Restoring a backup company file.

The error message is "This is an invalid format of a Post QB2007 backup file.

Thank you John-pero for your reply. The backup is a couple of weeks old and as far as I know its just a standard backup coming from a 2015 desktop version of Quickbooks. Nothing out of the ordinary. I actually restored a backup file from this same 2015 program several months ago and everything was successful with that restore. I talked to a QB specialist a few minutes ago and she told me that it sounded like the file might be damaged or corrupt in some way and that a better backup might be a portable file instead of a QBW file. I think I get my client to send the company file to me that way and see if that will work.

Thanks so much for your help

Hopalong

I understand this isn't an easy process for you, @lispot.

Let me ensure you can restore the company file into QuickBooks Desktop 2022.

The error you're seeing is caused by mismatched Windows folder permissions, firewall settings, or internet settings.

This normally happens when you first access the company file, but it gets resolved when you restart QuickBooks. Aside from that, running QuickBooks as a Windows administrator will suffice. Run QuickBooks as Administrator by right-clicking the QuickBooks icon on your desktop and selecting it.

After that, you'll also have to update QuickBooks Desktop to the latest release then restore the file once more.

If you get the same error, follow these steps to change the Properties section of the file:

1.  Click the Open option from the File drop-down menu on top.

2.  Choose the file(s) that are in read-only format.

3. Right-click on the chosen files and hit the Properties option from the menu.

4. Under the Attributes section of the window, uncheck the Read-only box.

5. Hit the Apply button.

6. Hit the OK button.

If the issue persists, kindly exhaust and follow the steps in Solution 2 from this article: How to fix payroll errors: “The file you specified cannot be opened” and “The file exists”. This will help update the windows permissions on your desktop.

Keep me updated by leaving a reply to this thread. I'm always willing to help if you have other questions reagarding this matter or with QuickBooks. Have a safe week!

@JenoP 

She/he won't respond your question. They just want to promote their website.

Hello there, @Bradley69.

I'd be glad to help you resolve your error message when trying to restore a backup file in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT).

To start, before restoring a backup copy of your company file, I suggest checking your backup file first. A reliable backup should be at least 6MB (6,000KB) in size. If the file size is less than that, it may not be a true backup file and you'll need to create a backup from the working file. To check the file size, simply right-click the file and select Properties.

In addition, these errors may appear when:

• The company file name includes special characters ( / < > ! $).
• The backup was restored over an existing company file.
• The backup was restored from a USB flash drive to a network drive (Error -6189, -816).
• The backup was made in a newer version.
• Example: Backup was created in QuickBooks 2019 but you're restoring it in QuickBooks 2018.
• The file you're trying to restore isn't an actual backup file.
• The company file is compromised.

To resolve this error or problem, perform the solutions below:

Solution 1: Remove special characters ( / \ ! $ ) from your company file name.

1. Locate the location of your company file.
2. Right-click the file name and select Rename.
3. Create a file name that has no special character and Enter.

Solution 2: Avoid overwriting an existing file when you restore your backup

1. When you are on the window that asks where you want to save your file, browse to your standard location for saving your file.
2.  If you see a message stating that the file name already exists in that folder, select No. 
3. Then, rename the file to something different from the existing file name.

For solutions 3, 4, 5, and 6, refer to this article: Get help with Error: Restore Failed.

If you receive prompts regarding resetting an admin password and missing payroll data, check out this reference to learn what you can do: Fix backup company file issues in QuickBooks Desktop.

With this information, we should be able to narrow down the reasons why you cannot restore a backup. If you have follow-up questions about this matter, comment them below. I'll be here to answer them for you.