Your system storing the QuickBooks application can crash due to various reasons. After a sudden crash, your QuickBooks company file (QBW) can get corrupted or becomes inaccessible. Sometimes, you encounter errors while opening the file, such as 6000 series, H series, and others. Since all data is stored in the QBW file, it can disrupt your workflow. In this article, we will discuss some tested and proven methods for recovering data from corrupt QuickBooks company file after a system crash.
Causes of Unexpected QuickBooks/System Crash
Your system can crash due to several reasons. Some of them include:
- Conflicts with other software on the system
- Bad sectors on the hard drive
- Malware or virus infection on the system
- Sudden power failure
- Software failure
- Corrupt or missing registry keys, system files, or drivers
- Insufficient system resources
- Heating issues
How to Restore QuickBooks Company File after Sudden Application/System Crash?
System or application crash can cause corruption in the QuickBooks company file. You can recover data from corrupt QuickBooks company file by using the following methods.
1 – Restore the QBW File from Backup
The most preferred method is to restore the damaged QBW file from the last known backup. But this is only helpful when the backup file (QBB) is readable. Here’s how to restore your company file in QuickBooks using the Open or Restore Company option:
- In your QuickBooks application, click Open or Restore Company from the File
- Select the option labeled Restore a backup copy and click Next.
- Click the Local Backup option and then select
- Browse your system for the backup (.qbb) file.
- After choosing a location to save the restored company file, click Open.
- Click
Limitations of this Method:
- It requires a valid backup file. It won’t help if the backup itself is corrupted.
- Restoring a backup may overwrite existing files if not done carefully.
- Any transactions entered, after the last backup is taken, will be lost.
2 – Restore Lost Data using Auto Data Recovery Tool
You can use the built-in tool – Auto Data Recovery in QuickBooks to restore the lost data in QuickBooks company file after crash. It can help you recover recent transactions using the original (.TLG) file and .QBW.adr file. It will not work in QuickBooks Accountant edition. To perform the recovery using ADR, create a new folder (QBTest), copy the .TLG and .QBW.adr files from the company file folder into it, rename the .QBW.adr file to remove “.adr,” and then open QuickBooks with this QBTest file.
Limitations of this Method:
- This feature is only available in some QuickBooks desktop editions.
- ADR only works with company files under 1.5 GB.
- It may restore data only up to the last 12 hours of transactions. This means recent entries can be lost.
- If the transaction log (.TLG) file is damaged, ADR may fail to recover data.
- It is a time-consuming process.
3 – Use Verify and Rebuild Data Utility to Repair Company File
You can rebuild QuickBooks company file data by using the Verify and Rebuild Data utility. It can help you identify the data issues in the file and fix them. Here’s how to use this tool:
- In your QuickBooks, click the File menu and then click Utilities > Rebuild Data.
- The QuickBooks Informationwindow is displayed. Click OK.
- Next, follow the instructions on the screen in the prompt to create a backup.
- As soon as the backup is finished, the tool starts rebuilding the file. Wait till the process is complete. Then, click
After rebuilding the data, verify if there are any remaining issues. For this, run the Verify Data tool. Here are the steps:
- In QuickBooks, go to the File menu.
- Click Utilities and then select Verify Data.
- The tool will start verifying the data for any issues.
- If it doesn’t detect any issue, click OK.
Limitations of this tool:
- It can only fix minor corruption in QuickBooks company file.
- It may fail to respond if you try to repair large-sized company files.
4 – Repair Company File with QuickBooks Tool Hub
You can even download the QuickBooks tool hub to repair the corrupt QuickBooks company file. It contains the QuickBooks File Doctor tool that can help you resolve certain types of corruption errors in the QBW file, network errors, and Windows setup issues. To use this tool, follow these steps:
- Download, install, and launch the latest version of QuickBooks® Tool Hub.
- In Tool Hub, click Company File Issues.
- Click Run QuickBooks File Doctor.
- In the QuickBooks File Doctorwindow, select the company file.
- It will display a dialog box asking you to enter the QuickBooks Admin password. Do the same and then click Next.
- It may take some time to repair the company file according to its size.
- Once the scan completes, try to open the company file.
Limitations of this Method:
- It may not repair severely corrupted company files.
- It has file-size restrictions.
- You need admin credentials to repair QBW file.
Use a Professional QuickBooks Repair Tool – A Quick and Safe Method to Recover Corrupt QBW File
If the QBW file is severely corrupted and it’s of large size, then you can use a reliable QuickBooks recovery tool to repair and recover QBW file data. Stellar Repair for QuickBooks is one such tool that can quickly recover all the objects from the file, including employees, vendors, and customers, with complete integrity. Also, it has no file-size restrictions. The tool can fix all types of corruption-related errors in QuickBooks. Also, it can restore backup file.
Conclusion
When you detect corruption in the company file after a system crash, it is important to repair the file as soon as possible. You can follow the methods discussed above to repair and restore the QuickBooks company file. You can use the built-in Verify and Rebuild Data utility or the QuickBooks File Doctor tool. In case the file is severely corrupted and the backup is not available, you can use a third-party QuickBooks repair tool, such as Stellar Repair for QuickBooks.
