This is my very occasional geeky/techy article, written because this problem was a major PIMA!
By way of brief background, I have used Quicken to manage my finances since the late 1990’s, and have remained a faithful user despite a few little issues over the years. Princess Gail and I use Quicken every day to keep track of our vast empire (ROTF LMAO!) 😀
The latest Quicken problem for Mac users has to do with converting Quicken data files to be compatible with Apple’s new Mac OS 10.7, aka “Lion.” Both Intuit (maker of Quicken) and Apple are to blame: Quicken for not keeping their Mac products current (as Apple moved from PowerPC to Intel chips) and Apple for not loudly warning Quicken users of a major incompatibility, knowing it would affect household and business financial management for Quicken users upgrading to Lion.
Every year, Princess Gail and I ask ourselves if we shouldn’t upgrade our old Quicken 2004 (Q 2004) but it has always worked well, and we couldn’t see how a program that simply adds and subtracts numbers could change all that much. So we kept using the 2004 version. We were oblivious to the PowerPC and Intel incompatibility that was to become a critical issue with Mac OS 10.7 Lion.
Apparently, the previous version of Mac OS, 10.6, still had a way to read old PowerPC programs (including our old Q 2004) by way of a translator called Rosetta that worked in the background. The new Mac OS 10.7 Lion does not support old PowerPC programs at all. Even the Rosetta translator is not supported.
So after we upgraded our computers to Mac OS 10.7 Lion, we quickly discovered that Quicken would not run, and we had no access to years of financial data, most importantly our current tax year info and our current checkbook entries.
The solution was tricky, but here it is:
The newest Quicken product is Quicken Essentials (QE) which does run on the Mac OS 10.7 Lion. We needed our old Q 2004 data file to be converted to the QE format, but this could NOT be done on Mac OS 10.7 Lion. It had to be done on Mac OS 10.6 before one upgrades to 10.7 Lion. Further, QE can only convert files from Quicken 2006 and 2007, not from our ancient 2004 version.
So we first had to find a copy of Quicken 2006 or 2007. I managed to find Q 2006 and loaded into an old Mac running an older Mac OS. I was able to convert our Q 2004 data file to the Q 2006 format.
I then tried loading the new QE program on that old Mac but it would not run on an old PowerPC Mac. QE requires the Intel chip of the newer Mac models.
At this point I had two options. One was to find or borrow a newer Mac model that had not been upgraded to 10.7 Lion, install QE, and use it to convert my Q 2006 data file to the QE format.
The other option, which is what I actually did, was to learn how to partition the hard disk on my current Mac which is running 10.7 Lion, and load an older Mac OS into the new partition so I could use that to install QE and do my file conversion.
You can do a search to find easy tutorials on how to partition a Mac hard disk. I learned how to carve out a 20GB partition on the hard disk of my computer that is upgraded to 10.7 Lion. That was more than twice the space needed to load the 8GB Mac OS 10.6. So I loaded 10.6 into that partition and then I installed QE into that. I was then able to convert my Q 2006 data file to the QE format. Finally, I switched back to the 10.7 Lion partition and was able to translate the PowerPC version of the QE data file to the new Intel version of the QE data file. Whew! It was a lot of work, but we had over 6,000 bank transactions on that file. It was completely worth the effort.
The most important point: You can avoid all our troubles by simply buying Quicken Essentials before you upgrade to Mac OS 10.7 Lion. I wish I had known that!
Quicken Essentials is not as full featured as Quicken for Mac 2007. You will want to go to their site and compare features. For us, since we use it mainly as a check book register and for the associated reports, Quicken Essentials is all we need. For those out there who were using features in Q 2007 not available in QE, I suggest you get QE anyway and hold on to all your older data files. I predict that Intuit will eventually come out with a full featured Quicken for Mac that will run on Lion. The Apple Macintosh platform is dramatically gaining market share, especially with laptop and iPad users, where others are in decline. Intuit is a good company and will certainly respond to that.
I hope this is helpful to someone. I can’t imagine we were the only ones with this bummer of a problem! But we figured it out and now we’re happy! 🙂
If this was helpful, please share or “like.” Thank you.
Haven’t upgraded to Lion yet (we may wait for a while), but we do have an older version of quicken. This may come in handy very soon. Thank you!
Hi, Jennifer!
You can avoid all our troubles by simply buying Quicken Essentials before you upgrade to Lion. I wish I had known that!
BTW, we’re loving Lion. For $30 we have it on both our laptops.
The only other program I’ll need to update is my also ancient Photoshop Elements 4.0 to the current 9.0.
I don’t have a Mac so there you go. We use Microsoft Money and have for years. Tracking our expenses is very important to us too.
Have a terrific day and I love the graphic. 🙂
Hi, Sandee!
Of course, being a Mac zombie, I try not to buy anything that says “Microsoft.” LOL
But I know Microsoft Money is a very fine program.
Big hugs! 🙂
Well I’m impressed! I wouldn’t have the slightest clue how to figure this out!
Hi, Meleah!
Well, when the problem is about your money, you are extra motivated! 🙂
If you google “Quicken Lion” this post is currently the 12th entry out of 1,650,000!
😀
I am speechless, in awe, and confused. But I’m thrilled for the folks that need this info and I’m sure your tech expertise will reach many!
I hope it helps some people, too. That’s the only reason I wrote it. Thanks, Linda! 🙂
What?
LOL!
Don’t worry your Queenly head. It’s Mac stuff. 😉
AHHHHHHHHH you are talking about MY WORK and it is FRIDAY NIGHT AHHHHH!!!! LOLOL!!!! Good for you for figuring it out.. you must be very good at math – it takes that kind of brain. I hope that if other people are having the same problem that they find your post. There is nothing like the internet to find answers to your pc problems. Oh, MAC problems LOL!
Hmmm vast empire…. ? Honk another time and you get three bucks LOL!
Actually, I’m getting kick out of it. It has been my most popular post ever! It is scoring really high on searches for the key words in the title.
Honk! 😉
Have you actually tried to go directly to Quicken Essentials from Quicken 2004? I am going through this process after buying a Mac Mini with Lion and using Quicken 2002 successfully for years. Luckily my MacBook Pro is still Snow Leopard. However the process still requires an initial conversion to Quicken 2007 (or maybe 2006, as you suggest) before it can be imported into Quicken Essentials. In my case I am having crashes during the process of importing into Quicken 2007, and I am still waiting to hear from Intuit about the problem.
No. It is not possible to go directly from Q 2004 all the way to Quicken Essentials. QE will only convert from Q 2006 or Q 2007.
I was able to convert our old Q 2004 data file to a Q 2006 data file. Then I converted the Q 2006 data file to the QE data file on a Mac running Snow Leopard. Finally, I converted that Snow Leopard QE file to the Lion QE file. It was a lot of moving the file around different machines and different operating systems, but it worked.
Maybe jumping from Q 2002 all the way to Q 2007 is too much of a jump. Is there a way you could convert your Q 2002 data file to a Q 2004 and go from there?
thanks for addressing this issue! i have not upgraded to Lion yet because of the Q snafu. in fact, i was even thinking of upgrading one computer and not the other (which you know would drive one crazy) so at least one of them could run Q. which i hate for a number of reasons anyway. since i have Quicken for Mac 2003 (talk about old!), i am dreading the stepped conversions you outline here. what about some other financial program that could convert all my data files – like yours, going back many years? has anyone tried another software brand that can do this seamlessly?
Thanks for the nice comment, brindlegirl!
If you haven’t upgraded to Lion yet, and if all you care about is the checkbook registry stuff and associated tables/graphs, then you’re fine, once you do the intermediate file conversion(s.) I think you can find a copy of Quicken 6 easily online. If not, email me and I will send it to you. Then buy QE, install it in Snow Leopard, and translate to the QE format. After that you’re all set to switch to Lion. Really, once you get started with these translations, it’s not that hard.
BTW, I have had quite a few people search their way to this post using the term Quicken 2002! I’m glad I wasn’t the only one using an old program! LOL
I don’t know anything about converting the Quicken data into another program. If that’s possible, I can’t imagine it would be “seamless.” If you DO discover that is possible, please let me know! 🙂
actually, your page turned up first in a bing search on safari. pretty nice! here was my search request: best lion compatible software to convert quicken data files
REALLY!? Cool!!! Thanks for letting me know!!! 😀
Hi Ferd,
Thank you SO much for this post. I too upgraded without considering Q. I have Quicken 2006 on my iMac with Lion. My laptop in still on Leopard. Do you think I could simply load QE onto my laptop, then copy the Quicken Data file that is on my desktop on my iMac and paste it into the new QE version on my laptop? I don’t have a disk for Quicken 2006, just 2003, so am guessing I must have upgraded online somehow?
Thanks for any help you may be able to give me!
Hi Again! Got it to work, yippee!! Thanks again for your help, Ferd!!
Best, Melanie
Oh, good, Melanie! I just got home from work and was about to answer your first comment, but I see you figured it out. I’m glad! It makes me happy that this post helped someone! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Again, thanks so much!
Ferd, WOW – I wish I read this before I migrated. I have an old iMac using Q04 and migrated all data to my new iMac running Lion – I was unable to open Q04. Since I still have my old iMac, if I get a version of Q06 on it and converted my old files to it, could I then backup to a USB mini Drive and Restore it via Quicken Essentials on my new iMac????? I look forward to your reply.
Yes, Chris, if you load Quicken 2006 on your old iMac and convert your Q2004 data file to Q2006, you can then use that data file on your new iMac running Lion and Quicken Essentials will be able to convert it. Let me know how that works out.
And yes, I used my little USB mini drive to shuffle the data file around.
But can your write checks with QE? I tried an earlier version and it wouldn’t do that.
Ferd,
I use Parallels Desktop with my PC version of Quicken only because I have been using the 2009 version of Quicken and have been very spoiled by bill pay, auto balancing of register when downloading from my bank etc.. Will this effect me? Apple store told me I had to convert to the new version of Parallels and it would not effect my Quicken at all. very worried!!
Hi Patti.
I assume you are upgrading to Mac OS 10.7 Lion.
If you will also be running Parallels 7 on Lion, and you plan to stick with a PC version of Quicken, I don’t think you will have any problems. Most likely you will be able to use the same Windows OS via Parallels, and the same version of Quicken you are currently using.
But if your plan was to NOT use Parallels on your computer with Lion, then you will have to use Quicken Essentials. For now, that is the only Quicken product that will run on Lion. I’m using it now. It is a great, new and improved checkbook register. The downloads from the bank are swifter. There are more banks to choose from. It will auto balance. But it WON’T do bill pay. Maybe you could do that through your bank rather than from within Quicken?
Is there any reason you know of that one couldn’t maintain 10.6 on a disc partition and continue to run Quicken from that?
Joe, you absolutely could do that. I partitioned my disk for 10.6 only to do the file translations, but one could keep using that 10.6 partition to keep running the older Quicken software. It’s no big deal to switch between partitions.
Thanks, Ferd. That seems to be the solution. For me, at least.
Does anyone know if a techie out there can help me with this issue Mac created? I have been backing up my quicken files each month but having trouble locating on my external hard drive. Also have a 2nd laptop without lion so would expect it is possible to get my financial files. This too much angst!
I don’t know of a techie, and I don’t think I’d trust anyone to handle my Quicken financial data file. Both Apple and Intuit are to blame, as I mentioned in the post, each for their own part in this fiasco. But I will say that Apple phased out the PowerPC chip over about five years, encouraging users and software developers to shift over from the PowerPC structure to the Intel.
You have to do this yourself. It is a pain, but it is doable, and worth it.
Different versions of Quicken have data files that might have different suffixes. They might also be placed in different folders. You have to figure out where your data file is, then translate it to a Quicken Essentials data file, all on MacOS 10.6 or earlier. Depending on how old your Quicken program is, you might have to do two or even three translations as detailed above.
Ferd, I’m so glad I found your article. I too bought a new MacBook Pro with Lion. My Quicken 2006 data is still on my old MacBook Pro with OS 10.4.11. Do you know if I can just download QE onto the old one and convert as you described above, or do I have to upgrade the OS first for QE to work?
Kelly, you’re in great shape. Install QE on your OLD system and it will translate the Q2006 data file to a QE data file. You can then move the QE data file to the new computer running Lion. Obviously, you’ll install QE on your new computer as well. This is exactly what I wish I had known to do!
So far so good. Looks like it worked! Thanks for being out there with help for Quicken sufferers!
🙂
I have suffered through the same issue after upgrading my Mac to OS 10.7 without any forewarning as you indicated. I contacted Intuit and had them upgrade my Quicken 2007 files to Quicken Essential and they have returned the files. My current problem is being able to open and load 4 sets of accounting records (not just one). When trying to open any of the other data files and recognize as new before importing per QE’s instructions (File/New; then File/Import) QE does not recognize any of the other files.
Well we were not alone, Randy. This post has had over 1,700 views!
I’m sorry I don’t have any ideas about your issue with opening multiple data files. I only use one and have no experience using several at a time. If you find a solution please let me know.
Ferd, if you learn how Randy managed to access his/her files in order to send them to Intuit, please post the answer. I neglected to check the boxes below before sending my request to Randy, so I don’t know whether I will get notification of a response. Thanks again.
Jody,
I don’t know what Randy did exactly but the first thing to do is to locate the Quicken 2007 data file. It is probably in your documents folder, in a Quicken folder, and the default name is probably Quicken Data.qdfm. If you plan to send a file to quicken, that would probably be it.
Here is a link from Quicken that helps you do the rest:
http://quicken.intuit.com/support/help/install–register–and-convert/convert-quicken-for-mac-2007-data-file-to-quicken-essentials-for-mac/GEN83225.html
Let me know how things worked out for you. Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
Randy, how did you access your 2007 files in order to send them to Intuit and get them into Quicken Essential format? That sounds fascinating… ;0) Please tell all!
Thanks!
Sigh. Only figured this out now after having downloaded Lion and found my Quicken and MS Office icons crossed out. Very casual about this, is my dear Apple. Grr, Lion! I’m going to try doing what Randy did, contacting Intuit. Problem is, how do I access my 2007 files in order for Intuit to upgrade the files? I’ll send Randy that question directly. Thanks for this posting, Ferd. I may have to do that sectioning of the hard drive, but…. ick. Not my idea of a pleasant post-Thanksgiving activity.
Jody
Intuit will help you, and it should work out with a lot less pain than you went through, if you manage to find your data files. This should work if you know how to find files on your hard drive. If you don’t, write to me and I’ll help.
I contacted Intuit and they converted my files for me.
Sort of.
Intuit sent a link for me to click on leading to a page where I could type in a case number they provided, my email, and a PIN they provided. Once I did that, I was to upload a compressed version of my Quicken Data file according to directions they gave. This all worked very well.
Found my data file on my hard drive by looking for a file that had the extension .qdfx. Compressed it, attached it to the Quicken site by following the easy directions, and the next morning, got an email with directions for downloading my now modified-for-Quicken Essentials data. Followed the Quicken Essentials instructions for moving that data into my new program. It took about 8 to 10 minutes to transfer, and I thought I was in the clear.
Unfortunately, in my case, all that showed was data up through March of 2011. For some reason, the entries from April 1, 2011 through November 2011 are not there. I don’t know how that information could have been separated from the rest, but it didn’t end up in the Quicken Essentials files once I performed the upload.
I have alerted Quicken/Intuit to this problem, and they are gamely trying to help me find that missing data, even though it is probably here in MY computer. They can only convert data they receive, after all. The problem is that I have done a search for files ending in .qdfx, and there don’t seem to be any more of them on my hard drive.
So, I have sent back what I sent to them originally, in hopes that they can search around a little more. Who knows?
Good luck to the rest of us who have “old” Quicken and end up moving to Lion without reading the fine print.
Jody
Hi Ferd, When you first did you export from Quicken 2004 was it a .qif file and did it just import into Q2006 or did you have to do something else? I’m using Q2006 and have access to a computer with Snow Leopard and found $12 version of Q2006 to load up. I noticed that Quicken doesn’t use .qif files for export any more so was wondering how you handled that. Thanks for the great post.
Hi I’m in Australia and have the same problem – i’m on 2004 but I still have my snow leopard machine and if I had a 2006 copy I could move to that and then export to the new 2007 on Lion. Could you tell me where to get a copy of 2006 please?
Oops i’m using Quicken 2002 for the same reason you were using 2004
Wendy, over the years, different versions of Quicken used different extensions to name the data files, so I can’t tell you which ones used .qdfm, .qif, or something else. Also, they might be physically located in different folders. But the data file should be easy enough to find.
The goal is to have a MacOS 10.7 Lion Quicken Essentials data file. To do that you first need a MacOS 10.6 Quicken Essentials data file. (You can load Quicken Essentials in both 10.6 and in 10.7. It will run on both.) Quicken Essentials on 10.6 will convert data files from only Quicken 2006 or 2007. I had to convert my Q2004 to Q2006, and then convert that file to QE on 10.6, and finally convert that file to QE on 10.7. You might have to do an extra step if Q2002 won’t convert all the way up to Q2006. You might have to convert Q2002 to Q2004.
I, like Kelly, have a macbook 10.4.11 (quicken 2006) and just bought a macbook pro with lion. I read on quicken essentials that you need leopard though…however you have the same version and it worked?!? just double checking. thanks!
Lara, you need at least MacOS 10.5.8 to run Quicken Essentials. You should do that if you can, because you can then convert your Q2006 data file to a QE data file on that system (your old system.) You then take that QE data file and move it to your new computer to convert it to QE on Lion.
Ferd- You mentioned earlier in this post that you may be able to provide a copy of Quicken in order to convert the 2003 file. Can you either email me a link or let me know where I might be able to obtain the version. I only need it for conversion. I wish that Intuit would just create a tool for this. I am not comfortable sending a financial record to Intuit. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Yeah, I wasn’t comfortable with sending my data file to anyone either.
I’m glad things worked out with the Q2006 file! 🙂
I’m also looking for a way to get a copy of 2006 or 2007 or anything needed. Too bad there’s not a link for a “trial version” or some other way to quickly and cheaply get the software. I’m trying to update my mom’s Quicken and she’s using 04 but just bought essentials so of course google brought me to your page as well. Thanks for any suggestions!
There you go. I hope it helps.
And Merry Christmas! 🙂
Found you while checking online for data re: Quicken Essentials. Did not read all the posts but remember having trouble converting my data last January when I purchased Quicken 2010. Have been happy with the new version however now that year end is here I can not find out how to make a copy of my account that will become my 2012 Quicken. In 2004 version you would make a copy – it would ask if you wanted to include only uncleared items and i would have a copy that became my new year with a simple name change. can’t seem to find this option. Also reports seem so different from what i had printed in the past. Thanks in advance if you can provide any info for me.
Marilyn,
I’m sorry, but I am not a Quicken power user. We don’t do what you do with new data files for each year. We just keep using the same data file and print out whatever reports we want. The QE reports do look a little different than they did in Q2004, but they suit the purpose for our accountant at year end.
Good luck with your Quicken issues!
Should have checked the email box on previous question. Sorry!
If I installed Parallels now after the Lion update and installed windows and Quicken for windows would my old Quicken 2007 data be retrievable and transfer from my hard drive? I was planning on doing this anyway for some other programs but hadn’t done so yet. Otherwise would I have to do all the data transferring/updating in MAC like you describe and then switch to Parallels?
If you will be running Parallels 7 on Lion, and you plan to stick with a PC version of Quicken, I don’t think you will have any problems. Most likely you will be able to use the same Windows OS via Parallels, and the same version of Quicken you are currently using, without having to do any translations. Let me know how that works out!
thanks so much for your article! think I’ll hold out on my old computer with Quicken 2006 til spring and hope for the best then…
http://www.macworld.com/article/164486/2011/12/quicken_2007_to_arrive_for_lion_after_all_eventually.html
Thanks Jennifer!
Like I said at the end of the post:
Sooner or later we will have a good Quicken product for Lion. Meanwhile, Gail and I haven’t really lost any functionality at all since we only need the check register function and a few reports.
I hope it all works out for you, and that you have avoided some of these hassles! Happy New Year!
Hi Ferd,
Have you found out about an easier way to open up old Quicken files on a mac already updated with the Lion yet? I used it mainly as a check register and to do taxes (like you)… which I of course need to do now…ugh!
Hi Sonia. No, I don’t know of anything new for sure. The previous commenter, Jennifer, left a link to a MacWorld article about a Quicken 2007 version that will be coming out that is Lion compatible. The article says it will be available in the Spring. That may or may not work for you. It may or may not be available before tax time. If you really need your data for taxes, you will probably need to do the data file translations as described in the article and in some of the comments.
Thanks so much! I had no idea that Lion and Quicken 2004 weren’t compatible, so your instructions came in handy. (We also ended up partitioning the hard drive. Good times, that!)
Yeah… right… “Good times!” LOL
I’m really glad it worked out for you! 🙂
Another request for Q2006 to convert my old Q2002 files. Thanks for the good info here.
There you go, Brad. Good luck. Hope it works out.
Can I get a copy of Quicken for Mac 2004 or 2006 so I can do the upgrade from 2002 also?.
Hiya Fred. Are you tired of all this yet haha. I just found you looking for how to convert my most important and beloved Quicken 2002 files for Lion/QE. Thanks so much for all the good info! I apologize for bothering you but can I pretty please get a copy of Q2006?
No, Mary, not tired. Glad to help!
I’ve sent you the file.
Good luck! Let me know how it goes.
Thanks so much Fernando! Sorry bout the name mix-up – my bad 🙁
I will let you know fer sure.
Hi Ferd – great information – could you please send me a copy of Q2006 also.
Cheers
Hi Ferd,
Thank you so very much for your writeup. I’ve been dreading doing this for a while, but now’s the time to bite the bullet.
I’m unable to find a way to purchase Quicken 2006 online. Could you send me a copy as well?
Just to follow-up – Unfortunately for me Q2006 won’t run on my Leopard (10.5). “Intuit lists Quicken 2006 and earlier as not compatible with Leopard. It lists Quicken 2007 as compatible” – Very strange as Q2002 runs just fine here. Oh well. I’ll just need to find a copy of Q2007. Thanks anyway Ferd! 🙂
Hey Fred,
Thanks for the info here. I am a Quicken MAc 2003 user and am looking to upgrade my data file to the new 2007 version that was just released for Lion. I was not sure from the comments if it was possible to go directly from 2003 to 2007. Intuit’s site only mentions 2005-2007. Is the 2003 to 2007 conversion possible? If not, would it be possible for me to get the version that you were able to provide a few lucky people (for conversion purposes only). Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!
Hey Brent,
First of all, I know nothing of the new 2007 version. I hope you are able to translate your 2003 data file directly to that, but I bet it’s too old.
Are you already on Lion? If so, I’ll send you my copy of 2006. It has worked for some people and not for others, I don’t know why.
If you have not converted to Lion yet, do your Quicken data file conversions first.
Ferd, thanks for the file. But my 10.6.8 couldn’t/wouldn’t open it. Guess I’ll have to swithc apps 🙁
Dear Ferd, I too like most here are having issues finding a means to convert my Q2003 file to something a little more current for use with Q2007. If you could also share your version of Q2006, I would forever be in your debt!
Thanks much.
Sorry Ferd (dyslexia got me – didn’t mean to address you incorrectly).
LOL. No problem! 🙂
Hey Ferd, thanks for the quick reply, dude, you are so awesome for helping out. I actually have both Lion and Snow Leopard (kept expressly for running the 2003). I will try the conversion in SL first and then see if I can get the file to import into the new 2007 version for Lion. I have almost 20 yrs of quicken data so hate to loose it.
Well, bought the 2007 Lion compatible version and as expected it will only covert from 2005 or higher. So now I need to get my hands on a copy of 2006 so I can do the interim conversion.
Brent, I tried sending the file but your mindspring email address rejected my response. Do you have another email address I can use?
Hey Ferd, I provided a different one to this message; hopefully that one will work. It has a limit of 25Mb so hopefully that’s enough. If not, I can have you put it on my iDisk public folder. I really appreciate your help!
Hi Ferd,
All this info is great-thank you. Can you tell me if I’ve got this right: I’m running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 and currently run Quicken Mac 2004 v. 13.0 r1 (which according to Intuit’s website is not upgrade-able to the new Lion compatible 2007 that was just released). Can I upgrade to the old Quicken Mac 2007 (which I’ve seen for sale online), and then upgrade to Lion and then to the new Quicken Mac 2007 that was just released to be compatible Lion? Any help you can give me is greatly appreciated!
Hi Sue, sorry about the late response. Yes, you’re on the right track. The OLD version of Q2007 should work out great. It’s great you haven’t made the switch to Lion before all this. That avoids a lot of the trouble.
I don’t know anything about the NEW Q2007. I’m sure it will need a newer data file for conversion, though. I think your plan is good.
Good luck. Let me know how it went!
Will any of the above mentioned conversions work for those of us who have ancient software :(. I’m still running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and using Quicken 2004. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thx!
Yes Deb, what I described will work for you. I was also running Q2004 when I did my conversion. It will be easy if you haven’t already switched to Lion. You will first have to convert your Q2004 data file to the OLD Q2006 or Q2007. Then convert that to Quicken Essentials BEFORE you upgrade to Lion. I don’t know anything about the NEW Q2007, except that I know it will need a newer data file for its own conversion. I’ll try to find out more about the new Q2007.
Hey Ferd… I too, like many here, am having issues finding a way to convert my Q2003 data base file to something more current to use with Q2007. If you could so kindly share your version of Q2006 I would be forever grateful. Thanks so much for the support and excellent feedback.
Ferd,
Thanks so much for the info. I have not converted to Lion and probably won’t on the platform (Power Mac G5) I currently have. My plan is to buy a new MAC of some sort and hoping the converted Quicken files will be ok on the new system.
I know many have asked you for the Q2006 but would it be possible to supply me with it as well?
Thx
Hi Ferd, great post. Can you convert a QIF file to Quicken Essentials for Mac for me? I’ll pay you. That would still be cheaper for me than what I would have to do to follow your steps. I had an old mac with OSX 10.4.11 running Quicken 2006. I just bought a new mac mini with Lion. So now I would have to buy a mac with snow leopard (not enough memory to load it on my old mac mini) just to convert this old QIF file. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, do you know of any services that would convert my QIF file to a file I can import into Quicken Essentials for Mac on Lion?
Hi Ferd, great post. Can you convert a QIF file to Quicken Essentials for Mac for me? I’ll pay you. That would still be cheaper for me than what I would have to do to follow your steps. I had an old mac with OSX 10.4.11 running Quicken 2006. I just bought a new mac mini with Lion. So now I would have to buy a mac with snow leopard (not enough memory to load it on my old mac mini) just to convert this old QIF file. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, do you know of any services that would convert my QIF file to a file I can import into Quicken Essentials for Mac on Lion?
Do you have a copy of your 2006 quicken?
If so, would you be willing to let me borrow it, or buy it even? I need it to convert my 2004 files to 2006 on its way to Lion.
I would be eternally grateful if you can help me.
Christine
Thank you for such an excellent write-up of your experience converting an older Quicken data file. I find myself in a similar situation, with a Quicken 2004 data file that I’d like to convert to the 2007 version. Of course, I can’t do that without Quicken 2006, which I can’t find anywhere. If it isn’t too much trouble, would you be so kind as to send me the Quicken 2006 .dmg? I would be most, most grateful!
Hi Justin
If you did get a copy of the QFM2006dmg would it be possible for you to send it on to me as I need to go through the same process. I’m based in Australia.
Cheers Bob
I have the same problem with a customer who has Quicken 2004. She has now Quicken 2007 for Lion but the problem is that we need Quicken 2006 to do the intermediate conversion from 2004 to 2006 then to 2007. I’ve looked everywhere for Quicken 2006 mac but it’s just about impossible to find. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks 🙂
I’m also a Q2004 user having trouble finding Q2005 or 2006. Would anyone be willing to sell their copy? Many thanks.
I have been using Quicken Deluxe 2002 and could not get Quicken 2007 (PPC) to successfully convert my data. I would go through the steps of conversion and then after about 5 minutes in the memorized transactions step, it would crash. The resulting file was no good (BE SURE TO COPY YOUR ORIGINAL FILE FIRST!) I even tried deleting my two memorized transactions first, but same result.
I even tried deleting out all of my data except those for 2011 and 2012 and trimming down my accounts and transactions to “slim-down” the file. Same result.
After reading this post, it occurred to me to try Quicken 2006 to open my Quicken Deluxe 2002 data file and convert it — IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM!
Anyone who needs more instructions about using Quicken 2006 (PPC) to convert send me an email at my nickname at America Online (AOL dot com).
PS: Up to this point, I have been using Snow Leopard in Parallels 7 to run Quicken Deluxe 2002 on my mid-2011 Mac Mini which requires Lion.
PPS: I now access my data with Quicken 2007 for Lion; I did NOT convert to Quicken Essentials…
I can be reached at my nickname at America OnLine (AOL) dot com
Hi This is a most helpful website for us all that have the Quicken for Mac problem.
Can any one out there please send me a copy of QFM 2006 so that I can liberate my QFM2004 data and get running under lion. It would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Installation instructions for Snow Leopard into Parallels 7 in Lion:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=14799174#post14799174
Hi Ferd – I was wondering if you can help me out… I’m looking for a mac version of Quicken 2005 or 2006. My brother recently updated his OS to Lion and now his Quicken 2003 data file won’t work unless it updated to a later version. Reading this great comment thread, it sounds like you may have a version? If so, it would be a huge help so I can get this file converted. Sorry to inconvenience you… but this software is almost impossible to find online considering how old it is.
Cheers and many thanks.
Larry
Ferd.. I think I have now read everything written on this topic, along with all of the comments here, plus a couple of your wonderful blog posts. I have concluded that you may be the only person alive with a copy of Quicken 2006 for the Mac that is being made available for file conversion (from 2003). I am appalled that Intuit isn’t providing this service, especially in light of how much money all of us have spent with them for their full line of software (YEARS of Turbotax, for example).
So, may I please get a copy of the coveted application? I’ll certainly understand if you have tired of this. In any case, bless you for the customer service that Intuit fails to provide.
Keep up the great blogging!
Scott
Hi Ferd — I have Quicken 2004 (13.0 – R1) on a G4 (10.4.11) For everything else I have a MacAir (10.7.3). As you know, I can’t run Quicken on the new MacAir. I feel the way you do about my Quicken data. Should I try to do what you did?
I need help getting a 2006 version of quicken. I need to covert my 2004, so I can use it on my os10.7 upgrade I already did.
I upgraded to Lion BEFORE I knew about the Quicken issue. I have been using Quicken 2004. I am in awe about your partitioning solution, but I have no clue how to do it. Is there anyone out there with a copy of Quicken 2006?
Thanks.
Oh I’m SO glad I found this post! I have the exact same problem you had, Q 2004 moved to Lion, no-workie. I do wish the solution was simpler, but I think I can do just what you did using my old laptop. Ugh, I have Mac’s so I don’t have to deal with difficult stuff like this lol! Off to find a copy of Q 2006 😛 So much for “it’s only $30 to upgrade to Lion”
For some unknown reason, my Quicken 2006 file is now corrupt. I have been unable to email it to the last few people who requested it. I will try to recover it from an old backup, but for now I am unable to provide it.
Ferd: I have compressed my copies of Quicken 2006 and Quicken 2007 (PPC) into zip files, so that they do not get corrupted by email.
I still need to convert my Quicken 04, could I please get a copy of 06?
Thanks for being our saviors, Ferd and Michael!
There you go, Carolyn. Let me know if it works out.
Thanks for your help, Michael!
Dear Ferd, you seem to have saved half the planet by now! I am in need of Quicken 2006 like many others and cannot find it on Amazon etc. If your file is OK I would be most grateful for a copy. Thanks.
Ha! Not half the planet yet, LOL, but this post has had over 9,500 views. I am shocked and humbled!
Let me know if it worked out.
Dear Ferd, I too am in need of your services! It would be HUGELY appreciated if you could send me a copy as well. Thanks in advance for your help!
Sadly, looks like I need to jump on the train as well – if anyone could be so kind as to share a copy of quicken 2006, it’d be much appreciated.
Thanks.
ferd, I guess after reading all the posts to this problem ,I am going to ask for a copy of your Quicken 2006 also. I’m glad I checked on this before I bought a new computer. I have now a power pc g4 mac running os10 4.11 and quicken deluxe 2002. It sounds like from your previous answers that 2006 will run On my computer (I hope)I knew someday my computer would be obsolete, but have been putting off buying a new one until I absolutely had to. Looks like that day has come, no one is supporting power pc anymore. I know getting a new computer will be a good thing but lack of money really has been the reason it hasn’t happened before now. Losing all my old money info would really hurt, thanks for any help you can offer
fern- thanks a lot for the quick response, I’ll be trying the 2006 on my old computer today- hope it works (one step forward)
OMG was that easy can’t believe quicken doesn’t have a link do do this. hope its as easy when I get the new computer TY TY TY TY
Ferd–I too am in the need of Q2006 for Macs. I tried to jump from Q2002 to Mountain Lion! Clearly I was clueless about the problems that would entail. I am hoping converting 2002-2006 and then Q2007 for Lion will do the trick but I am holding my breath. Your post is so popular because people are frustrated. Q tech support basically said I was SOL after 20 years of using Quicken. So thanks for any help you can provide!
Meri
Remember, you will need to run Quicken 2006 for the data conversion on a Mac that supports Rosetta and Mountain Lion does not. Then you can bring the updated Q2006 data to Mountain Lion and open it and run it with Quicken 2007 for Lion/Mountain Lion
Is this a problem for you now that you have upgraded?
Thankfully, Michael, I still have my old computer that I can run Quicken 2006 on and do the conversion. Usually I wait until my old computer fails but I am so grateful I switched before that happened. 🙂
Thanks for the Q 2006. I was able to convert my data and run Quicken 2007 for Lion on Mountain Lion, for anyone else who is wondering. A little help here and $15 and I am good to go for several more years with Quicken. Yay! Thanks!!!
Great! 🙂
Dear Ferd, Thanks for all your efforts. I have Quicken 2003 and I am in need of Quicken 2006 like many others and cannot find it anywhere. If your file is OK I would be most grateful for a copy. Thanks.
Dear Ferd, Like many others, I am in need of Quicken 2006 (I have Quicken 2003) and cannot find it on Amazon etc. I called Quicken and they told me to find someone with the old version. I would be most grateful for a copy. I don’t know why they wouldn’t have a downloadable copy for sale on their website. Thanks.
I will do anything to get ahold of a copy of Quicken 2006. I am one of those who just stuck with 2004 for Mac and found that it worked fine. Just bought a new MacBook Pro and am totally hosed. Please e-mail me and I will pay just about anything to get 2006 for Mac.
Thanks,
Zach
Place $1,000 in small bills under the dead tree trunk in the yard next to mine! 🙂
At that rate, I’ll hire a school child to transcribe my 20 years of data! (But thanks for the offer!)
20 years!?! I go back to Quicken 4; what version did you start with? I actually purchased a 5-1/4″ floppy disc copy of Quicken 1.0 for the Apple // just to have it in my Library.
Prior to Quicken I used MacMoney and before that I used Time is Money and Home Accountant on my Apple //.
I honestly don’t recall my original version. My first personal computer was a Mac II Ci. I do recall trying to track my investments, diligently entering them daily, only to have all the historical information lost every time I would upgrade to a new version – probably part of the reason I quit upgrading after Quicken 2004.
Ferd was great and sent me a copy of Quicken 2006. The only problem is it won’t open on my current 17″ MAcBook Pro (about five years old, now) running OS X 10.5.8. No I haven’t a clue as what to do to bring myself up to the year 2012 and run Quicken on Mountain Lion. Definitely feels like a conspiracy going on here (OOPS, 60’s paranoia returning with a vengance!)
Zachary: Yeah, I think Quicken used to keep certain data in its Application folder of all places!?! Maybe lost when you moved computers and reinstalled it. Ferd: can you send him Q2007? Maybe that will work for him in Leopard; I do not know why Q2006 is not working…
Michael and Ferd,
I think I see what the problem is. The Quicken 2006 you’ve sent says “Application (Classic), under Kind. Is there a non-Classic version out there somewhere? Seems as thought there should be, as my 2004 works under OS X 10.5.8 without any difficulty.
Thanks again,
Zach
Do a GET INFO on the Quicken 2006 file: it should be version 15.0.1
Michael,
It doesn’t give a version. Just ‘Quicken 2006’ under ‘Name & Extension’. Kind still says ‘Application (Classic)’. Doesn’t seem quit right. I have Quicken’s going all the way back to Deluxe 2000 that work.
Thanks,
Zach
Under General, you do not show:
Kind
Size
Where
Created
Modified… and then
VERSION ?
Everything you have listed above is there, EXCEPT Version. Under the preview there is an international do not enter sign in grey and white, and a tiny bit of the Quicken logo in color in the lower right hand corner. Is there a way to send you a screenshot on this discussion board? I think it all has to do with the fact that the application is in Classic mode, for reasons unbeknownst to me.
Ferd and Michael,
Thank-you so much! The Quicken 7 opened on my MacBook Air and gobbled up my old Quicken Data. I haven’t gone the next step yet, which I presume will be to get the Quicken 7 data into Quicken Essentials, then transfer to the new MacBook Pro with Quicken Essentials running. I did look at a few other discussion groups who suggested switching programs, with MoneyDance sounding like the best bet. That one wouldn’t open on my old 17″ MacBook Pro – have yet to try it on the Air.
Making progress thanks to you all! Will keep you posted when a solution finally arrives.
A million thanks to Ferd and Michael, once again!
Zach
Ferd, I want everyone to know you sent me a copy of Quicken 2006 and after I updated my files on my old computer and transferred it to my Air, it now works with my Quicken 2007. I truly appreciate your help and dedication to helping all of us through this issue. I do not understand why Intuit does not seemingly care a whit about their users proven by their lack of meaningful support. They told me to “find someone with a copy of Quicken 2005 or 2006.” I did that after a year of searching for a copy of the old Quicken program, when all they had to do is post it on their site for downloads. Is that act of affirmation for their customers too much to ask? If I hadn’t used their program for so long, and understand how it works, I would have abandoned them as they really have abandoned to us. I travel a lot and had to maintain my accounts on my old computer, traveling with the two of them, until Ferd came through. What are they thinking? Thank you again Ferd.
You are so right. It would be a simple act of good faith for Quicken to provide an easy download to the old Quicken 2006 so people could do their file translations and continue to use their newer products!
I’m really glad this worked out for you! 🙂
Ferd: Please send Zachary the latest version of Quicken 2007 PPC that you have; let’s see if it solves his problems.
Thanks for the files, Michael!
I forwarded them on to Zach.
Hi,
This is all Greek to me, but I too have this issue… only its with the 2006 version. When they updated my Mac, it all went to s*#@! Now what do I do?? Are you saying I have no recourse at all, except to start over? I’ve been delaying my taxes and now can not wait any longer… feels like hell all over again, as this happened a couple of years ago. Why have data on computers if every few years my entire financial existence is erased??!! Ugh. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
J,
I think you’ll be alright. You were using a relatively recent version of Quicken, so I think you just need to get the new “Lion Compatible Quicken Mac 2007.” Here is a link to it. Probably worth the $15.
http://quicken.intuit.com/personal-finance-software/quicken-2007-osx-lion.jsp
Ferd is spot on correct! Assumably they upgraded your Mac to Lion or Mountain Lion. The $15 Quicken 2007 for Lion (which is now updated for Mountain Lion) will read your Quicken 2006 data file without any translation needed and work just like it did in the past!
I too need to convert my old Q2004 data to Q2006 before I can convert further.
Could you send me a copy of your Q2006. aso??
thanks for all you’re doing??
There you go. Hope that helps!
Thank you SO MUCH!!!!!!!!
You have NO IDEA how frustrating (well, maybe you do!!) this has been…
But by simply finding the saved Q2006 file from Documents (after opening the Q2004 files in Q2006!!) I copied the file to a flash drive and then opened the file using the Q2007 (lion compatible) on my newer iMac running 10.6.8 (SnowLeopard).
IT WORKED!!!!!!
Now I can continue to grumble at Quicken for asking me to PAY for an online chat about this problem, right after having BOUGHT Q2007 from them!!!
But at least I’m up and running for a while….and I DIDN’T have to buy QEssentials (QEM) which ALL their Help discussions try to get you to do!!!
Thanks again Ferd!!!
🙂
“Happy in Maine”
😀
I am currently running Quicken 2006 on Mac OS X Tiger. I plan to purchase a new Mac with Mt Lion. Will I be able to purchase Quicken 2007 and use my 2006 Quicken data files on my new Mac? I am not sure if QE will support my needs.
Debbie,
You should be able to go from Q2006 directly to the new Q2007 without any problems.
I had to use your partition method to get around this issue. When I was done, I bought CheckBook from the App(le) Store rather than “upgrading” to Quicken Essentials. I like TurboTax, but I will at least look around for alternatives to that, too. I do not appreciate companies intentionally making my life harder for reasons I cannot understand. I had even contacted Intuit directly to ask how to convert a Quicken Data File to QIF, and they told me that I could not.
Conrad,
I don’t blame you one bit! I cannot fathom how a company could be so willing to piss off so many of its loyal customers.
I don’t know how to do the partition method, but have spent days trying to upgrade my old Quicken, because I have Mt. Lion. I bought Quicken Essentials, which of course didn’t work. Then I was told (by Intuit’s “support” ) that I should get purchase Quicken 2007. Of course that didn’t work either. I then got really desperate and had someone remotely control my computer in order to upgrade. He swore he could do it, and of course in the end, he couldn’t, because my Quicken is too old. He told me I need 2005 or 2006 in order to eventually use Quicken Essentials. Now, my problem is that I can’t find 2005 or 2006. I noticed that you offered to make a copy for someone. I am happy to purchase a copy from you if that is still an option. As I’m sure you can understand, I am really desperate. My whole life from the last several years is on that.
By the way, I really detest Intuit for the complete and total lack of support. We are supposed to be able to return products if we are unhappy with them, however, I haven’t figured out how to do that either. I would GREATLY appreciate any help you could give me. Thank you so much.
Carla
I have just done this. Grr. I was running Quicken 2002! Will Q2006 convert the files to a version the QE will convert again? Where can I get Q2006? I hate that they won’t convert the files for you in some easier fashion. Intuit tech support was useless except to tell me that they can’t help me. Anyone want to convert my files for me and email them back? That would be so much easier. Thanks for the post, still useful more than a year later 🙂
ferd! you really are a saint for continuing to help people after all of this time. 🙂 thank you!! i (like many on here!) upgraded to mountain lion and am now stuck with no access to my Q2004 files. I mainly used it as a checkbook, as you mention — and really just need access in case of emergency to my old file to look things up etc. I also have an old macmini that is an os 10.4.11 (no intel chip) and assume this will run the 2006 version that you mention updating to. I am considering updating this old mac mini just to see my files for an other year or so and in the meantime starting a new data file on my mountain lion system. (i’m not super techy and am afraid of all of partitioning business). anyway… long way of saying — i can’t get the 2006 version either. Could you help me out as well. A million thanks.
thank you for all of your help. this is the best link i have found. I have Q 2003 files. I already updated to mountain lion because I thought i was going to switch and use mint.com. I don’t like it and i want to go back to using Quicken. Do i need quicken 2006 or 2007 to convert my files? And I also know that I need to find someone with an older MAC to do this conversion. And then will my files work if I buy quicken essentials for my mac running mountain lion?
Thank you so much. Spent hours every day trying to find a solution. I am blessed to have stumbled my way here. I started with the first mac SE Running quicken since 2000 have Q2004, running 10.4.11 on my Imac and 10.7.5 on my macbook. I am the 84 yr old grandma who loves keeping records and playing games. Can you please send me Q2006. I lost my 2004 appl disk and am afraid if my computer crashed I could not convert my backup.
Thank you so much for helping so many.
I was two minutes away from pushing the button to purchase the Mountain Lion upgrade (currently using 10.6.8) when I saw my Quicken logo in my dock and decided to do a search about compatability! Thanks! I’ve got Quicken 2004 and so would greatly appreciate if you could send me a copy of what I need (2006 or 2007?) to upgrade my file so I can purchase a new Quicken software. Is Essentials the only Mac Quicken available for purchase now?
Hi Ferd, can I too add my request for a copy of Quicken 06? I am using Quicken 2004 and looking to upgrade to the Lion version… I have access to a pre-Lion computer til Monday! Many thanks!
Dear Ferd and/or MichaelLAX,
Yet another humble request for an emailed copy of Quicken for Mac 2006 or 2007, if possible, please.
Having read right through your blog and the discussion, I now know that I’ll need this if I’m going to ‘upgrade’ (convert?) my QFM2004 data file (.qdfm). This is because I’d like to upgrade my system to OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion in the near future; I will then purchase Quicken for Mac 2007 for OSX 10.7 (Lion) from Intuit.
I’ve used Quicken for about 20 years, and I’m so comfortable with it that I just don’t want to ‘change horses’ now. Currently I still use QFM 2004, on a 2010 MacBookPro (intel chip but with Rosetta, I guess?) using OSX 10.6.8 Snow Leopard. Over the last few years I’ve despaired about finding an upgrade path – last time I looked, in early 2012, there seemed to be no hope.
A couple of weeks ago I was just about to give up and switch to MoneyWorks or iBank; I just thought I should have one more search on the ‘net for a solution – and miraculously I came across Ferd’s blog and this wonderful discussion. I’ve tried to buy the QFM2007 from the ‘net but I just can’t find a trustworthy site that has it. So I’d be very grateful for your further help in sending it to me.
With many thanks,
Yours sincerely,
Mike
I just used my 2004 Quicken for Mac and exported from the FILE menu a full export to the Quicken backup folder. I am running 2004 for Mac on a flat screen iMac(PPC) with 10.4.11. I then used the terminal mode restart on the old Mac and connected to the new iMac(intel) running OSX 10.8.2 (Mountain Lion) with a firewire cable (needed a cable converter for the old (400) and new (800)firewire port). I opened the Quicken for Mac 2007 Lion compatible version on the new mac and used the open file option from the file drop down menu. I opened the newly created QIF export in the old Mac from the new Lion version and saved a copy in the new Quicken Backup folder. Presto! All accounts and balances transferred into the new 2007 Lion version. Now not everything transferred over to the new version but the accounts all did with correct balances as well. The items missing were mostly preferences and setup configurations. These were easily matched with the old 2004 by adding upcoming and scheduled bills, hide and show accounts in the accounts window, toolbar accounts, and quickfill transactions. I just copied manually the scheduled bills. Edited the accounts shown and hidden at the same time as I checked the accounts I wanted shown in the toolbar. I used the registers to re-spell a word in old transactions and hit enter to create new quickfill items. I finished the conversion by editing the toolbars to match what I was using in the 2004 version and that was enough for me to get rolling. So, long story short, no Quicken Essentials conversion, no Quicken for Mac 2005, 2006, conversion from Essentials, and no conversion back to 2007 from Essentials was needed. No file exchange utility needed. Maybe it’s just the PPC version that creates the .qif file but since I never had 2004,2005, or 2006 on an Intel Mac, I really don’t know what the “export full copy” creates on those. I know if you try to save a copy, it creates a .qdfm file that the new Quicken for Mac 2007 Lion or the 2007 version will NOT import or open it with a note telling you 2004 is not compatible to update. Just food for thought.
Additional info…………. I created a fake bank account in the new Q2007 for Lion. Then imported the Q2004 qif file that was created from “export” on the old iMac. Wha La…… all the quickfill items populated. Now if I can just figure out how to get the scheduled transactions to also populate from the old version, I would have a step by step upgrade without having to purchase the QE. Mine has been running without any glitches since I first downloaded the Q2007 for Lion and importing the Q2004 for Mac from a flat panel iMac (ppc) running OSX 10.4.11. I am just tweaking and playing with the setup to see what else it will actually import despite Quicken saying that 2004 is incompatible.
Hi,
I’m in the same “I need Quicken 2006/2007” bind that others are in. I’m upgrading from Quicken for Mac 2002 (running on 10.6.8) to Quicken Essentials for Mac (running on 10.8.2, on a new computer). I would be very grateful for any help on getting a copy of Quicken 2006 or 2007 to use as a stepping stone.
Next problem: how do I get Quicken 2012 for Lion outside the US? The Intuit website does’t let me buy it…
Hi Ferd, Your article couldn’t come at a better time! My year old Macbook Pro graphics switching card has been causing “glitches” while using Snow Leopard thus Apple has recommended I upgrade to Mt. Lion, which I have been avoiding to do because I use Q2004. I too would like to request for your help for Q2006/07 so that I can begin the migration process.
Thank you for writing this for all of us who’ve come here and found this!
Regards, ~Rio
I read through what everyone said,,. I have used Quicken since my first Mac Classic (1994) and rely on it. I am the treasurer of a local charity, strictly volunteer work. I just got this MacBook Air and bought Quicken essentials, probably a mistake. But anyhow I guess the thing to do is get Quicken 2006 as you have done for so many. I have the new 2007 CD on order. Can you help me?
Another in a long line of Mac faithfuls that never dreamed Apple would not warn me of my Quicken2004 becoming unusable upon upgrading to Mountain Lion. -sigh-
Anyway, would you please be so kind to send me a version that I can use to convert my 2004 version to one that will open with the newest version of Quicken? Thanks so much.
Ferd, I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be needing a version of Quicken2006 after all. I was able to download the latest version of Q2007 that works with Mountain Lion. Then I opened my data file on an older laptop running Quicken2004 and saved it as a qif file. I emailed that to myself, downloaded it onto my newer iMac with Q2007 and imported it in. Worked like a charm. Thanks for your willingness to help. Reading your post and all the comments really helped.
Wow! I can’t believe we’re into the second page of comments!!!
Excellent Ruth! I’m glad you figured it out! Maybe your solution will help someone else reading this, so thank you for posting it! 🙂
Ferd, you sound like the Saint of Quicken Conversion. 🙂 I’m in the same boat as many (need to extract data from an ancient Quicken). I tried Ruth’s trick above…but Quicken 2007 that I just downloaded doesn’t recognize the .qif file I sent myself. (It says “This is not a Quicken data file.”) … Could it be because I have Quicken 2003 (not ’04)?
Any tips from the geniuses on this thread? Thanks!
Christopher, just to give you some more details: my Quicken2007 at first balked at opening my qif version, too. It worked once I created a new file (File>New>File), and then imported the qif (File>Import>From QIF). Hope that helps!
Ruth, I could e-kiss you! 😉 (Thought it was odd that the import menus were all greyed out.) Thank you, thank you: a decade of information salvaged!
I love, Love, LOVE how you guys worked that out! I would not have had the answer for Christopher. So, thank you Ruth. And thank you both for posting it on this thread for others to see! 😀
I have a MacBookPro which I just upgraded with Mountain Lion. I then discovered I couldn’t open my Quicken accounts. I really panicked, but was able to download the Quicken2007app for $14.99 (I may have received a coupon and ignored it). I opened the app and it asked to open a file. I must have a 100 quicken files of one type or another after all these years of use and automatic backups. I tried to locate the latest ones I used (info helped) and opened them. Seems fine. I have lost the ability to switch from one account to another without using the apple menu. Looks like I will have to open each one individually the first time I use it. Good Luck.
Great!
I suspect you had been using a relatively recent version of Quicken, right?
I think it was Quicken 2006. Haven’t updated it in ages.
Yes, that was the problem with most of us using even older versions of Quicken. At least with Q2006 you didn’t have to do an additional translation step. I’m glad you figured it out! 🙂
Oh, yay! So glad that worked for you, Christopher! And I consider myself e-kissed. 😀
Any chance you can send me a copy of Quicken 2006? I’ve upgraded to Mountain Lion and need to convert my Quicken 2002 files for use with Quicken 2007, which I have already purchased. Thanks for all the information on how to do the conversion. I hope it works for me.
There you go! Good luck! Let me know how it works out.
Here is another needy request for Q2006. I have tons of stuff on Q2002 and really need to use your work around to get my records into Mountain Lion but cannot find a copy of Q2006. Thank you!
I’m in the same boat. Just upgraded to Mountain Lion and found our afterwards that Q2002 no longer works. Could you send me a copy of Q2006.
Thanks Gary
Hello Ferd, I am having the same issue as Doug above. I have a decade of info in Quicken 2002 and need Quicken 2006 to do the conversion. I can’t find this anywhere. Would you be able to send me a copy? Many, many, many thanks in advance!!
Hello Ferd, I have Quicken 2002 and I am urgently in need of Quicken 2006 like so many other posters on this most helpful website. Would you be able to send me a copy—I would be most appreciative! Thank you. Zach
Hi. I’m just refollowing up on my request from October for either a 2006 or 2007 Quicken. Is it possible to send me one? I still haven’t upgraded to Mountain Lion until I can get this situation rectified. Much appreciated if you can help.
Heather
I have been following your solutions to the Quicken upgrade problem. I also have Q2002. I believe I need to upgrade to Quicken 2006 on my older Mac G5. I believe I first have to upgrade my operating system from OS10.4.11 to OS10.6. Which is the latest operating system my old G5 can handle. I have ordered OS10.6 from Apple. Does this sound like it might work??
HELP! I had no idea I would lose access to all my Quicken accounts when I updated to Mountain Lion. I was happily using Quicken 2002, when all my financial data from the past 15 years disappeared. I am not as tech savvy as many of you, and it looks like Intuit is just leaving me in the cold. Please tell me what to do to access my info. I purchased Quicken Essentials, but that looks like it is useless right now.
Thanks.
I am experiencing the same problem as well. Fortunately I still have my old mac but am searching for a copy of Quicken 2005 or 2006 so I can upgrade before moving everything over to my new iMac. Any ideas where I can get this?????
Thanks for the update, Leslie. Glad it worked out! 🙂
Happy New Year!
I was able to download Quicken 2006 from the Quicken help web site. It updated my 2002. http://quicken.intuit.com/support/help/patching/quicken-2006-manual-updates–mac-/GEN82200.html.
Ooh, this is new info. They must have done this recently. Many of us have complained to Intuit about their not helping provide a way to do these translations. It appears they finally listened!
Thanks for posting this, Gail! 🙂
Hello Ferd,
Thank god for good people like you are are willing to do as much as you do for total strangers. I too need an older copy of Quicken so I may update my quicken 2003 files. I have a second Mac running OSX 10.5.6. Would you be willing to send me an old copy of Quicken that can run on that version of the OS and update my files for use on a 10.8.2 Mac with the Quicken 2007 rebuild for Mountain Lion?
Thank you very, very much!!!!!!
Hi Ferd,
This just happened on my mom’s computer when I updated it to Mountain Lion yesterday. Any chance you could send me a copy of Quicken 2006, so I can update her 2004 database file?
Thanks,
Oliver
Dear Ferd,
Sorry for the delay – it took me a while to get back home and then to do the Quicken install / upgrade.
And It all works perfectly.
I’m now the happy user of Mountain Lion – and Quicken 2007!
I’m very grateful to you, and the correspondents to your blog.
Yours sincerely,
Mike
😀
Thanks for 2006. Quicken essentials will not run on Mountain Lion, but 2007 does. Put all old versions on 2006 and then to the $15 2007 from Intuit and that works well. Got rid of Essentials from my new Mac Book Air.
Thanks for the info, Harriet, and for posting it here for others to use! 🙂
Ferd, it sounds as you have been everyone’s hero. I’m using Quicken for the Mac 2004 and certainly want to be able to use the past 10 years worth of data. Could you send me the Quicken 2006 so I can perform the same magic?
Thanks,
Howard
I’m in the same boat as others. 🙁 I upgraded to Mountain Lion not thinking about the fact that I had Quicken 2004. Now I need to a copy of Quicken 2006 to open years of Quicken data so I can then convert them to a format readable by Quicken 2007. Internet search isn’t turning up much for sources for Quicken 2006. Help!
Glad it helped Harley! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Thanks to all on this thread as I was another person trying to go from Quicken 2002 to a machine running 10.8 . Made the data base updates through Quicken 2006 as explained above.
For all looking for a copy of Quicken 2006, you can download it for free straight from Quicken. Here is the link to their download page: http://quicken.intuit.com/support/help/patching/quicken-2006-manual-updates–mac-/GEN82200.html
Thanks, Steve!
Finally! Quicken has provided a link for people to use! 😀
I have been using Quicken Essentials Version 1.7.2 on my Mac Mini running OS X 10.6.8 for the past 18 months. I was originally using Quicken 2006 but was forced to move to Essentials when Quicken ceased support of 2006 for Mac therefore my most recent entries are in Quicken Essentials. I purchased a new iMac running OS X 10.8.2 and purchased Quicken 2007 for Mac OS X Lion this past weekend and am trying to open my most recent data in 2007 for Lion.
In Quicken Essentials I “Exported to Quicken 2007” as a QMTF file and then tried importing it in Quicken 2007. Quicken 2007 shows an error, “Unable to import because the transaction displayed below is too large” I believe this is due to a “Split” having too many entries.
It seems there is more of an issue with importing it correctly into Quicken 2007 rather than exporting it from Quicken Essentials. Is this true?
Quicken 2007 is able to successfully import and open all data for my historical (1989 – 2012) backups using the Quicken Data Format files. It is just having a problem with importing the last 18 months’ worth of data that was created using Quicken Essentials (QMTF format)
I have downloaded Q2006 from the above link but am still unable to Export to QIF using Essentials. The only choices for Export in Essentials are CSV, Quicken 2007, QXF. The only choices for Import in Q2006 are QIF and Web Connect. What do I do? It seems as though you all have been sucessful in fixing these problems by exporting Essentials to QIF then importing it to Q2006 using QIF then exporting to Q2007 for Lion. I am not seeing how to do this…..
Would it help to buy Quicken Essentials ($50) for Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Lion, then try to export data?
I have called Quicken but they will only provide free support for “the latest Mac version” which they say is Quicken Essentials. They want me to pay $10 – $30 for their support package therefore I would appreciate any help that you all could provide.
Thank you in advance!!
I have been using Quicken Essentials Version 1.7.2 on my Mac Mini running OS X 10.6.8 for the past 18 months. I was originally using Quicken 2006 but was forced to move to Essentials when Quicken ceased support of 2006 for Mac therefore my most recent entries are in Quicken Essentials. I purchased a new iMac running OS X 10.8.2 and purchased Quicken 2007 for Mac OS X Lion this past weekend and am trying to open my most recent data in 2007 for Lion.
In Quicken Essentials I “Exported to Quicken 2007” as a QMTF file and then tried importing it in Quicken 2007. Quicken 2007 shows an error, “Unable to import because the transaction displayed below is too large” I believe this is due to a “Split” having too many entries.
It seems there is more of an issue with importing it correctly into Quicken 2007 rather than exporting it from Quicken Essentials. Is this true?
Quicken 2007 is able to successfully import and open all data for my historical (1989 – 2012) backups using the Quicken Data Format files. It is just having a problem with importing the last 18 months’ worth of data that was created using Quicken Essentials (QMTF format)
I have downloaded Q2006 from the above link but am still unable to Export to QIF using Essentials. The only choices for Export in Essentials are CSV, Quicken 2007, QXF. The only choices for Import in Q2006 are QIF and Web Connect. What do I do? It seems as though you all have been sucessful in fixing these problems by exporting Essentials to QIF then importing it to Q2006 using QIF then exporting to Q2007 for Lion. I am not seeing how to do this…..
Would it help to buy Quicken Essentials ($50) for Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Lion, then try to export data?
I have called Quicken but they will only provide free support for “the latest Mac version” which they say is Quicken Essentials. They want me to pay $10 – $30 for their support package therefore I would appreciate any help that you all could provide.
Thank you in advance!!
Hi, I need advice from the Quicken gurus. I have been using Quicken for more than 10 years, currently Quicken 2012 on a PC. I have totally converted to Apple products, and now have a Macbook Pro running Lion 10.8.2. I hear that Quicken Essentials is not as good as Quicken 2012, but I need to convert somehow. I would probably be happy running Quicken 2007 on the Mac which would probably let me avoid partitioning my hard drive or doing the Parallels software. I don’t think I have any version of Windows beyond Vista to load if necessary. What advice do you have?
John,
I hope this link answers all your questions:
http://quicken.intuit.com/support/help/convert-quicken-for-windows-files-to-quicken-for-mac/GEN82890.html
And congratulations on your conversion to Apple/Mac! Welcome, brother! 🙂
I have been using Quicken Essentials Version 1.7.2 on my Mac Mini running OS X 10.6.8 for the past 18 months. I was originally using Quicken 2006 but was forced to move to Essentials when Quicken ceased support of 2006 for Mac therefore my most recent entries are in Quicken Essentials. I purchased a new iMac running OS X 10.8.2 and purchased Quicken 2007 for Mac OS X Lion this past weekend and am trying to open my most recent data in 2007 for Lion.
In Quicken Essentials I “Exported to Quicken 2007” as a QMTF file and then tried importing it in Quicken 2007. Quicken 2007 shows an error, “Unable to import because the transaction displayed below is too large” I believe this is due to a “Split” having too many entries.
It seems there is more of an issue with importing it correctly into Quicken 2007 rather than exporting it from Quicken Essentials. Is this true?
Quicken 2007 is able to successfully import and open all data for my historical (1989 – 2012) backups using the Quicken Data Format files. It is just having a problem with importing the last 18 months’ worth of data that was created using Quicken Essentials (QMTF format)
I have seen previous comments of people requesting someone to send them Quicken 2006…would this fix my issue? If so, could someone send me the necessary files? If so, please advise how to do this.
Would it help to buy Quicken Essentials ($50) for Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Lion, then try to export data?
All help is appreciated
Stuart
Reading this thread was very helpful, but I am still stuck. My Powerbook G4 Harddrive has started to fail. I was running Quicken 2005 for Mac on it. Just bought a new iMac, and was planning on transferring the data to it but now I see this might not work. Can’t load Quicken 2005 or 2006 onto new computer to receive the data and it sounds like Quicken Essentials for Mac won’t take the data.
Help?
James Lynch
I can’t thank everyone enough for starting this blog entry and for adding to it with helpful comments. Like the original blogger, I was stunned after upgrading to OS 10.7 to find I could no longer open Quicken 2002. The Intuit helpline was completely unhelpful, simply telling me Quicken 2002 was no longer supported. In the end my process was simple: I had an older Mac still running 10.6, so I copied my data file over there, downloaded Quicken 2006 to the old Mac and converted the data file to 2006, then copied the 2006 data file to the Mac running OS 10.7, downloaded Quicken 2007 and used it to open (and convert) that file. Everything is running just great at this point and I’m extremely happy. The moral of the story for me is not to assume old software will run forever, and upgrade whenever possible! Thanks again to all
Thank you, Katherine, for your kind comments!
And with that, I believe it is time to close comments on this post, especially since Intuit has provided access to Quicken 2006 for people to make their data file translations.
A great big, sincere thanks to all comment contributors! 🙂