How to Recover a Corrupt Microsoft Money File

Losing access to financial information can be traumatic. In these steps I will suggest ways to recover data from corrupt Microsoft Money files beyond Microsoft's own suggestions.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Read and follow Microsoft's steps below, to recovering a corrupt Money file. Steps 1-7 are just recapitulations of some the fixes suggested in that file:
   
   http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;182608

2. 
   Screenshot of Money 2006

   If you are not already using it, download a trial version of the most recent version of Money. Money Plus Deluxe 2008 trial is here:
   
   http://www.microsoft.com/money/freetrial_deluxe.mspx
   
   Try opening your corrupt file in this version. More recent version may be more robust in opening older corrupt files. Also the reverse may also be true, that the simpler earlier versions may not be so finicky in their standards of file structure. So try opening the file in earlier version of Money too.
   
   * Note: Don't download Money 2008 essentials, as this won't open previous versions of Money or Quicken files.

3. 
   Money repair applet

   If the file won't open in the most up to date version of Money you can find or an older version select the File Menu -> "Repair Money File" choice -> "Standard File Repair" choice.
   
   These menu choices will open the Microsoft Money Repair Utility.

4. 
   Level 1

   Browse for your money file and then choose to save as a new file. Click Next and change the default to "Level 1 (Quick Repair)."

5. Choose next and then "Begin repair."
   
   If you still can't open the file, do the same thing, but this time change to "Level 2 (Standard)." Proceed as before.

6. 
   Remove all biling info repair choise

   If you still can't open the file, this time go back to Money proper and see if you have third choice on the File Menu - Repair Money File Choice, such as you have in Money Plus 2008, that allows you to "Remove all billing information."

7. If you still can't open the file and it is from Money 2000, download Super Salvage from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=af3c516a-b721-4e20-b372-047542506183&DisplayLang=en. This program is similar to the native salvage app, but worth another try. Also try both Quick and Standard Repair again to cover all the bases.

8. 
   Export QIF file type saving options

   If you can now open the file after any of the repairs, and you are not using your normal money program, choose Export from the file menu and choose to export the file as a Loose QIF. You may have to export your checking, savings, credit cards each separately. Return to your original Money program and choose Import from the File menu, and choose "recover account."

9. If you have a version of Quicken around, you can try to further stabilize the file by importing its individual accounts into Quicken. Try the same steps as in Step #8, but this time choose "Strict QIF" and import the resulting file into Quicken from it's import function on its File menu. From Quicken then export the file in a QIF format and import the results into Money.

10. 
    Recovery for Money commercialware

    If these methods don't work, it may be worth trying the commercial software for fixing corrupt Money files. Download the Recovery for Money demo:
    
    http://www.officerecovery.com/money/
    
    Please make sure the demo works before paying $149.

11. If your MS Money file has been lost instead of corrupted try RecoverMyFiles to find a temporary or deleted copy:
    
    http://www.whitecanyon.com/recover-deleted-microsoft-money-files.php
    
    Try the demo first to make sure it works.

12. 
    Ultrasoft's Money Link Express for Excel

    You can also try an old corrupt data recovery trick of importing corrupt information into another program. If you download Ultrasoft's Money Link Express for Excel you may be able to import your money info into Excel. Moving it back will require some manual entry into a fresh Money file:
    
    http://www.ultrasoft.com/MoneyLink/download.shtml

13. 

    Transferring data from Excel back into a new Money file may be tedious, but its better than nothing. Pictured is a screenshot from Ultrasoft's site showing what sorts of information are importable into Money.

14. 
    Ultrasoft's Palm Money

    If you have a Palm Handheld, try to install the fully functional trialware of Ultrasoft's Money:
    
    http://www.ultrasoft.com/Money/learnmore.shtml
    
    Use your corrupt file location during installation and then see if any of your data shows up in this Palm version of Money. There is a Recovery mode which if you were able to import data into the Palm may force the overwriting of corrupt Money data when resyncing between the Palm and the computer. See the directions here:
    
    http://www.ultrasoft.com/Money/userguide/Synchronize.html#1005901
    
    The user guide starts here:
    
    http://www.ultrasoft.com/Money/userguide/

15. If you have a Pocket PC instead of a Palm try to import data from you corrupt Money File into Spb Finance: http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/finance/?en

16. If you need to recover a password from MS Money, see here first:
    
    http://money.mvps.org/faq/article/167.aspx
    
    Also try:
    
    http://lastbit.com/money/default.asp
    
    http://www.lostpassword.com/money.htm
    
    http://www.crackpassword.com/products/prs/integpack/aopr/features.php
    
    http://www.pwcrack.com/money.shtml
    
    http://www.passwordrecoverytools.com/tool_money.asp

17. Apparently Money versions from 99 and before, stored the data in MS Access files. So do a search for files with the mdb extension on your disk if you have these versions. If you find it, make a copy of the file first before doing anything else! If you have access then try to open the files and export the data to some easier to understand format like Excel. If the database does not open, open Access and choose the Tools Menu -> Database Utilities -> Compact and Repair. If that goes through try to open the file again in Money. There are also some free and commercial tools for recovering Access databases here:
    
    http://www.s2services.com/accessfreeware.htm
    
    http://www.s2services.com/corrupt-file-commercialware.htm

18. 
    Explorer showing file extension renaming

    If nothing else has worked, you can try to extract the text from the file and see if contains any useful information. If you have Microsoft Word try the following menu choices File -> Open -> Recover Text from Any File.

Tips & Warnings

• This link is from a site devoted to Money. I put "repair" in the search eninge and here is resulting page it may be very useful: http://www.google.com/cse?cx=partner-pub-0627353929894261%3Ag8rr8d1ci3b&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=repair
• Note: Don't download Money 2008 Essentials, as this won't open previous versions of Money or Quicken files.

Resources

• Microsofts Official Corrupt Money File Repair Methods
• Download 2008 Money Plus Deluxe Trial
• Super Salvage - Money 2000 Repair Applet
• Commercialware - Recovery for Money
• Recover Deleted and Temporary Money Files
• Money Link - Free Excel Money Data Importer
• Palm Verion of Money Download
• Instructions for Using Recovery Function of Palm Money
• User Guide for Palm Money
• A pocket PC Money Program
• Money Password Decryption Shareware I
• Money Password Decryption Shareware II
• Money Password Decryption Shareware III
• Money Password Decryption Shareware IV
• Money Password Decryption Shareware V
• Corrupt Access Database (MDB) Repair Freeware
• Commercialware for Recovering Corrupt Access Databases
• Keyword Search on Money Devoted SIte

[socrtwo]

on 10/1/2008 Thanks, glad it's useful. It's nice to be able to help.

[Ballzy]

on 9/26/2008 Great Article! Thanks 5*