How to Rebuild QuickBooks Data File to Fix the Corruption?

Summary: The blog defines the reasons that lead to QuickBooks corruption and data damage as well as describes the procedure to Rebuild QuickBooks data file using built-in Rebuild Data utility. It also suggests an alternate QuickBooks recovery solution for recover QBW file in case of higher damage.

QuickBooks, accounting software built for medium and small sized business sectors is error free and user-centric application. Two most popular built-in utilities being offered by the application are Verify Data and Rebuild Data. The former identifies most commonly occurred data issues while the latter resolves data integrity issues found by Verify Data utility.

The most common reasons for using the Verify and Rebuild utilities are when severe errors appear while you use QuickBooks desktop and any discrepancies found on reports such as the bills or invoices being a post with negative values. Other reasons that call upon the need to rebuild QuickBooks data file are:

• Deposited payments are displayed in the Payments to Deposit section
• When balance sheet reports do not display all accounts
• When data checkups are run to ensure that the file is error free
• Transactions are missing or displayed inaccurately in the window
• When names found missing from the lists

Procedure to Rebuild QuickBooks Data File Documents

The process to rebuild QuickBooks data file is quite simple and straight forward.

1. Open QuickBooks and then click on File.
2. Click on Utilities and then select Rebuild Data.

3. If the application displays a warning message for backing up the file, click on OK.
4. The application will then display Rebuild has completed, click OK.
5. Then run Verify Data to check for the remaining data damage.

Important!

• If the application displays ‘QuickBooks is not responding’ message, move the mouse indicator and wait for the data rebuild process to complete.
• If the verify operation fails to accomplish successfully, attempt to repeat the process till the application verifies the file for persisting messages.

Even though there are several procedures available to rebuild QuickBooks data file.

Manual Ways to reduce QuickBooks File Corruption

You can reduce the corruption risk by implementing some manual techniques.

Specify File Volume to Reduce Corruption Risk

The overall size of QuickBooks file largely contributes to corruption, but it is not always necessary that only large files turn corrupt. It can be said that larger the volume of the file, greater the risk of corruption. Thus, it is recommended to constantly monitor the size of the file and keep it under control.

Monitor and Reduce Database Fragments

The number of database fragments can be monitored in the Product Information window. If the database has 10 or more database fragments, you can follow the given procedure to reduce the fragments.

1. Resort List: In the list menu, use Resort List option. Re-sorting the list through list headers will not put the same re-organization effect on the file.

Note: Some lists may not show Resort List selection

2. Rebuild File: After re-sorting the company file, you can use QuickBooks data file rebuild utility by following the procedure mentioned in the initial section of the blog. Rebuild Quickbooks Data file  data utility can also be used to repair the risks of corruption.
3. Create Portable Company File: One of the most preferred ways to reduce database fragments is creating a portable Company file and then restore the Portable Company file to re-index the database.
4. Run Windows Defragmentation Utility: The fragmentation level of the hard drive can affect the fragmentation level of the accounting application database; therefore, you can now run Windows defragmentation utility on the hard drive where the application file is stored.

General Network Issues & Maintenance

In a multi-user environment, incorrectly configured routers can affect the QuickBooks performance thus increasing the risk of corruption. If the network interruption is caused due to incorrect configuration of the Server or malfunctioning of the hardware components, the QuickBooks data file may turn corrupt.

Corruption in QuickBooks data files may occur if there is anyone or combination of issues persists within the network:

• Any connection issues exist with routers
• Any Operating System issues
• Hardware or network driver issues persist on workstation network adapters

Corruption due to Transaction(s):

If the corruption in QuickBooks data file is associated with one or more transactions, you can attempt to repair the issue by first deleting and then re-entering the transactions. To find the particular transaction that is creating an issue, it is recommended to search the document number in the report and then delete and re-enter the transaction.

Corruption in the QuickBooks database file can cause discrepancies in the Balance Sheet. If any imbalances are found in the file even after executing above workaround methods, you can try alternate recovery techniques.

Points to Consider:

1. If QBW rebuild utility fails to recover the database from errors and damage, it is recommended to look for another recovery solution.
2. If you fail to find the error persisting in the QuickBooks file, the best way to resolve the issue is to restore it from backup.
3. Make sure that the existing Company file is not overwritten. Any additional information is entered since the last backup must be entered manually after the restore function is done successfully.

What to do when Manual QuickBooks Rebuild Fails

Stellar Repair for QuickBooks Software helps to recover all types of corruption in the application and retrieve crucial business information related to employees, vendors, services, customers, etc. To check the amazing features of this QBW file repair software, click on the Download button:

Several benefits are offered by the QuickBooks file repair application. which are as follows:

• This QuickBooks repair software helps to recover all the components of the QuickBooks database file including paychecks and payroll transactions.
• The major benefit is that it acts as a comprehensive .QBW recovery solution and supports the recovery of multiple currencies.
• All the recoverable components can be previewed with the help of the software before actually performing the recovery procedure.
• Complete Recovery is done including Items and Services, job information of customers, job information of vendors, charts of accounts, transaction information of customers, and much more.
• Selection of QuickBooks file can be done from any user defined location for performing the recovery operation. If the location of the QuickBooks data file is unknown, the tool allows searching and locating it right from the tool panel.
• Whenever a repair is performed, the tool saves the log report corresponding to each and every task is executed for repairing a particular file. This information can be used for future reference.
• It supports QuickBooks 2020 and all lower versions.
• The software is compatible with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, Server 2003 & 2000.

Hence, above discussed manual and alternative methods to rebuild QuickBooks Data File can be savior for you to fix the severe corruption in your QBW file. Don’t wait to try and let us know the feedback!

Read: How to fix QuickBooks rebuild not responding error?