Using MS Money under a new operating system

[Tom Roberts]

Hi Nathan

What you have done to optimize Money on other OS's is quite enticing. 

I tried Ubuntu about 20 years ago but not with MSMoney.

Like Ameridan, I use the Business Version of Sunset. 

With Windows 10 going out of support in Oct 2025, I am considering installing Ubuntu or a similar OS so as to keep Money on that computer. I am considering it because of the progress you have made. I remember when you sent an email sometime last year saying you were going to get Money working on Ubuntu or similar, I thought it was a 'pipe dream'. Amazing what hard work can accomplish... 

For my scenario, I would need to choose Ubuntu or some other similar no-cost OS. Any suggestions?  

I would want to keep Windows 10 for as long as possible, so would need to decide on how to access the new OS. I understand it could be selected at boot-up or run from within Windows 10. 

Also, is it correct that you have MSMoneyQuotes and MSMQuote operating on the alternate OS ?

Thanks for any input.   

[N G]

Thanks!

Twenty years is a long time! If I had to make a suggestion on which Linux would be Linux Mint Cinnamon or LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition). If you look on DIstrowatch:

https://distrowatch.com/

Linux Mint is the most popular currently. That means a lot of people are using it (and have been for quite a while) and is pretty polished. Really any Ubuntu distro would probably be fine, but in case you have any machine specific issues the more users the easier it is to find answers.

"Pipe Dream" lol - You're not the first person to tell me that! But I can be very persistent, I don't give up easily if I think I have a shot. I'm kinda dumb that way lol.

Just to get your feet wet I would install VirtualBox on your windows computer and get acquainted with Ubuntu/Mint/Fedora that way. Try them all! Installing into a VM (virtual machine) won't modify your Windows setup at all while you figure things out. Also, by installing into a VM you probably won't have to deal with any machine idiosyncrasies with Linux from your actual computer, if any. There is a lot of info and tutorials online/youtube, and I'm sure there are others in our group who can help as well. Then once you're comfortable in the VM (and you have MSMoney working) then we can think about actually installing Linux on your machine to dual boot if that's what you want to do.

I don't use MSMQuote but I do use msmoneyquotes and pocketsense. I'm sure we can get that to work as well (I hope!) but I would have to try it out. Is that one free? I'll look into it.

Nathan

[Gerardus Doedee]

@ Tom Roberts

I'd be happy to help getting VirtualBox running on your Window machine. There is a gotchas, if not dealt with, which will significantly (and I mean SIGNIFICANTLY) slow down VirtualBox. Once dealt with, VirtualBox will run fine in Windows. Of course, the more powerful your Windows machine (processors, memory, etc) the better / faster  VirtualBox will run.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Cheers,

Gerardus

[N G]

Tom,

I install the Debian version of java on my laptop, downloaded msmquote and tested it on the sample.mny file. Worked like a champ (I believe, it ran) and msmquote doesn't need to be in wine.

The command in Linux is on my laptop is:

java -jar msmquote-4.8.1.jar ~/msmoneyprefix/drive_c/Program\ Files\ \(x86\)/Microsoft\ Money\ Plus/sample.mny

and it output the following. Does this look right? If so, I can right a smalll script with the command in it so you can double-click it.

Nathan

2025-03-14 19:30:31,563 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.Update: Version 4.8.1
2025-03-14 19:30:31,569 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmDb: Creating lock file: /home/giardn/msmoneyprefix/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Money Plus/sample.lrd
2025-03-14 19:30:31,570 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmDb: Opening Money file: /home/giardn/msmoneyprefix/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Money Plus/sample.mny
2025-03-14 19:30:31,794 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmCurrency: Base currency is USD, hcrnc=45
2025-03-14 19:30:31,823 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.YahooApiSource: HTTP client timeout=30s
2025-03-14 19:30:32,146 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.YahooApiSource: Getting cookie from https://extern.yahoo.com
2025-03-14 19:30:33,147 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.YahooApiSource: API crumb=wi9PWwn1b6g
2025-03-14 19:30:33,149 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.QuoteSource: YahooApiQuote
2025-03-14 19:30:33,151 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.YahooApiQuote: Building URL with 19 security symbols: ^DJI,^IXIC,^GSPC,.HCX.X,LITW,CONT,LUPB,TREY,COHO,FABRI,CONSO,LEH,ADM,WGMXX,MSFT,WDGRVE,QQQ,-HO,-GC
2025-03-14 19:30:33,151 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.YahooApiQuote: Building URL with 154 FX symbols: USDARS=X,USDAUD=X,USDATS=X,USDBEF=X,USDBOB=X,USDBRL=X,USDCAD=X,USDCHF=X,USDCLP=X,USDCNY=X,USDCOP=X,USDCZK=X,USDDEM=X,USDDKK=X,USDECS=X,USDFIM=X,USDFRF=X,USDGBP=X,USDGRD=X,USDHKD=X,USDHUF=X,USDIDR=X,USDIEP=X,USDITL=X,USDJPY=X,USDKRW=X,USDLUF=X,USDMXP=X,USDNLG=X,USDNZD=X,USDNOK=X,USDPEN=X,USDPHP=X,USDPLZ=X,USDPTE=X,USDRUR=X,USDESP=X,USDSEK=X,USDSGD=X,USDTHB=X,USDTWD=X,USDVEB=X,USDZAR=X,USDEUR=X,USDGTQ=X,USDMAD=X,USDTND=X,USDDZD=X,USDTRL=X,USDILS=X,USDMYR=X,USDBWP=X,USDGHC=X,USDKES=X,USDNAD=X,USDZWD=X,USDBHD=X,USDJOD=X,USDKWD=X,USDOMR=X,USDPKR=X,USDQAR=X,USDSAR=X,USDAED=X,USDVND=X,USDINR=X,USDCYP=X,USDTZS=X,USDLBP=X,USDEEK=X,USDLVL=X,USDLTL=X,USDSKK=X,USDSIT=X,USDMTL=X,USDALL=X,USDAWG=X,USDBBD=X,USDBDT=X,USDBGL=X,USDBIF=X,USDBMD=X,USDBND=X,USDBSD=X,USDBTN=X,USDBZD=X,USDCRC=X,USDDJF=X,USDDOP=X,USDEGP=X,USDETB=X,USDFJD=X,USDGMD=X,USDGYD=X,USDHNL=X,USDHRK=X,USDIQD=X,USDISK=X,USDKHR=X,USDKMF=X,USDKYD=X,USDKZT=X,USDLAK=X,USDLKR=X,USDLRD=X,USDLSL=X,USDLYD=X,USDMDL=X,USDMGF=X,USDMNT=X,USDMOP=X,USDMRO=X,USDMUR=X,USDMVR=X,USDMZM=X,USDNGN=X,USDNIO=X,USDNPR=X,USDPGK=X,USDPYG=X,USDRON=X,USDRWF=X,USDSBD=X,USDSCR=X,USDSLL=X,USDSOS=X,USDSRG=X,USDSTD=X,USDSYP=X,USDSZL=X,USDTOP=X,USDTTD=X,USDUAH=X,USDUGX=X,USDUYU=X,USDVUV=X,USDWST=X,USDXAF=X,USDXCD=X,USDXPF=X,USDYER=X,USDZMK=X,USDHTG=X,USDJMD=X,USDMWK=X,USDPAB=X,USDUZS=X,USDCSD=X,USDBAM=X,USDCVE=X,USDGEL=X,USDIRR=X,USDTMM=X,USDCUP=X
2025-03-14 19:30:33,154 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.YahooApiQuote: Trying Yahoo Finance API url #1
2025-03-14 19:30:33,154 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.YahooApiSource: Requesting quote data from Yahoo Finance API
2025-03-14 19:30:33,514 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.YahooApiSource: Received 215136 bytes from Yahoo Finance API
2025-03-14 19:30:33,673 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Updating quote data for symbol $INDU, quote type=INDEX
2025-03-14 19:30:33,675 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Found symbol $INDU in SEC table: sct=7, hsec=18
2025-03-14 19:30:33,676 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Skipped update for symbol $INDU, new quote has same timestamp as previous quote: timestamp=2025-03-14T05:48:06
2025-03-14 19:30:33,678 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Updating quote data for symbol $COMPX, quote type=INDEX
2025-03-14 19:30:33,679 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Found symbol $COMPX in SEC table: sct=7, hsec=30
2025-03-14 19:30:33,679 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Skipped update for symbol $COMPX, new quote has same timestamp as previous quote: timestamp=2025-03-14T06:15:59
2025-03-14 19:30:33,681 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Updating quote data for symbol $INX, quote type=INDEX
2025-03-14 19:30:33,682 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Found symbol $INX in SEC table: sct=7, hsec=38
2025-03-14 19:30:33,682 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Skipped update for symbol $INX, new quote has same timestamp as previous quote: timestamp=2025-03-14T05:48:06
2025-03-14 19:30:33,683 [main] ERROR uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.Update: Required quote data missing for symbol COHO: dPrice
2025-03-14 19:30:33,683 [main] ERROR uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.Update: Required quote data missing for symbol LEH: dPrice
2025-03-14 19:30:33,686 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Updating quote data for symbol ADM, quote type=EQUITY
2025-03-14 19:30:33,689 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Found symbol ADM in SEC table: sct=1, hsec=98
2025-03-14 19:30:33,690 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Skipped update for symbol ADM, new quote has same timestamp as previous quote: timestamp=2025-03-14T05:00:02
2025-03-14 19:30:33,690 [main] ERROR uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.Update: Required quote data missing for symbol WGMXX: dPrice
2025-03-14 19:30:33,692 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Updating quote data for symbol MSFT, quote type=EQUITY
2025-03-14 19:30:33,697 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Found symbol MSFT in SEC table: sct=1, hsec=114
2025-03-14 19:30:33,697 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Skipped update for symbol MSFT, new quote has same timestamp as previous quote: timestamp=2025-03-14T05:00:02
2025-03-14 19:30:33,699 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Updating quote data for symbol QQQ, quote type=ETF
2025-03-14 19:30:33,705 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Found symbol QQQ in SEC table: sct=1, hsec=188
2025-03-14 19:30:33,706 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmSecurity: Skipped update for symbol QQQ, new quote has same timestamp as previous quote: timestamp=2025-03-14T05:00:01
2025-03-14 19:30:33,706 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmCurrency: Updating exchange rate for symbol USDARS=X
2025-03-14 19:30:33,708 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmCurrency: Found currency USD, hcrnc=45
2025-03-14 19:30:33,709 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmCurrency: Found currency ARS, hcrnc=1
2025-03-14 19:30:33,710 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmCurrency: Found exchange rate: from hcrnc=45, to hcrnc=1
2025-03-14 19:30:33,710 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmCurrency: Skipped update for symbol USDARS=X, rate has not changed: new rate=1066.25, previous rate=1066.25
2025-03-14 19:30:33,712 [main] FATAL uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.Update: java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "String.length()" because "symbol" is null
2025-03-14 19:30:33,713 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmcore.MsmDb: Closing Money file: /home/giardn/msmoneyprefix/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Money Plus/sample.mny
2025-03-14 19:30:33,715 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.Update: Summary for quote type CURRENCY: processed=1 [OK=0, warnings=0, errors=0, skipped=1, stale=0]
2025-03-14 19:30:33,716 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.Update: Summary for quote type MONEYMARKET: processed=1 [OK=0, warnings=0, errors=1, skipped=0, stale=0]
2025-03-14 19:30:33,716 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.Update: Summary for quote type MUTUALFUND: processed=1 [OK=0, warnings=0, errors=1, skipped=0, stale=0]
2025-03-14 19:30:33,716 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.Update: Summary for quote type ETF: processed=1 [OK=0, warnings=0, errors=0, skipped=1, stale=0]
2025-03-14 19:30:33,716 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.Update: Summary for quote type INDEX: processed=3 [OK=0, warnings=0, errors=0, skipped=3, stale=0]
2025-03-14 19:30:33,716 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.Update: Summary for quote type NONE: processed=1 [OK=0, warnings=0, errors=1, skipped=0, stale=0]
2025-03-14 19:30:33,716 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.Update: Summary for quote type EQUITY: processed=2 [OK=0, warnings=0, errors=0, skipped=2, stale=0]
2025-03-14 19:30:33,717 [main] INFO  uk.co.pueblo.msmquote.Update: Duration: PT2.178096075S

[Tom Roberts]

Gerardus

Thx for your msg.

Do I need VirtualBox to run Linux? 

Attached is a WORD file with the info on my laptop. 

Do you think it will be too slow.

Tom

 

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[Tom Roberts]

Nathan 

MSMQuote was created and written and is periodically updated by Jonathan. To me, the output looks correct. 

I don't know about the debian version of java since i've not yet downloaded Linux Mint. 

Are there any precautions I need to know before downloading Linux? 

I do not know what wine is? Is it the same type of program as VirtualBox? 

Currently I use MSMoneyQuotes by Gaier but I used MSMQuote for a long time when the other was not working. Yes, a small script would be very nice. Would MSMoneyQuotes be triggered by a separate script?

Thanks

Tom

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[N G]

Hi Tom,

If you want to try out Linux without modifying how Windows works then Virtualbox is the way. Virtualbox is just a program that creates a simulated computer to install Linux inside of. It won't change anything about how your computer currently runs. It's just another program.

Go here:

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

and click on "Windows hosts" on the left side.You'll also want to get the Guest Extensions, so click "Accept and Download" on the right.

Here's an example tutorial. I know it's a little difficult to understand him but just watch what he does.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRkOmwBKeBc

There is a lot of information online if you have questions or run into trouble. Or come back and ask here. Since this is your first time, you might want to set aside a few hours.

---------

If you're using msmoneyquotes now and not msmquote then msmoneysetup has you covered already. For anyone else who uses msmquote, confirmed it works natively in Linux.

Wine is a program that runs on Linux. It's not like Virtualbox which you install a whole operating system into (Windows/Linux). Wine interecepts the API calls (application programming interface) of a windows program and translates it to Linux calls. This is much less overhead than running Linux inside a VM and allows the windows program (MSMoney) to run in realtime and uses up less hard drive space.

---------

Your Dell Inspiron should run Linux fine if/when you get to that point; Virtualbox should run fine too. But I'm not suggesting that right away, we should get you up to speed with Virtualbox and take it from there. To recap:

Virtualbox is a program that simulates a "software PC" that you install a guest operating system into. For you, Windows is the host, and Linux will be the guest. Wine is the program that allows some Windows programs to run in Linux like a native application. Once Linux is installed in Virtualbox, then we will install Wine into Linux.

Go ahead and download Virtualbox and get it installed, and then we'll see what happens next.

Nathan