The QBW.INI file is normally located in the default QuickBooks installation directory. That location depends on your QuickBooks version and your version of Microsoft Windows, which are outlined below.
To avoid searching for files, the easiest way to locate the QBW.INI file is to open the Tech Help window.
With QuickBooks open, open the Tech Help window and do the following:
- Click the Open File tab
- Click the Path On/Off button to display the full path
- Scroll down to the QBW.INI file in the list
See our related article for more information on using the Tech Help window. If you need to edit the QBW.INI, the Tech Help window provides an easy way to do that, so it’s a great place to start working with this file.
For QuickBooks 2007 or later running under Windows XP, the default is:
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataIntuitQuickBooks [Version]
Replace [Version] with your version of QuickBooks, such as 2009. For example, the default location for QuickBooks 2009 is:
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataIntuitQuickBooks 2009
For QuickBooks 2007 or later running under Vista, keep in mind that the folder C:Documents and Settings is a legacy folder that you can’t access, because the actual location is elsewhere. In Vista, dimmed shortcut links are referred to as junctions, and they exist only to provide program compatibility. The actual location for files normally located in the C:Documents and Settings folder is another folder, typically C:Program Data. We recommend that you use the Vista search function to find QBW.INI on your system.
For QuickBooks 2006 or earlier running under Windows XP, the default is:
C:Program FilesIntuitQuickBooks
QuickBooks 2006 and earlier are not supported on Vista.