TECHNO TOPIC: QuickBooks and Microsoft .NET Framework Issues

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If you work with QuickBooks long enough, you will undoubtedly experience issues associated with the Microsoft .NET Framework. The Microsoft .NET Framework is a Microsoft component used by programs such as QuickBooks to integrate with various Windows functionality.

Some issues maybe QuickBooks programming errors producing an exception in how the QuickBooks code interacts with Microsoft .NET Framework (as shown in the Caption Figure of this Article), or some issues may result from corruption to the Microsoft .NET Framework itself.

The .NET Framework is an operating environment within Microsoft Windows Operating Systems that provides basic services (such as memory management, garbage collection, a common type system, and a class library) to all applications that target the .NET Framework. Developers, like Intuit, are responsible for not only developing applications that target the .NET Framework, but applications that require the presence of the .NET Framework in order to run successfully.

This means that if a User removes the particular version of the .NET Framework upon which their QuickBooks is intended to run, or that particular version of .NET Framework is corrupted, their QuickBooks version that targets that version will no longer work.

Possible .NET Framework Related Errors

Error 1304: Error writing to file [file name], verify that you have access to that directory. When installing or updating QuickBooks this error maybe the result of a damaged .NET Framework component.

Error 1603: There was a problem installing Microsoft .NET Framework. When installing QuickBooks the installation process may stop.   

Error 1642: Error installing Microsoft .NET Framework when installing QuickBooks. During installation of QuickBooks the installation process may halt.

Error 1904: Failed to register, when installing QuickBooks.  Caused by incorrect or damaged file settings.

More Details About .NET Framework

The .NET Framework was designed so that applications running under Windows had a comprehensive and consistent programming model while still providing programmers with the ability to make their applications, like QuickBooks, work the way they wanted, across programming software options, with a wide range of services and devices at their disposal. 

The .Net Framework consists of:

Common Language Runtime – providing an abstraction layer over the operating system:

  • The common language runtime is the foundation of the .NET Framework. The runtime acts as an agent that manages code at execution time, providing core services such as memory management, thread management, and remoting, while also enforcing strict type safety and other forms of code accuracy that promote security and robustness. The concept of code management is a fundamental principle of the runtime. Code that targets the runtime is known as managed code, while code that does not target the runtime is known as unmanaged code.
  • The runtime is designed to enhance performance. Although the common language runtime provides many standard runtime services, managed code is never interpreted. A feature called just-in-time (JIT) compiling enables all managed code to run in the native machine language of the system on which it is executing. Meanwhile, the memory manager removes the possibilities of fragmented memory and increases memory locality-of-reference to further increase performance.

Base Class Libraries – pre-built code for common low-level programming tasks:

  • The class library, the other main component of the .NET Framework, is a comprehensive, object-oriented collection of reusable types that can be used to develop applications ranging from traditional command-line or graphical user interface (GUI) applications to applications based on the latest innovations provided by ASP.NET, such as Web Forms and XML Web services.
  • The .NET Framework also reduces the time associated with learning new features of the .NET Framework. In addition, many third-party components can integrate seamlessly with classes in the .NET Framework.

Development frameworks and technologies – providing reusable, customizable solutions for larger programming tasks.

Corrupted or Missing .NET Framework

Sometimes when installing multiple versions of QuickBooks on the same computer, or upgrading QuickBooks from one version to the next, the Microsoft .NET Framework can become corrupted.  In addition, other common causes of data corruption can impact the .NET Framework as well. If a Microsoft .NET Framework component is damaged or missing, QuickBooks won’t run. In such cases the .NET Framework must be installed, repaired, or uninstalled and reinstalled.

Tools for Repair of .NET Framework

Intuit offers two different tools designed to help with repairs of the Microsoft .Net Framework.  These tools are used under different circumstances.  For instances where QuickBooks will not install and an Error message such as 1603, 1904, 1935 or 1722 is reported, users can download the QuickBooks Install Diagnostic Tool from Intuit Technical Support at: http://dataservices.intuit.com/Support/Articles/HOW12407

For instances where QuickBooks is already installed, but is not function properly as a result of a Microsoft .Net Framework error (as well as MSXML and/or C++ errors), users can download the QuickBooks Component Repair Tool from Intuit Technical Support at: http://dataservices.intuit.com/Support/Articles/HOW12407

In addition to providing the tool downloads at these sites, these technical support documents also contain ‘manual steps’ for repairs. The procedures contained therein are for the various Windows operating systems, not QuickBooks. The steps are complex, especially if errors occur while you are attempting to make repairs or are uninstalling .NET Framework. If you are not comfortable performing the manual these steps on your own, you should contact a Computer or Information Technology professional.  While we will address the steps for use of the two Intuit tools, we will make no effort to explain, or otherwise cover any of the manual steps for repairs outlined in the above cited technical support documents.

Using the QuickBooks Install Diagnostic Tool

Once you have downloaded the tool to your Desktop from the Intuit Technical Support website; close any open programs, and then double-click on the file to run the tool. Detected errors that would result in QuickBooks installation failure should be automatically corrected by the Tool. In many cases you will be required to reboot your computer.

If the tool reports that “No Errors were Detected”, or the tool does not resolve your problem, you should then download and run the QuickBooks Component Repair Tool. You should also consider installing any pending Windows updates you have not previously installed. 

Using the QuickBooks Component Repair Tool

After downloading this tool to your Desktop, close any open programs, and then double-click on the file to run the tool.  Depending on a number of factors, including the speed of your computer, this tool can take a considerable amount of time to run completely.  It is not unusual for this process to take in excess of 20 minutes.  Once the tool has completed, you must reboot your computer.

Conclusion

In my experience both of these Intuit tools have repeatedly resolved .Net Framework and other Windows component issues which either prevented QuickBooks from successfully installing, or running properly once installed.  While they may not work in all cases, and manual procedures maybe required, they are an automated attempt at otherwise complex repairs that many QuickBooks users, and even QB-professionals, may not wish to undertake.  I would however note that there can be 'other causes' for incomplete or corrupted installations of QuickBooks that have nothing to do with the problems outlined in this article, but those problems are best left to another discussion.