Hi there, licon.
Thank you for visiting the QuickBooks Community. I'll be sharing details about the QuickBooks Desktop 2021 version. Then, to make sure that you can work with your QBDT smoothly or avoid any unusual behavior.
There's a specific version of QuickBooks Desktop that has been discontinued and after May 31, 2021, access to add-on services will be suspended for QuickBooks Desktop for Windows 2018. That said, this may be the reason why you're getting an error when reinstalling your QBDT on a new computer.
On the other hand, you'll normally get the alert when you reinstall or restore a company file to a version that's not the same as the one you previously use. That said, I recommend making sure to check the correct edition before restoring it and you'll have to ensure that the backup file should also have the same version to avoid the error. To do this, open your QuickBooks Desktop and press F2 on your keyboard.
If the issue persists, I suggest restoring the file using another file type. When you back up your company file. For example, your main company files (QBW) and backup data files are (QBB). You may open the articles below to see further details and how to perform the steps.
Additionally, you may click this article to fix any errors and issues you see when you install or open your QuickBooks Desktop: Fix QuickBooks Desktop install errors.
In case you want to upgrade your company file to 2022, you may refer to this article to view various details of what features are included in the QuickBooks Desktop 2022 release and how you can use them to benefit your business: What’s new in QuickBooks Desktop 2022.
Don't hesitate to post again in the Community or you still have any concerns about reinstalling QBTD. I'm always here to help.
