How to fix QuickBooks ‘Restore Failed’ Error

Written By Charanjeet Kaur
Approved By Kuljeet Singh
Updated on 21 Dec, 2023
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Summary: This blog discusses what to do when QuickBooks 'restore failed' error occurs. It also outlines possible reasons behind the error. To save time troubleshooting the issue and regain access to the company file data, using a QuickBooks® repair tool may help.

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When trying to restore data from a QuickBooks backup file (QBB), some users reportedly witness restore operation failing with one of the following messages:

“Error: Restore Failed. This is an Invalid Format of a Post QuickBooks 2007 Backup File”

“Error: Restore failed. Can’t remove log file”

“This file is set to read-only. Try again with a different name”

Reasons for QuickBooks ‘Restore Failed’ Error

This failure of the backup restore operation can be attributed to one of several reasons:

The backup is being restored over an existing company file
The company file name includes special characters
The backup saved in a USB flash drive is restored to a network drive instead of a local computer
The file being restored isn’t an actual QuickBooks backup file
The backup is made in a newer version of QB but is being restored to an older version
The company file is damaged or corrupted

Methods to Resolve QuickBooks ‘Restore Failed’ Error

To find out which method works best for your case, execute all in the same order as given below. Skip to the next method if the previous one doesn’t work.

1. Do not overwrite an existing company file during the restore

This is a part of the basic file-saving ethics. When saving the file being restored, browse to the destination folder where you wish to save it, and if the name of the file clashes with an already existing company file, pick a different name.

So when you restore a backup, do the following:

When prompted to enter the location to save your file, browse to a desired location for saving the file.
If the name of the file you want to save is same as another file in the folder, you will get a message “The file name exists. Would you like to overwrite this file?”
Click NO.
Choose a different name for the file.

2. Get rid of special characters from the company file name

Avoid using special characters like /\<>!$ in the file name. If you find any such characters in your company file, remove them and rename the file.

3. Copy backup to the local system before restoring it

When restoring a backup saved on external media like a USB drive or on a network, it is recommended to make a local copy of the backup first. Doing so ensures that the backup operation doesn’t terminate abruptly if the connection to the USB or the network is disrupted. Such a mishap, while the restore is underway, could also lead to permanent data corruption in the QBB file.

4. Ensure that the file you are trying to restore is a valid QBB file

If you try to perform a restore operation on a file that’s not a valid QBB format it will most likely throw the QuickBooks restore failed error.

5. Restore the QBB to the same version of QuickBooks which was used to create it

It is possible to restore a QBB created in an older QuickBooks version to a newer version of the application, but vice versa will result in an error. Thus ensure there are no version-incompatibilities when undertaking a backup restore.

6. Repair QuickBooks company file

If none of the above tricks fixes the issue, your QBW or QuickBooks company file might be severely damaged. You can repair the QuickBooks data file by using the ‘Rebuild Data’ utility. To use the utility, go to the QuickBooks File menu, hover over Utilities, then click Rebuild Data. For detailed steps to rebuild a company file, refer to this link.

If rebuilding the company file fails, a far easier and more efficient approach would be to rope in reliable QuickBooks® File Repair Software. Stellar Repair for QuickBooks® Software comes with an advanced algorithm to repair a severely damaged or corrupted QuickBooks company file (QBW). It also recovers all the file components like the company, customer, vendor, and employee information. The software can support multiple currencies, provide a preview of all recoverable data before saving the repaired file, and extract critical financial data (paychecks, payroll transactions, etc.) to be saved in a new QBW file.

Conclusion

While you should always remember to back up your QuickBooks company files (QBW), it might also be a good idea to keep an efficient QuickBooks repair application like Stellar Repair for QuickBooks® Software handy for unexpected situations. The software makes the process of repairing a company file smooth and quick. Also, it allows to the recovery of QBW file data from a backup file (QBB).

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About The Author

Charanjeet Kaur

Charanjeet is a Technical Content Writer at Stellar®who specializes in writing about databases, e-mail recovery, and e-mail migration solutions. She loves researching and developing content that helps database administrators, organizations and novices to fix multiple problems related to MS SQL and MySQL databases and Microsoft Exchange.

14 comments

Mercy Cha says:

November 22, 2020 at 2:28 am

I uploaded new version 2020 since my 2016 version was expired, and was asked if i want to overwrite and I clicked ‘no’ but when I finished i could not find previous company files, and backup file was not found. It was saved in my desktop computer as well as external USB.
Please let me know how can I restore all my files.
Thank you.

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  November 24, 2020 at 4:31 am
  
  Hi Mercy, you can try the above given manual solutions in the guide which suited to your situation.
  
  Reply
Christine T. Rubino says:

December 31, 2018 at 6:25 am

I am in the same boat and have tried everything but nothing works. Any idea?

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  December 31, 2018 at 9:09 am
  
  In this case, you can rely on reliable tool Stellar repair for QuickBooks software to fix damaged or corrupted QuickBooks data files.
  
  Reply
Jennifer G. Watkins says:

December 24, 2018 at 6:23 am

I’m trying to restore the QuickBooks backup file but it gets failed due to file size issue. Please provide assistance.

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  December 24, 2018 at 9:08 am
  
  Before restoring the company file check the file size and ensure that it must be 6 MB. If the file size is less than 6 MB, it means it is not the actual backup file.
  
  Reply
Alonzo S. Freeman says:

December 15, 2018 at 6:24 am

During restoring the QuickBooks file, I got the read only file error message:
CCRSoftware Sample Company.QBW The file is set to be read only. Try again with a different file name.
How to resolve this error?

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  December 15, 2018 at 9:09 am
  
  Try to save the file in a different location with a different name. Through this, you will not face such type of error.
  
  Reply
James E. Nickles says:

November 23, 2018 at 9:05 am

I don’t want to buy software to fix QuickBooks restore error. Please suggest free tools.

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  November 23, 2018 at 9:08 am
  
  To repair QuickBooks restore failed error, read below source and find free as well as paid tools.
  Read More
  
  Reply
William Dicosta says:

September 12, 2018 at 3:46 am

The technical instructions are very clear.

You guys save my couple of hours. I have followed all the steps and restore the backup easily without any external assistance.

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  September 13, 2018 at 4:59 am
  
  Thanks for showing your faith with us.
  
  You can also subscribe to our blogs to receive the latest updates for free technical tips.
  
  Reply
Wallace Crawford says:

April 23, 2018 at 10:43 am

One of our technical employees had taken backup of QuickBooks file in new version while data mapping towards older version.

We need all data without any damage. Is it possible?

Reply
1. Eric Simson says:
  
  April 25, 2018 at 6:38 am
  
  Yes!
  
  If you want to verify the output of software, then a free demo of software is available for everyone.
  
  Reply