MNY file

[Tom Roberts]

Did anyone ever experience their mny file opening fully and then after 5 seconds automatically shutting down? 

I've done a quick repair but that didn't fix it.

I also restored a backup and that didn't fix it.

Any suggestions? 

[Ellen S]

Tom, I was just about to write about the same thing, and I'm freaking out b/c none of my files including backups and a 2d smaller data file are opening.   Wondering if I need to remove and reinstall?   

also looking for suggestions.  

[Cal Learner]

Ellen: Check your backup file (*.MBF) situation. Do not lose a good backup by overwriting it with a corrupted file. Money Plus supports multiple versions of backup. I think the default is to save the most recent 4, but you can change that. I think I am using about 20 for the upon-exit backups, and maybe 10 for the scheduled backups (which I send to a USB drive I keep plugged in.

Yes, reinstall is good.

But first, save what you have to a USB drive.

This command in a command window will search your C: drive for backup files:

dir c:\*.mbf /s

[Bob Smiley]

I hope you are not accessing your file from some kind of cloud storage. That is one way that you can corrupt your mny file. ALWAYS keep your file on the local hard drive and ensure that it never gets backed up to the cloud. The backups made by money can be, but never the working file.

Another reason for the file to suddenly close, is if you never installed the fixed dll file (mnyob99.dll). If the file has added a transaction that creates the crash, the only way to fix it is to install the right dll file.

Bob

[Ellen S]

Thanks, Cal, I do have several backups not yet tried, in more than one location.  too many crashes in my history to not be careful about that.  and I will follow your advice about collecting the files and putting elsewhere.  and not corrupting these files.  the thing is, I also tried to also open the 2009 sample.mny file that comes with Money, and it, too, crashes during loading.  That's why I think it's the program and not the files.

BTW, I mentioned this to Phillip at iCreateOFX -- I've been testing his program for my investment transactions.  I didn't think his program caused this problem, but I don't know really.  He wants me to analyze the saved OFX files (from his conversions) with this:   https://icreateofx.com/Downloads/ofxanalyzer.msi I plan to also do this at some point.     

I will reinstall Money sometime later (dinner time here) and report back.

[Ellen S]

Bob,

my files are both on the hard drive and the cloud.  looking now for a USB I can also use.  The dll repair was added last fall when I installed Money to my new computer.  Will do again when I reinstall.  Thanks for mentioning.

[Bob Smiley]

OK, just make sure you do not open the file if it is also being backed up to the cloud. It must be in a location that the cloud knows nothing about.

[Alasdair Dobbing]

I have been using a Money file stored on Dropbox and more recently Onedrive for over a decade.

I’ve never had an issue and access the same file from a MacBook running a windows 11 virtual machine and a desktop still running windows 7.

I keep a backup along with the default backup on close file (.mbf)

All of these files upload and synchronise with the Onedrive cloud and are accessible across both machines.

[Bob Smiley]

Go to the installation folder for Microsoft Money. Open "Readme.htm" and look at #20, "Running Money With Data File on Network Share Not Recommended"

When Money was developed, there was no cloud storage, but there were file shares and mapped drives. Money was made with the expectation that the file would be on the computer's local drive and always accessible. When you put the file in the cloud, there can be some interruptions and lagging. If this happens while you are working on Money, the contents that are being copied may be incomplete. Money may have still been in the process of generating the correct database structures. If those structures are in-process and not completed, the file is corrupted.

NEVER put the file on anything other than the local hard drive. It's file to have the backups off the drive, but NEVER the actual file you are working on.

It may work for years, but eventually, it will start backing up just when it shouldn't. Is it worth the risk of destroying your data?

[Bob Smiley]

"it's fine to have backups..."

[Alasdair Dobbing]

As I said it’s worked fine for over a decade and I’ve never had an issue.

I’ve observed it synchronising the .mny file with the Onedrive cloud whilst in use and after exiting the program.

The .mny file sits in a folder on my local drive, changes to this file then get synchronised to the Onedrive cloud as they happen and then on file exit.

There are no issues!

[Ellen S]

I am happy to report that reinstalling Money solved the crashing problem, all data files seem OK--no corruption found--and I am a happy camper again.

I will note some concern that OFX download files created with the iCreateOFX app may have played a role.  The app's developer, Phillip (in the UK), created a new Pershing download format at my request (FYI: Pershing downloads as XLS files, and his format is tailored to find them).  I had a learning curve with using it.  After a few successful uploads with a small file, I then tried a much longer one and made mapping errors.  Money is supposed to fail those transactions but didn't in my case; even so, I see no evidence they corrupted any of the MNY or backup files.   I lack the expertise (and time) to analyze further, but I will note the similarity of my problem to past reports about a bad mny99.dll--i.e., crashing during investment transaction loading.   In any case, reinstalling Money (with modified dll) did the trick, and I will continue using iCreateOFX because it will be a huge timesaver when my broker goes into rebalancing mode.    Finally, I want to plug how helpful Phillip has been, not just with learning the software but suggesting steps to analyze my problem.

Thanks also to all here for your helpful comments and suggestions; it is comforting to know you are out there.      

Ellen