Some Notes on the Machines

This is a tool from QuickBooks, new to me, which can fix a lot of different Windows library and other issues, to be used sometimes when QuickBooks fails to install.

https://community.intuit.com/articles/1019962-fix-common-installation-errors-using-the-qbinstall-tool

Reportedly in February 2016, Microsoft began to automatically upgrade all Office 365 customers to version 2016. One has to search for the words “February” and “automatic” in the page below to see it:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3097292

Among many others, this can cause major problems for users of QuickBooks of all versions before 2016; all integration with Excel fails, and we can expect other problems (e.g., Outlook integration) as well. There is no easy revert procedure, we just have this:

https://community.office365.com/en-us/f/172/t/409681

There is a method to prevent the upgrade via Group Policy:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3097292

Here is a great web site for these:

http://www.qtools.com/qbupdates.htm

You may see error “-6175, 0”; connectivity or security errors may pop up; but definitively you will notice that the “Quickbooks database service” will not start.

The solution given by a QuickBooks tech just now, is to change the user under which the database service runs, from the special QuickBooksDBxx service user, to the Local System. I asked if there was any reason not to do this under any circumstances, and he said there is not. This seems to make QuickBooks as a whole run better. It is needful to give “SYSTEM” full rights to any folder containing QuickBooks files.

To get QuickBooks to send email via MAPI to the Click-To-Run version of Outlook (2013, 2016, 365), we consult the amazing Jared Dexter, who found the following.

1) In the Win.ini file add the following section:

[MAIL]
MAPI=1
MAPIX=1

2) Open the Registry Editor and add these keys and values. Some or all most likely won’t already be there:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\MAIL]
MAPI=1
MAPIX=1

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Messaging Subsystem]
MAPI=1
MAPIX=1

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\MAIL]
MAPI=1
MAPIX=1

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows Messaging Subsystem]
MAPI=1
MAPIX=1

Open QuickBooks, Outlook should now be an option. This has been seen to work in Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit, Office 2013 Home & Business 32-bit and Office 2016 via 365, with QuickBooks Enterprise 14 and 15.

Manual updates for all versions are available:

http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/ProductUpdates.aspx

Sometimes, when QuickBooks installs its server piece, the service account (QBDataServiceUserXX) is set up as a Standard user. Set it as an Administrator to fix lots of things. This is done in the User Accounts area in Control Panel. It can take a while to make the change.

Was just informed and shown this by a QB technician. QuickBooks will be faster if its data file is loaded via UNC — \\SERVER\SHARE\folder — rather than mapped drive. This is also one recommended way to eliminate multi-user mode errors.

In addition to installation of the Quickbooks server piece, folder permissions have to be set correctly. Make sure you use the Advanced permissions settings area, and choose “This folder, subfolders, and files”.

The program folders have to give full control to “Users”:

http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/Articles/SLN76845

and the data folders have to give full control to the service users created during installation of the server piece.

http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/Support/Articles/HOW12213

Newer versions of Quickbooks have a file “reboot.bat”, included in the top-level application install folder under either Program Files or Program Files (x86). Running this file, will reregister every QuickBooks DLL, and does lots of other good things to the Quickbooks install as well. It is reported that this will improve overall QuickBooks speed in many cases, as well as fix many problems.