How to Rebuild QuickBooks Data File to Fix the Corruption?
Summary: 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.
Contents
QuickBooks, accounting software built for medium and small-sized business sectors is error error-free and user-centric application. The two most popular built-in utilities being offered by the application are Verify Data and Rebuild Data. The former identifies the most commonly occurring data issues while the latter resolves data integrity issues found by the 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 the QuickBooks data file is quite simple.
- Open QuickBooks and then click on File.
- Click on Utilities and then select Rebuild Data.
- If the application displays a warning message for backing up the file, click on OK.
- The application will then display Rebuild has completed, click OK.
- Then run Verify Data to check for the remaining data damage.
Important!
- If the application displays a ‘QuickBooks is not responding’ message, move the mouse indicator and wait for the data rebuild process to complete.
- If the verify operation fails to be accomplished, attempt to repeat the process till the application verifies the file for persisting messages.
If the above steps to rebuild the QuickBooks data file fail, you can try to reduce corruption in
What to do When Manual QuickBooks Rebuild Fails
Stellar Repair for QuickBooks® Software helps fix corruption in the QuickBooks data file. It also helps in recovering crucial business information related to employees, vendors, services, customers, etc. from the corrupted file. 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 the 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 2024 and all lower versions.
- The software is compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 and older versions.
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?
What to do to Reduce Corruption?
After rebuilding or repairing the QuickBooks data file, make sure to take the preventive measures to reduce chances of data file damage or corruption. Some of them are:
1. 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.
2. 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.
- Resort List: In the list menu, use the Resort List option. Re-sorting the list through list headers will not put the same re-organization effect on the file. Note that some lists may not show Resort List selection
- Rebuild File: After re-sorting the company file, you can use the 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.
- Create Portable Company File: One of the most preferred ways to reduce database fragments is creating a portable Company file and then restoring the Portable Company file to re-index the database.
- 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.
3. 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 any or a 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
4. Delete and Re-enter Transaction(s)
If the corruption in the 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 the above workaround methods, you can try alternate recovery techniques.
Points to Consider:
- If the rebuild utility fails to recover the database from errors and damage, it is recommended to look for another recovery solution.
- 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.
- 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.
Conclusion
If you have encountered errors after running the QuickBooks Verify utility or found any discrepancies in reports, try rebuilding your QuickBooks data file as explained in this blog. If it fails, use Stellar Repair for QuickBooks® Software to repair the data file and retrieve its data. Also, make sure to implement the manual ways to reduce the chances of data file corruption in QB.
We have been using QuickBooks for years, the company file is large, now it’s freezing up when we try to Reconcile
The QBW file is 54,471 KB
The QBB file is 22,097 KB
Will your Repair software work with this old 2003 Basic edition? How do you reduce the file size if large files create problems?
Thanks, Gerald
Dear Gerald,
We have tested the software on QuickBooks 2005 till 2018. To check the software on 2003 basic edition, I will suggest you download the demo version of this software. In the demo version, you can see the preview of all the repairable data like company information, vendor information, and transactions, customer information and transactions, employee information and transactions.
By using the Rebuild utility, you can reduce the file size. After using it, always verify the file using verify utility.
Our QuickBooks company file is now error-free. Thank You!
The rebuild data is taking the long time to work.
Hello Jacob,
Quickbooks doesn’t take time for rebuild data process. If it is taking a long time, then wait for the result and don’t close it. One it finished the process then you can close the QuickBooks and restart your system.
Dear Jyoti,
I had the same question, and follow the answer steps to create portable company file.
Hi,
QuickBooks File Doctor is unable to fix my issue it crashes every time whenever I try to open it. I also share this question with Intuit support team.
Now please suggest me to fix my company file issue.
Hello Lopa,
You should not take any chance with your valuable data. In this case, I will suggest you download our QuickBooks repair software to repair your company file.
If you have any question regarding this problem then, please comment here.
Good Luck!
Hello Nathasa,
The verify data process depends on the file size. It will suggest you wait for the process completion of the verify data to process. It is cycle and you can repeat this to correct the data damage. The verify data helps you to detect the corruption in your data file, and it has the capabilities to identify various types of data damage.
Helpful post.
I Started the verify data process before the rebuild. Now it is taking too much time for verifying the data. Can I start the rebuild data process before completion of it?
How can I create portable company file?
Hello Stacy,
To create the portable company file, follow these steps:
• Go to File and select the Create File option.
• Select the Portable Company File and click on the Next.
• Now save the portable file in your computer, flash drive or other removable media devices. The portable company file extension is .qbm
I agree with you. My company file was not opening, and I just renamed the file. After that, I was working properly.
The blog is very useful for starting to the end. I am very surprised to know that the network issues could be the reason for this problem. I am using QuickBooks for last three years and aware of this kind of situation. At that time, I was only conscious of the service provider, but it’s good to know about the QuickBooks file repair software is there to repair QBW files