QuickBooks Error 6147 0 – How to Fix It?

QuickBooks gives small and medium businesses the accounting tools that they need to prosper. The user base continues to grow because of the ease with which businesses can prepare their taxes, perform small business financial accounting and manage finances.

The pleasure of using QuickBooks accounting software is occasionally marred by annoying errors. QuickBooks Error 6147 0 is one such issue that could crash the application and hamper normal operations. It is somewhat more frequent than the others in the error 6000 series seen in QuickBooks.

In the following blog, we will see in detail what QuickBooks Error-6147 0 is, why it occurs and how to fix this specific QuickBooks error.

What is QuickBooks Error 6147 0?

Users encounter QuickBooks Error 6147 0 while trying to open a QuickBooks company file. The error is very likely that while opening the company file or backup file that might be damaged or cannot be located while accessing from a networked drive or on a local disk.

The description of the QuickBooks error code 6147 0 cold is something akin to: ‘This is not a QuickBooks data file or there is a problem with the data file.’

This error essentially informs the user that the file cannot be accessed and has to be closed. The error applies to QuickBooks Desktop running on Windows operating systems.

What Happens When You Get QuickBooks Error 6147 0?

There might be several indications that might suggest that QuickBooks has encountered the Error – 6147 0:

The application crashes
The error code is displayed on the application which might become unresponsive
The system might experience a slowdown and users cannot open or operate other programs as well
Users cannot use their keyboard or mouse
Applications and the system become non-responsive for a few moments

What are the Causes of QuickBooks Error 6147, 0?

QuickBooks relies on a host of files and operations to work normally. An issue in any of these components could lead to the error. The most common antecedents to the QuickBooks error code 6147 0 are stated below.

Corruption of QuickBooks company file
Inability to access the backup from a networked drive
Incompatible file name
Improper or incomplete installation of QuickBooks
Corrupt QuickBooks or Windows files
Unexpected changes in settings

QuickBooks Error 6147, 0: How to Fix?

Intuit recommends a series of measures that you can take to try and restore the QuickBooks application to normalcy. Follow the steps in the same order to try out different solutions to fix the error.

Step 1: Run QuickBooks File Doctor

QuickBooks File Doctor automatically diagnoses issues with the QuickBooks software. It can fix QuickBooks errors like Error -6150, -6000 -82, -6000 -305, 6000 -301, 6147, or 6130 without any manual intervention. Follow the steps below to run QuickBooks File Doctor.

Stop the QuickBooks application. Remember that any open file must be closed before exiting.
Install the QuickBooks Tool Hub and select the QuickBooks company file which causes the error.
Run a scan to resolve the issue.

If QuickBooks File Doctor does not restore the settings, the error might require manual intervention to restore the application.

Proceed with Step 2 for resolving the issue manually:

Step 2: Move the Backup to Another Location

You cannot create backups efficiently with a hosting multi-user access.

Stop hosting multi-user access from the Utility option in the File menu.
The window of no company file should be open before the backup process.
Restore the backup file on the system.
Use an appropriate file location while saving the backup file. Ensure that there are fewer than 210 characters in the QBW file.

If the backup still doesn’t work, the Error 6147 0 could be a result of some issues with QuickBooks files. Try step 3 to resolve it.

Step 3: Fix QuickBooks Files

Sometimes, simply renaming some key files does the trick. The most likely targets for these files are ND, TLG, and ADR files.

The ND and TLG files allow QuickBooks company files to be accessed in the multi-user mode.

Close the company files and the QuickBooks application.
Locate ND, TLG and prefix them with ‘old’.
Restart QuickBooks application.
If that doesn’t solve the issue, try renaming the ADR file as a QBW file.

If changing the file names does not resolve the issue, the error could have been caused because of the firewall settings that restrict internet access to the files on the network drive. Proceed with step 4 to diagnose issues with the PC’s anti-virus software settings.

Step 4: Change Anti-Virus Software Settings

The anti-virus software might be blocking access to the company file. The file path has to be manually fed into the list of exceptions to resolve this issue.

Locate the file path of the QuickBooks file that is throwing the Error-6147, 0.
Keeping the Ctrl key pressed while double-clicking the QuickBooks icon should open the application without opening the company file.
You should be able to see the company files along with their path.
If you are using an anti-virus software like Trend Micro Active Scan, add the folder to the list of exemptions to disallow the anti-virus software from blocking access.

If that still does not resolve the issue, the last option is to request technical support for the issue. There are several forums where the issue has been raised where you could find links for tools and methods from experts and people who have faced similar issues. You can try different third-party tools that can create backups and restore the company files.

What’s the Better Alternative?

The last thing you can do to resolve the QuickBooks Error 6147 0 error is to request for QuickBooks support either from Intuit or its partners. Some partners like Apps4Rent provide QuickBooks hosting services apart from providing 24/7 support via phone, chat, and email to resolve to issues like QuickBooks Error 6147 0. Contact or sales team to know more about us and our offerings.