Skip to main content
M
MrTom4
October 2, 2020
Question

Quickbooks for Mac, repair a file that won't open

  • October 2, 2020
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

So I'm recovering data from a corrupt hard drive in a Mac. It had QB 2013. The QB2013 file is not opening in QB for Mac 2013 anymore.  I get the error:

The document "x" could not be opened. The file isn't in the correct format.
The file might be corrupt, truncated, or in an unexpected format.

 

The newest backup I could find on the drive is from 7/29/19, more than a year ago, and understandably it's smaller than the more recent file which is only 2.27MB. I know QB for Windows has File Doctor which is good at finding issues and repairing. But QB for Mac doesn't seem to have any type of repair tool other than the integrated Utilities repair options, which require the file to be opened in the first place.

 

I've opened the file in Notepad, I'm on Windows now, and compared a lot of the unreadable characters which all seem to be very similar to the backup file. So it appears to mostly be intact by what I could tell. It even starts with the correct header "SQLite format 3" in the file and everything seems good. Maybe it's just 0.1% corrupt.

 

Is there any way to do a repair/verify on a Mac file that won't open to allow me to do a repair/verify? I thought of trying to convert the file to Windows and then back to Mac, even that only works once the file is opened.

1 reply

N
Nick_M
October 2, 2020

Hi there, MrTom4.

 

Thanks for dropping by the Community, you can try the Rebuild Data tool. It works universally with QuickBooks Desktop for Windows and Mac. Here's how:

 

Repair your company file using the Rebuild Data tool:

 

The Rebuild Data tool is built-in to QuickBooks Desktop and automatically fixes minor company file data issues.

  1. Go to the File menu, then hover over Utilities and select Rebuild Data.
  2. On the QuickBooks Information window, select OK. Follow the onscreen steps to save a backup.
  3. Let the tool repair your file. It may take some time. QuickBooks may seem stuck, but as long as you can move your mouse, the tool is working.
  4. When the tool finishes, select OK.
  5. Go to the File menu. Then hover over Utilities and select Verify Data.
  6. Let the tool check your file for data issues.

If QuickBooks doesn't find any problems, select OK. You can keep using your company file. You don't have any data damage. If QuickBooks finds an issue with your company file, select Rebuild Now.

 

If that doesn't work you can try rebuilding the data manually:

 

If you’re comfortable manually fixing your errors, you can find the errors you can fix from the Verify Results window. Before you get started, make sure to backup your company file.

To manually fix data errors:

  1. Go to the File menu. Then hover over Utilities and select Verify Data.
  2. Let the tool check your file for data issues.
  3. From the Verify Results screen, select Expand All to see the errors.
  4. For the steps to fix the error, select See Online Article. If the error doesn’t have an article, contact support for help repairing your company file.

Please note that with QuickBooks 2013 you may experience issues as the product has been discontinued which can result in issues. I hope this helps and if you have any other questions, feel free to post here anytime. Thank you and have a nice afternoon. 

M
MrTom4Author
October 2, 2020

Hi, Nick_M. When I go to File and hover over Utilities the Rebuild Data option is grayed out because I can not open the file, which is why I get the error I posted in the first place.

"The document "x" could not be opened. The file isn't in the correct format."

 

So now what do I do? How can I run the Rebuild Data tool without opening the file?

R
Ryan_M
October 2, 2020

Hi @MrTom4,

 

I'll provide insight into what you can do in your situation.

 

You can move your original company file to a different directory, then proceed to open it in QuickBooks Desktop for Mac. If the issue persists, you can restore the backup company file you mentioned. 

 

Follow the steps:

 

  1. Under the QuickBooks menu, select Preferences.
  2. Choose Backup.
  3. Tap Reveal Backup Folder, then double-click the folder where you save your backup files.

To continue, open this article: Restore your backup company file for QuickBooks Desktop for Mac. Scroll down and look for Step 2: Restore your backup company file.

 

In case you wish to proceed and convert your company file to Windows, check out this article: Convert a QuickBooks for Mac file to QuickBooks for Windows.

 

Drop a comment below if you need further assistance. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. 

Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement