[REQUEST] QuickBooks 2018 Communication Issue

wfc4life

wfc4life

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I have a client with two identical Windows 10 64 bit computers. The Office Manager shares the company QuickBooks file from her machine in multi user mode. This has worked successfully for years without an issue. The Front Desk computer recently had a CPU fan go bad, which I have replaced. This should not be a factor in the story, however the client says there was no issues prior to this. Both machines are up to date; one is on Build 2004 and the other 20H2. The abort message below clearly states that the issue is due to lost connection. However when I'm on site and remoting into both computers, I never loose internet connection.

I have performed all these steps per Intuit's suggestion:

  1. Verified both computers use an Ethernet connection.
  2. Verified both computers are on a private network, and have been recently restarted.
  3. Verified no new software or devices have been added to either PC.
  4. Verified Front Office (workstation) is not hosting the company file.

  5. Ran the Quick Fix my Program from the QuickBooks Tools Hub on the workstation.​

  6. Ran the QuickBooks File Doctor from the QuickBooks Tools Hub on the Office Manager (server) computer. This found some errors, but said it successfully repaired everything.​

While the time between the abort message is slightly longer, the root cause remains. Any ideas from our resident QuickBooks experts? I'm out of ideas. Thanks in advance for any help that's provided.

QB Abort Error.png
 
Keep it simple...

You said the front machine had a CPU fan go bad and then this issue cropped up right?

That's a prime opportunity for a patch cable to go bad!
 
At a minimum I'd see if you could log the times with those pings as you're writing to a text file. Or use a program like Ping Plotter. Maybe ping the router (192.1681.1 or whatever it is) and ping something outside like Google's DNS at 8.8.8.8.

It's the client machine that is getting the message, right?

I'd make sure the host machine is not trying to go to sleep or anything like that.

So this happens after they're happily working along? i.e. they can open the file from the remote client successfully, no questions about the host not being in multi user mode, etc.?

QuickBooks is the gift that keeps on giving for us break / fix people.
 
timeshifter said:
At a minimum I'd see if you could log the times with those pings as you're writing to a text file. Or use a program like Ping Plotter. Maybe ping the router (192.1681.1 or whatever it is) and ping something outside like Google's DNS at 8.8.8.8.

It's the client machine that is getting the message, right?

I'd make sure the host machine is not trying to go to sleep or anything like that.

So this happens after they're happily working along? i.e. they can open the file from the remote client successfully, no questions about the host not being in multi user mode, etc.?

QuickBooks is the gift that keeps on giving for us break / fix people.
Click to expand...
I'm doing the ping test to both the router and Google's DNS. I will have those results tomorrow. It is just the client machine that gets the message. Both computers have sleep mode set to never. When I first started working on this issue, it would let the user login and work, but the abort message would occur within five minutes. After doing all the things I listed above, the user has been able to use QuickBooks around 40 minutes before the abort message occurs. They are definitely in multi user mode. I agree with you. I really hate QuickBooks; it's so quirky. You can't get away from it though.
 
QB communications is far more complicated than just IP traffic flowing or getting to the Internet.

I do agree that the fan replacement is a trigger point since that's when it started. So is worth some further investigation. But I'd also be looking at what Event Viewer has to say when the connection is lost. So make sure the users accurately log the date and time. How is the connection setup? Shared folder or mapped drive? Using an IP instead machine name?
 
Something feels dirty about 20H2 and 2004 editions of Windows. Not that they're not the same, but maybe 20H2 has done something different. I've read about quite a few quirks with file sharing on Windows 10.
wfc4life said:
You can't get away from it though.
Click to expand...
QuickBooks Online. Easy to share. Run from any computer or any device anywhere. Your accountant can log in at any time from anywhere. Lots of good integrations with email, time logging and other online apps. It costs more. Worth it for me and for some of my clients.
 
I spent the better part of 2 weeks fighting with Quickbooks access/sharing issues for a small accountant client of mine after H2. If you get to firewall exceptions, ping me - I've got 'em all in a list.
 
Markverhyden said:
QB communications is far more complicated than just IP traffic flowing or getting to the Internet.

I do agree that the fan replacement is a trigger point since that's when it started. So is worth some further investigation. But I'd also be looking at what Event Viewer has to say when the connection is lost. So make sure the users accurately log the date and time. How is the connection setup? Shared folder or mapped drive? Using an IP instead machine name?
Click to expand...
Great idea about utilizing Event Viewer. I don't know why it always slips my mind as a resource. The QuickBooks file is setup on a mapped drive using the machine name.
 
timeshifter said:
Something feels dirty about 20H2 and 2004 editions of Windows. Not that they're not the same, but maybe 20H2 has done something different. I've read about quite a few quirks with file sharing on Windows 10.

QuickBooks Online. Easy to share. Run from any computer or any device anywhere. Your accountant can log in at any time from anywhere. Lots of good integrations with email, time logging and other online apps. It costs more. Worth it for me and for some of my clients.
Click to expand...
I like the way you think. I recommend QuickBooks Online to all my customers, however accountants in my area don't like the online version. I guess they don't want to learn new things. They wouldn't last too long in our world.
 
Sky-Knight said:
Please do not enable SMB v1 for any reason.
Click to expand...

I would say, don't go down without a fight on this one. We don't get the final vote on most clients' configurations. If they have an antiquated broke-ass LOB app that won't work without it, all you can do is explain why this is bad and let them make the call. I won't do it on MY network, but I get all the votes on that configuration.
 
HCHTech said:
I would say, don't go down without a fight on this one. We don't get the final vote on most clients' configurations. If they have an antiquated broke-ass LOB app that won't work without it, all you can do is explain why this is bad and let them make the call. I won't do it on MY network, but I get all the votes on that configuration.
Click to expand...

SMBv1 has nothing to do with anything LOB. Windows 10 runs on SMBv3, enabling v1 does nothing for you unless you're trying to interface with Windows XP / Server 2003, or an ancient NAS.

Now, it is true that SMBv3 prefers DNS for name resolution instead of that stupid NETBIOS broadcast. So that means you're either mapping drives against IP addresses, or using a business class router with a DNS server in it so you can secure the "server's" name for resolution.

@wfc4life I do not recommend Quickbooks Online, I actively pull people out of it. It's not about "new things", it's about the fact that the stupid thing simply doesn't do half of what Pro does, and far less than what Enterprise does. The accountants want you using the local stuff because it's trivial to get an accountant's copy that works with the accountant's accountant's version of Quickbooks. They can't do that nearly as easily, or as completely with the accountant's output from QB online.

If the products were comparable, I'd be all over that... but they simply aren't. Intuit sucks at the cloud.
 
Sky-Knight said:
SMBv1 has nothing to do with anything LOB. Windows 10 runs on SMBv3, enabling v1 does nothing for you unless you're trying to interface with Windows XP / Server 2003, or an ancient NAS.

Now, it is true that SMBv3 prefers DNS for name resolution instead of that stupid NETBIOS broadcast. So that means you're either mapping drives against IP addresses, or using a business class router with a DNS server in it so you can secure the "server's" name for resolution.

@wfc4life I do not recommend Quickbooks Online, I actively pull people out of it. It's not about "new things", it's about the fact that the stupid thing simply doesn't do half of what Pro does, and far less than what Enterprise does. The accountants want you using the local stuff because it's trivial to get an accountant's copy that works with the accountant's accountant's version of Quickbooks. They can't do that nearly as easily, or as completely with the accountant's output from QB online.

If the products were comparable, I'd be all over that... but they simply aren't. Intuit sucks at the cloud.
Click to expand...
Wow...you have given me a lot to think about. I always appreciate a differing opinion.
 
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