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.
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I have windows 8, IE 11 and just downloaded new QuickBooks pro 2014. Can’t open quickbooks because it says I need IE 6 or more. I can’t find qbw.ini. Any suggestions
If you’ve just purchased QB 2014, the best way to troubleshoot this is to contact Intuit. QB 2014 should work fine on a computer with Windows 8 and IE 11.
Does QBW.INI or QBWuser.INI exist in QB8 along with WIN 7. I can seem to find it inorder to edit out that I am using Explorer 8 and not explorer 6.
thanks
Marty – Yes, both files are used by the Windows version of QB. Your comment said “QB8” but I’ll take that to be a typo. Lifetimes ago, there might have been a version with that name, but Intuit only supports QB 2009 and forward at this point in time. For current versions of QB, press F2, then press F3. That will open QB’s Tech Help window. From there, navigate to the Open File tab and click the Path On/Off button to show the path to the file.
I have read and followed all instructions to find the qbw.ini file on my computer and cannot find it. I also searched my hard drive. I recently installed AGV and cannot open QB any longer. Just an error message to install Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher. I have 8.0 on my system. Any suggestions? Thanks.
What is AGV? It appears that might be the source of your problem. The instructions for locating QBW.INI are accurate, so it’s possible the AGV program broke something. One possibility is that you installed an older version of AGV or it used older files that are common with Internet Explorer. When it installed its older files, QB thinks you have an outdated version of Internet Explorer installed and won’t run.
One fix is to make a backup of your QB data files, uninstall AGV, and then re-install QB. That should get you back up and running.