Les Murphy

179 posts
Information Technology Generalist, Author of "Build Your Own QuickBooks Server"​ multi user QuickBooks on a budget

QuickBooks 2017 W2 Problems

More QuickBooks 2017 W2 problems popped up again this week. If one searches QuickBooks 2017 W2 problems on Google, seems that there are too many QuickBooks printing problems, QuickBooks fails to print W2s.

My fix… Uninstall Adobe Reader. Restart the computer. Confirm Microsoft’s XPS “printer” works OK. Install the latest Adobe Reader. Confirm Adobe Reader is the default PDF viewer usually by double clicking a PDF file and successfully opening it up. Restart the computer again. Open QuickBooks and try to print a W2. Fortunately, this fix seems to work for me every time.

I hope this helps and that you have the same success fixing  QuickBooks 2017 W2 printing problems.

Windows 7 Fresh Install

Win7Believe me, if you are here, it’s because you know completing a fresh installation of Windows 7 can be a real challenge lately.

These steps solved my Windows 7 fresh install problem.

I hope you have the same success.

Complete a fresh Windows 7 Pro SP1 install on a new or re-formatted drive from USB or DVD install media.

Do not put in Windows product key to verify untll the last step

Turn off Windows update from control panel gui.

Update Internet Explorer to IE11 by direct download at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=324628

Complete “Fix Windows Update errors by using the DISM or System Update Readiness tool” at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/947821

Complete “April 2015 servicing stack update for Windows 7 x64-based Systems (KB3020369)” at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmation.aspx?id=46817

Complete “July 2016 update rollup for Windows 7 SP1” at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3172605 file named Windows6.1-KB3172605-x64 for 64 bit Windows 7

Turn Windows update back on.

Check Windows Updates and behold, it identifies, downloads and installs over 200 updates!

Verify Windows with a valid product key

 

New Ring-Scape Features

Make calling easier and more efficient with Ring-ScapeIf you use Ring-Scape, you will enjoy it’s new features installed during the latest 07/20/2016 automatic updates to 3.0 version 3.0.53.

Call Transfer: With this feature, a Ring-Scape 3.0 user can answer a call, and use the new transfer capabilities to quickly and efficiently transfer a call to another user. Both blind and consultative transfer are supported. This capability is available on most desk phones sold by me.

Call transfer can be executed via the new call transfer button on the top menu of Ring-Scape, or via the right mouse button drop down menu in receptionist view.

Call Monitoring: With this feature, a user can select the extensions that they want to monitor. Calls to monitored extensions will flash a different shade of blue in receptionist view, or display as a notification at the top of the screen. Monitored calls can be picked up by a simple click of the mouse.

Tel protocol support: The Telephone Link Protocol or Tel protocol provides the capability for a user to setup a link in a website, or a document that allows a call to be placed via a telephony application such as Ring-Scape. A Ring-Scape user can easily choose to associate their Ring-Scape application as the application to use when clicking on a link that uses the Tel protocol. This is done by setting the association to the protocol in the Ring-Scape Settings > General tab window.

Learn more about Ring-Scape 

Contact me about Hosted PBX phone systems with Ring-Scape.

Versions of QuickBooks Supported on Windows 10

Got that new Windows 10 computer? Intuit supports QuickBooks with the following versions, quoted directly from Intuit’s hard to find information page.

QuickBooks 2016 R7 and later: Good news! QuickBooks 2016 R7 and later is certified to work on Windows 10! If you are using a release of 2016 earlier than R7, you will need to update to the latest release in order to be compatible with Windows 10.

QuickBooks 2015 and QuickBooks 2016 R1-R6: Based on initial testing we have not found any major issues with QuickBooks 2015. Please see our system requirements for details of what are supported operating systems. If you have deployed QuickBooks 2015 on Windows 10, make sure you have .NET Framework 3.5 enabled (it is usually disabled by default from Microsoft) to ensure the best possible experience using QuickBooks on a non-supported operating system.

Ensure .NET 3.5 is enabled for QuickBooks 2015

Open the Start menu and type Turn Windows features On or Off.

Click on Turn Windows features On or Off.

At the top, you will see an option for .NET Framework 3.5, ensure it is enabled.

If it is not enabled, click in the white check box to enable it and click Ok. Reboot your computer after it is enabled.

If it is already enabled, then click Cancel and no further action is required in this step.

QuickBooks 2014 and earlier: QuickBooks 2014 and earlier is not supported on Windows 10. Please see our system requirements for details of what are supported operating systems.

Windows 10 File History Multiple Drives Backup Hack for Disaster Recovery

File to file backup software for Windows 10 computers appear to be few and far between as well as expensive when loaded up with features one may never need. Windows 10 File History Backup was not designed as a backup in the sense of restoring data to another computer after a computer failure. However, this Windows 10 File History Backup hack, fully supported by Microsoft, gives us folks that do not want to use pricey Internet backup or expensive backup software a viable option for emergency file recovery.

Download a PDF of Windows 10 File History File to File Backup Hack for Disaster Recovery

Windows 10 File History Backup is designed to grab earlier versions of files after one realizes they deleted a file or damaged a file in some way. Restoring a file or files is straight forward as shown below.

Select “Restore files from a current backup”

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Then, select the folder or file(s) you need and select “Restore to original location”

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This hack shows that Windows 10 File History Backup can also be used to recover data to another computer in an emergency. The following series of screen shots detail how this can be done.

Insert a large USB drive for use as a backup drive

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Select “Settings”

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Select “Update and Security”

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Select “Backup”

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Select “Add a drive”

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Select your USB drive

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Select “More options”

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Select the timing you need under “Back up my files”

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Select “Until space is needed” under “Keep my backups.

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One can add or remove folders under “Back up these folders.

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To start a backup, select “Back up now”

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If the backup up application does not auto close, click the “X” in the top right corner

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The backup will complete in the background. The more files you have, the longer the back will take to complete. Check status of backup by looking at “Last backup:” date and time under “Overview”

One can manually trigger a backup anytime by selecting “Back up now” on the Back up options screen as well as learning the date and time of the last backup and space available on the drive.

One can rotate multiple drives for an extra level of protection. Generally, Windows 10 File History Backup using multiple drives works by formatting a previously used drive and starting the backup process over with the newly formatted drive. One should carefully follow these instructions.

1 – Start with two external USB drives. Label them Backup One and Backup Two.

2 – Insert Backup One and format the drive using the right click contextual menu in File Explorer. Then set it up as a file history drive using the instructions above starting at “This hack shows that Windows 10 File History Backup can also be used to recover data to another computer in an emergency.”

3 – Determine a backup drive rotation that works for you. Consider how out of sync you might be if you lost your laptop and your stored backup last completed several weeks ago. I prefer to be no more than a week behind but you may think differently. So, for this example, I will pick one week.

4 – After one week, check your Backup One drive for the current backup process to be complete on the “Backup options” screen. You might also want to reconcile several random files before you remove the drive.

5 – Select “Stop Using Drive” also on the “Backup options” screen and then remove the drive and place it in another location far from your laptop; your home safe works well.

6 – Insert the Backup Two drive and complete a drive format like in Step 2 above.

7 – Set up the Backup Two drive as a file history drive using the instructions above starting at “This hack shows that Windows 10 File History Backup can also be used to recover data to another computer in an emergency.”

8 – After one week, check your Backup Two drive for the current backup process to be complete. You might also want to reconcile several random files before you remove the drive.

9 – Select “Stop Using Drive” and then remove the drive and place it in another location far from your laptop; your home safe works well.

10- Insert the Backup One drive and complete a drive format.

11 – Set up the Backup One drive as a file history drive using the instructions above starting at “This hack shows that Windows 10 File History Backup can also be used to recover data to another computer in an emergency.”

12 – Then off you go again with another fresh backup drive. Repeat this process every week alternating between Drive One and Drive Two.

Now, if you lose your computer from some unfortunate circumstance, find the latest Backup One or Backup Two USB drive and plug it into another computer.

You can easily restore files and their many older versions to another computer by browsing the drive’s “File History” folder for needed files and copying them to your new computer.

It can be confusing because of many multiples of time stamped files with the same name. But, cut through the confusion by paying close attention to the time stamp appended to the file name, restoring only the most current file. In most cases, rarely changed files will only have one file with no versions in the file history folder.

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However, DO NOT use the “Restore files from a current backup” function on the “Backup Options” screen to restore files to another fresh Windows 10 computer and new user profile. As easy and intuitive as it looks to restore, it does not work. You will get an error message.

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Remember, the proper way to restore your files to a another computer in the event of a disaster is by browsing the drive’s “File History” folder for needed files and copying them to your new computer.

Trial QuickBooks Desktop Software

Quickbooks-2016-BoxNeed to prototype a QuickBooks production scenario, trial QuickBooks for a client or use a trial to complete a test restore from an older version of QuickBooks?

Download QuickBooks trials from https://community.intuit.com/articles/1207255-quickbooks-desktop-trial-links-us-uk-ca

3 Reasons To Move To The Cloud

Dell recommends three levels of solutions to move small businesses to virtualization. These offerings demonstrate that on site virtualization comes at a cost. However, expect excellent performance gains and real disaster recovery-ability once your systems are virtualized.

Considering the apparent cost of Dell’s virtualization and the current state of the economy, cloud services, built around the same Windows Servers, Citrix and VMware look pretty good. Dell’s three levels of solutions can help move small businesses to virtualization or they might be three reasons to move to the cloud. You do the ROI.

Many cloud offerings require no capital investment and no commitment other than a monthly expensed amount. Contact us so that we can migrate your systems to the cloud or to Dell’s virtualization solutions.

Word Experienced An Error Trying To Open The File

Seems odd that you cannot open a shared file on the network?

Double click a Word or Excel document on a shared drive and you get “Word Experienced An Error Trying To Open The File.” The fix is below the picture.

 

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File –> Options –> Trust Center –> Trust Center Settings… –> Protected View –> Uncheck Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet and uncheck Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments –> OK –> OK.

Security can be a pain.

QuickBooks Production Solutions

If you use QuickBooks in your business, consider a QuickBooks production solution used when multiple locations or widely dispersed users need to access the same company files from remote locations. We do all of the work so that you can focus on using your QuickBooks, instead of dealing with networking and application errors.

We work with all versions of QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks Premier and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions. Whether you have a simple server set up or a complex migration to a multi site, multi company file, remote access solution, we stand ready to roll up our sleeves and get the job done for you.

Consolidate your QuickBooks software on one device accessible from anywhere on the Internet, as well as your local home or office, with a QuickBooks Remote Application Server. Learn more…

Or, consider QuickBooks Hosting and Remote Application Services, the hosted QuickBooks solution for companies that do not want to spend money on local server equipment, also accessible from anywhere on the Internet, as well as your local home or office. Learn more…

We’ll work on the project while you work on your business. When the time’s right, we’ll seamlessly transition you into your new QuickBooks solution.

We can work by the project or on a continual support basis, depending on what works best for you.

Contact us about our technical consulting services.