Intuit Fixes QuickBooks Auto-update Data Loss Problem

by , 12:15 PM EST, December 17th, 2007

Intuit came under fire from users on Sunday and Monday for a problem with the QuickBooks for Mac updater that was deleting user's Desktop directories. The company has fixed the problem, and is now working on a plan for recovering lost files from their customer's hard drives.

QuickBooks 2006 and 2007 for the Mac users began reporting on Sunday that the application displayed a dialog stating that a software update was available. When the update began to download, however, the user's Desktop directory and all of the files on their Desktop were deleted.

Intuit's advice for users that did lose data because of the problem with the auto-update option is to leave their Mac alone while the company decides how to proceed.

In a post on the QuickBooks forums, an Intuit employee stated "For those of you who have been affected, we are testing out options for recovering the deleted files. Our recommendation for now is to leave your Mac running (do not reboot) and do not use it further. If you continue using your computer or reboot, you may over-write the area on the disk where the deleted data is stored, preventing any recovery efforts from being effective."

Intuit is also collecting contact information for anyone that was affected by the problem. Users can email their information to Quickbooks_community_team@intuit.com.