Quicken 2008 Deluxe [OLD VERSION]

- Forced To Upgrade
I purchase this upgrade because I recently got a patch from from Intuit to "upgrade" my version of Quicken. When it did, it broke the ability for me to download information from my banks. (if you have Quicken 2005 or before, it would no longer support the ability to download your statements directly into Quicken) this was HUGE for me. I have been on quicken for almost 10 years but I was so mad I looked at switching to MS Money. But after calming down, I decided to just go ahead and fork over the money for the new one. (I was very happy with Quicken 2005)

Well it installed fine, but it appears that I do not have the history going back as far as I had.

I did have backups of my data, but I did not do one just before this new install that updates the database. Lesson learned... make a backup just before new install.

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- What a relief!
The 5-star rating is given because my requirements for this kind of software are few. I have used Quicken since 1995.

I have been using Quicken 2002 since it came out(checking/savings only) and found it perfect for my limited needs.. the only problem I experienced was getting my back up done on a CD disk (Quicken 2002 just wouldn't recognize the drive) forcing me to use floppys in my A-drive to get that function done. When I bought a new computer I planned for this contingency and ordered an A-drive to be part of the total package. But lately my error messages from Quicken in terms of backing up on that drive have becoming more and more frequent.. I finally bought a new copy of Quicken (Deluxe 2008) despite some very negative reviews and installed it yesterday. The installation was seamless, a great relief to me.. the ROM drive was at long last recognized by the software, and the format, while a little changed, was still recognizable; all my backup files from 1995 loaded without a problem after the process uninstalled my 2002 version. You can "date" each backup so you can recognize at a glance the most current version you've saved. All in all, a very satisfying experience.. I wish I hadn't waited so long to re-purchase the Quicken, since I'm left with an A-drive I'll never use!

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- Working Great
I had the 99 version and it finally fried. This one is working great so far. Hope it lasts at least as long as the 99 version. :)

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- Does not work with Vista
Despite the fact that Quicken claims Vista will support this software - and after spending hours trying to install it - this software does not work with Vista. Don't waste your time.

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- Can't import MS Money files
If this will be your first personal finance application, or your finances are straightforward, I suggest Quicken because it seems to handle personal finances well without any bloat. However, if you're a long-time MS Money user looking to switch, you should think twice only because migrating your data is difficult to do and cannot be done completely.

I bought Quicken because I'm tired of how bloated and quirky MS Money has become and hoped Quicken would offer core functionality without the bloat and quirkiness. Unfortunately, Quicken can't import MS Money files very well. I expected to find an import function that I just point at my .mny file and Quicken would import all my info. Nope. You have to export accounts one by one then import them. You lose all the links between accounts like transfers, so many accounts have to be corrected manually. But that's only for those accounts that can be exported/imported--apparently some account data (from IRAs, 401(k)s, etc.) can't be exported/imported. That further scrambles any accounts you did import.

Inuit does have available an application that will do some automatic conversions and importing for you, but it doesn't come with the package (it should be built in to Quicken, but, instead, you have to search Inuit's website to find the app buried deep in a forum - bogus.) Even with this additional app, you still can't import everything.

The bottom line is, if you're in a similar situation, I think you're stuck for now. Hopefully, someone will develop a non-bloated app that will provide core personal finance functionality that can easily convert and import a full Money file. I will buy that, because I can't wait to ditch MS Money.