Money 2005 Users action required

This is a warning to remind users of Money 2005 that if you haven't already created a backup CD of your installation with the patch on it, to do it now!

Microsoft will be turning off the servers which provide it shortly and there is no downloadable file with the patch in it.

Notes

• This affects ONLY Money 2005 users
• If you're in the US you do have the option of using the sunset edition
• If you're in the UK and other countries, then 2005 was the last version available to you and the sunset edition cannot be used as you can't convert between regional versions of Money.
• Microsoft plan to turn the servers off at the end of this month - January 31, 2011

Creation of backup CD

To create the patched CD, see this article. You won't need the CD unless you reinstall. If you think it won't affect you, consider that if you buy a new machine or your hard drive crashes, without it, you will irrevocably lose access to your Money file and there will be no way to get your data back.

Once you've created your backup CD, don't forget to test it (e.g. on another machine) to ensure it works

Update to my Money backup mechanism

Over the last few years, I have used many mechanisms to keep my Money file and backups safe. These include

1. USB Drives
2. Automated network copies
3. Manual copies
4. Floppy disks
5. etc.

As you can see, a variety of methods.

I've been looking for something which would also automatically backup, with no effort on my part, and cheaply (or better, free), my Money file. Live Mesh was my preferred solution as it would allow me to synchronize and backup other files, but this wouldn't do .MNY files. I also understand that the next iteration of it won't work on Windows XP, so I have to move away from it.

I've decided to go for DropBox. I wish I had found it before -I can store my main Money (.mny) file in the DropBox folder and it will synchronize changes to the cloud. With the 30 day history, I know that each time I use Microsoft Money, the previous versions are automatically being saved.

Note that this is not the only way I backup, I still use the settings in Money that output to a USB drive, as I am of the opinion that you can't have too many backups.

If you're looking out for cloud-based storage for your Money file, think about checking DropBox out.

Money Plus Local Help Files

The last several versions of Microsoft Money have utilized an online service to deliver help content, which required users have Internet access in order to access online help content.

The online help system used by Money has been marked for deprecation on or around July 1, 2010. Once fully deprecated, Money's online help feature will not be able to successfully connect to the server side service.

To mitigate this loss of service, the Money help content has been converted to a standalone help file that can be copied and run on the users local machine.

There are downloads on the Microsoft download center for Money Plus Deluxe, Premium, Business and Essentials, as well as for the Japanese Deluxe version.

Microsoft Money Forum

A few weeks ago, I posted that Microsoft were going to close their newsgroups and move to a a web based forum for community support.

It is now possible to access this community forum, which can be accessed by going to http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/money.

Some of the MVPs and regular posters from the newsgroup will be there to assist.

Given that Microsoft are no longer producing Money, it is unlikely that any of the Microsoft Money team will be posting there.