QuickBooks on Windows 7 RC and Internet Explorer 8
Just a quick note on compatibility of QuickBooks and the latest Microsoft releases. I have the following setup:
- Microsoft Windows RC 7: This is the current “release candidate” for Windows 7, the successor to Windows Vista. It should be very close to what you see this Fall for the production copy. I’ve installed this on a Dell XPS410 32 bit Core2 system with 4 GB of RAM. I had reformatted the hard drive to do a clean installation rather than an update.
- Internet Explorer 8: This is the version of IE that installs with Windows 7. Even if you are using Vista or XP you may have this version, as Microsoft has been pushing it out through their update system.
- QuickBooks Enterprise 9.0: For this test I installed a client version of QBE 9 on the system, as this computer is not connected to a server yet. This is a US edition.
(Please see my more comprehensive article on Windows 7 and QuickBooks, published after this article)
When I installed QBE it first installed Flash 9. In did not install the Google option, as I don’t generally like how that affects system performance.
Immediately after initial installation I ran the Update feature to bring QBE up to the most current release at this time, R7.
After restarting QuickBooks and registering the product I used a number of different features, and everything worked as expected. There has been some discussion about compatibility with Internet Explorer 8, so I tried several different features that use web access. I tried Live Community, registered my online Intuit account, sent an invoice via email and the Intuit email server, and several other functions. All performed as expected.
So I’ll give this combination of products a tentative OK at this time.
Additional notes on IE8
A number of people have commented that they have had problems with QuickBooks and IE8. I believe (but can’t say for sure) that most of these situations have arisen with XP or Vista, not Windows 7. It could also have something to do with the version and release of QuickBooks – older versions may have some issues.
Some people have reported that they were able to resolve problems by setting the View Compatibility feature in IE8 properly. Select Tools in the IE8 menu bar, then Compatibility View Settings. Add “Intuit.*” to the list (please note that I didn’t need to do this to get things to work).
Has anyone else tried Windows 7 RC or IE8 with QuickBooks? Did you have any problems? Add a comment and let us know!
Sam Bowden | Jul 31, 2009 | Reply
I’ve also found IE 8 to be extremely sensitive to Registry issues. Since installing a tool to regularly scan & fix Registry problems, my problems with IE 8 have generally disappeared. It’s amazing how many Registry problems are created just in the course of internet browsing, innocently installing IE helper apps, etc.
Charlie | Jul 31, 2009 | Reply
I haven’t run into that yet, Sam, BUT I will note that I have Windows 7 set up as a test system, not as my primary system. so I haven’t used it a lot yet.
What registry fixer are you using, and are you using Windows 7 or is your IE8 on another version of Windows?
A lot of the issues I’ve seen reported with IE8 – including those relating to QuickBooks, are showing up in XP and Vista. I’m thinking that IE8 is happier with Windows 7, but that is just a gut feeling at this point. I have not installed IE8 on my production Vista and XP systems yet.
Also, a lot of compatibility issues related to the early releases of IE8 – there have been some updates that have helped.
Sam Bowden | Aug 2, 2009 | Reply
I’m running the latest release of IE8 on the latest release of Win Vista (both are current with updates). I began with the free version of Advanced SystemCare from IOBIT and then upgraded to the Pro version which has a modest cost. I’ve been very pleased with it – you get a lot more than a Registry fixer. Check it out at http://www.iobit.com.
Charlie | Aug 3, 2009 | Reply
Thank you, Sam…
shannon Mason | Aug 6, 2009 | Reply
I just encountered an issue where I can’t open QB after running Malware. I’m using Vista Home with QB2008 Pro. It worked fine before the scan. Malware’s log came up with a quaranteen and delete of HKEY_CURRENT_USER/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Ext/Stats/{2b96d5cc-c5b5-49a5-a69d-cc0a30f9028}. Now I get a message that QB doesn’t recognize “admin” as a logon and to see my administrator (which is me). Can you help me?
Thanks Shannon
Charlie | Aug 6, 2009 | Reply
Shannon, I don’t have a specific answer as I don’t use the “Malware” product you reference. This is a bit off topic, as it doesn’t relate to Windows 7 or IE8…
My recommendation would be to do a “repair” of the installation of QuickBooks – OR perhaps uninstall and then reinstall. If it is a setup issue with your registry that would normally take care of the problem. But I can’t say for sure from where I am sitting at this time…
Brian | Aug 10, 2009 | Reply
This may not be very relevant…but I am still using QB 2002. It ran ok under Vista 32bit although the Java error popped up at installation. Under Win 7, installation refused to run at all until I enable compatibility mode. It came with warnings that MS Java was no longer supported, etc. etc. Once installation was completed, I thought I was in the clear. I started up the program and ran the auto update. The program downloaded its updates and installed them successfully. However, my problems came the next morning after shutting the computer down for the evening. Win 7 refused to load at all. It took me to the repair and diagnostics screen, where it attempted to fix whatever problem it was having on its own but couldn’t do it. The only way I was able to get Win 7 back up again was to use restore to roll back the OS to a version prior to QB being installed. This is all quite puzzling since the program appeared to be working just fine prior to complete shutdown and power off of the computer. Not sure how to get around the MS Java problem with QB 2002, and it seems that this is the root of the problem. Any ideas? Thanks
Charlie | Aug 11, 2009 | Reply
Brian, I don’t have any ideas for you at this time. I personally wouldn’t try any 2002 version of ANY software on Win 7, because you are bound to have problems of some sort. In computer years, 2002 is ancient history.
If you must run this on a Win 7 machine and you can handle single user mode (that is, you aren’t sharing files) I’d suggest looking into a virtual machine setup, wither VMWare or whatever Microsoft offers for Win 7 (Microsoft Virtual PC?). Install a copy of XP on the virtual machine.
Mike Smith | Aug 23, 2009 | Reply
Internet Explorer 8 is as stable as Opera and Firefox. it does not crash a lot like IE7.
Taylor | Sep 1, 2009 | Reply
i am pretty much satisfied about the features and stability of Internet Explorer 8. it is much better than IE6 or IE7.
Charlie | Sep 2, 2009 | Reply
Taylor, Mike, my issue isn’t so much one of stability (which is important, but isn’t an issue with IE8) but one of compatibility with programs. When IE7 first came out, QB had problems with it. It is nice to see that IE8 isn’t giving us the same kinds of trouble.
Andy Thorpe | Sep 2, 2009 | Reply
Thanks for the info Charlie. I’ll report back on my findings when I install QBooks 2009 on a Windows 7 PC 32bit.
I’m based in the UK.
Andy Thorpe | Sep 3, 2009 | Reply
The install of QuickBooks 2009 on Windows 7 went well.
http://www.londonquickbooks.co.uk/2009/09/usa-version-of-quickbooks-2009-installed-on-windows-7/
Dennis Piper | Sep 26, 2009 | Reply
I just installed Windows 7 (64Bit)& IE8–After a couple of tries I was able to access my company QB Enterprise 09 datat file and everything seems to running fine–However I ahave other company files and I cannot access these Enterprise 09 data file–I just bomb when I try to Open. Meanwhile, I can still access the first company I file I opened
Charlie | Sep 28, 2009 | Reply
Dennis, I can’t say much without having my hands on your system – but note that Enterprise 10 will probably be the primary version that Intuit will support on Windows 7.
Pamela | Oct 21, 2009 | Reply
Internet Explorer 8 is so much better than the previous version of internet explorer browser. it is more stable and loads faster
Jeff Woertz | Oct 22, 2009 | Reply
Here’s another (related) problem. If you remove IE8 from Windows 7 and use another browser as the default, QB won’t open, either. So now we are forced to use IE again. Help! I want to get ride of IE and just use Firefox.
Charlie | Oct 22, 2009 | Reply
That is not one that I’ll test, as I use IE8 myself.
You said you “removed” IE8 – what if you don’t remove it, but just set Firefox to be your default browser? Or, just click on your Firefox icon when you want to start it? QuickBooks is going to require Internet Explorer for any feature that is internal to it, probably for a long while. That doesn’t mean that you have to use IE for all your browsing outside of QB
CharlieM | Oct 22, 2009 | Reply
I am one of those unlucky people who got shot in the back because we invoice in various currencies. I still have to use QB 2006 as later versions do not support multi currency. Windows 7, IE8 and QB Pro 2006 do not work for me. Firstly to install and run successfully you have to install using XP compatibility mode and as administrator. The various navigators do not display neither do the contents of the help panes. Everything else is functional so it’s usable at a pinch. Changing the Compatibility View Settings in IE8 do not help me.
Charlie | Oct 23, 2009 | Reply
CharlieM, you must be using one of the non-US editions…
CharlieM | Oct 26, 2009 | Reply
Yes I’m based in the UK and as I said VERY unhappy that I can’t upgrade to QB Pro 2008. Now VERY unhappy because Intuit Technical support say that a patch for IE 8 won’t be shipped until next year. That’s what they told us about multi-currency and we are still waiting. The frustration is that it is not a trivial matter changing accounting software, if it were I would have dumped Intuit 2 years ago.
Diana | Oct 29, 2009 | Reply
So, if i use Windows 7, IE8 automatically installs, correct? I do not have it now because it is such a memory pig. Is the direct answer that QB 2009 PRO runs on Windows 7?
Charlie | Oct 29, 2009 | Reply
Diana, to run QuickBooks you need some compatible copy of Internet Explorer on your system. You don’t have to USE it for your regular browsing, but it has to be there. Windows 7 comes with IE8. And, as my next Windows 7 article shows, you CAN run the 2009 product on Windows 7
Razell | Nov 1, 2009 | Reply
i love Internet Explorer 8 because it is so much stable that the previous versions of IE. IE7 sometimes freezes and causes blue screens on my PC -
Kevin Thom | Nov 27, 2009 | Reply
I had subscribed for years to Quickbooks Premiere Multicurrency Edition and have put hundreds of dollars into it. It has always been a bit flaky, but I managed to get it running in Vista. I got tired of paying Intuit for this product that never gets updated (other than adding new ads for more Intuit products) so I canceled my subscription. Now that I’ve upgraded to Windows 7, I can’t get QB to work properly. It will only run in Windows 98/Me compatibility mode. In Windows Vista mode, IE8 causes the Navigator window to be blank. I can not get the Amyuni PDF converter to work either.
Charlie | Nov 27, 2009 | Reply
Kevin, you must be using the Canadian version?
Take a look at my followup article at http://qbblog.ccrsoftware.info/2009/10/quickbooks-and-windows-7/
Try the Windows XP Mode feature that uses a Virtual PC, you have a better chance of getting your product to run that way. The MultiCurrency version that I think you are referring to is probably the functional equivalent to a 2005 US edition…
John | Dec 5, 2009 | Reply
I am using a very old version of Quickbooks (2003!) because I use the UK version and need multi-currency.
When I first installed Windows 7 I got the blank navigator screens. However I reinstalled Windows (32 bit), downloaded Java, didn’t let windows install any updates, and reinstalled Quickbooks – it was then perfect. Since then I have installed other programs and let windows install updates and everything is still fine. (I didn’t even use XP mode)
Jonny | Dec 21, 2009 | Reply
You say you installed QB2003 on Win 7. Did you first install QB Vs7? I can get Vs 7 installed but when I try to install 2003 it says no registered earlier version (although it is) on Win 7 and in the XP virtual mode i get previous version not installed/uninstalled correctly.
Any ideas?
Charlie | Dec 21, 2009 | Reply
Jonny, are you referring to John’s comment above? Note that he is using the UK version.
I’m not sure what you mean by QB Vs7 – but I didn’t work with anything older than US 2005 myself.
Marlon | Jan 9, 2010 | Reply
Internet Explorer 8 is really good. This browser is very very stable and i have been using it for quite a while without blue screens or crashes.
Karlsse | Feb 5, 2010 | Reply
i am a firefox user more than an internet explorer user but it seems that Internet explorer 8 is very stable and it its loading time for webpages is faster too.
Ryan | Feb 19, 2010 | Reply
Accounting software should not be dictating what browser must be installed. Unfortunately, I’m forced to use QuickBooks so i’m forced to install that perpetual security hole, IE. What a joke.