level 1

QB starts without being requested.

What helped our case was that we repaired QB Pro 2018, went to  Services, and looked for QBDManager.

Startup type was set to  Automatic and so we toggled to Manual. Restarted computer and did not open QB automatically anymore, unless until QB icon is clicked. 

armstrongone
Level 1

QB starts without being requested.

Since the latest updates, I too have been experiencing this problem. It's annoying when 6-7 unrequested openings of QB2019 desktop begin shortly after starting up my computer. The resolution to this should come direct from QB by an additional update and should not be the responsibility of the client to waste precious time on the phone with Quickbooks.

3H
Level 2

QB starts without being requested.

I finally found an old QB 2006 folder buried in a directory as well as some references to the old version in the hive.  I wouldn't suggest the everyone go in there because you can easily much things up very very badly.

 

Having said that, I no longer have any unintended, unrequested QB openings on my PC.

 

I still like QB; but it was obvious that one of my updates/reinstalls for one version to a later version did not clean up after itself.

armstrongone
Level 1

QB starts without being requested.

I use QB Pro Desktop 20!9.  Where is  "Services" you've mentioned. I am having no luck resolving this issue and my patience has been pushed to the edge. Thank you.

Angelyn_T
Moderator

QB starts without being requested.

Hello, @armstrongone.

 

You can find the Services menu by opening the Task Manager window.

 

  1. From your computer, go to the Windows or Start menu, then type in Task Manager.
  2. Click on the Task Manager from the result.
  3. On the Task Manager window, click on the Services tab.
  4. You can scroll up and down to review the result and check the status under the Status column.

 

You can also access the page, by clicking on Ctrl + Alt + Delete on your keyboard, then tap on Task Manager.

 

As always, update your QuickBooks to the latest release to have seamless activities while working with QuickBooks Desktop.

 

Add a comment below if you have any other questions. I'm always here to help. Have a great day!

MarkADowning
Level 2

QB starts without being requested.

Mine is up to 20 unrequested QB starts after a reboot!  I'm going to try to see if I have the option to set Startup Type to Manual in QBDManager (assuming I have that).

FWIW, I'm using QB Desktop Pro 2017

MarkADowning
Level 2

QB starts without being requested.

QBDManager does not appear in my Task Manager Services. 

Maybe QB Desktop Pro 2017 is different?

Does anything look amiss?

I'm reluctant to mess with anything without knowing the consequences.

QB Services-1.png

MarkADowning
Level 2

QB starts without being requested.

For me, QB was starting an additional 2 times for every time I rebooted!

I finally got it stopped, and hopefully I can remember enough of what I did to help others.

1) Remove everything related to QuickBooks from the Startup directory. 

     It will likely be hidden because it is a system directory. 

     In Windows Explorer click View tab then check Hidden Items to show the system items.

2) Delete Intuit Data Protect if it is in the Startup directory. 

     I can't remember if this also was there.

3) Delete or rename the Intuit Data Protect directory.  

With a bit of luck, a reboot now will not only be noticeably faster, but will not be followed by a barrage of QB startups.

I welcome a kind and helpful person with more technical knowledge than myself to put a bit of polish on the above process.  I am confident this will help many struggling QB users, and maybe keep a few from moving to an alternate application!  (I was very close . . .)

 

Stacy52
Level 1

QB starts without being requested.

One thing I did to solve this issue was on my laptop:

Settings/ Apps/ startup/Changing Start up Apps/ turn off QuickBooks and Quick Books automatic updates

Hope this helps. 

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