Are you using QuickBooks desktop in multi-user mode and experiencing QuickBooks Error 6000 77 “when opening your company file” from a network drive?

QuickBooks error code 6000 77 is commonly reported in the QuickBooks community. Most user’s reported that a common reason for 6000 77 is caused when their is a damaged .ND file in the directory which stops QuickBooks from communicating to the networks UNC file path.

Here is a list of common solutions that you can try out to get rid of the error Quickly and keep reading as we will show you how to fix error 6000 77 step by step.

To fix this issue first, Check the network connection settings of your workstation. Second, scan your company files using the QuickBooks file doctor to identify any errors or damages caused to the file you are trying to open.

Important: Make sure you try to close and re-launch QuickBooks software with elevated permissions such as an Administrator.

Incase opening QB as a Administrator does not solve your problem than follow the troubleshooting steps carefully to solve errors that occur while trying to open a file in QB.

1) Here’s How to test run QB as an Administrator:

• Right Click on the QuickBooks Icon on your desktop.
• Select run as Administrator from the drop down menu.
• Once open login as Admin user credentials.

If you are using network share to open your files in QB from a workstation also known as a local computer than it may be that the connection to the Network Map Drive which holds your data files is either broken or the network is down.

Firstly, find out whether the company data file you are trying to access is saved on an network drive/server, a local drive or an external hard-drive. Doing this will help you get to the source of the error 6000 77 and therefore help you perform the correct troubleshooting steps.

Above all once you have learned how your company files are setup after that it would be much easier for you to understand the source of the error and as a result than following one of the many guided troubleshooting steps mentioned in this article will help you recover your data by fixing the file that is causing this error.

2) How does QuickBooks Error code 6000 77 occur?

Although their is not one but a few reasons behind such errors occurring especially while accessing your application in multi-user mode on windows, So to begin with firstly the setup of your QuickBooks company files will determine both the cause and source from where error’s such as 6000-77 or one of the many H-series errors such as H202, 6000, 6000-83, 1603 etc. originates from.

3) How to troubleshoot QuickBooks desktop error code 6000 77?

Check where the company data file is located, Are you accessing it from a local drive ? Or from an external drive attached to your PC?

If the company file is on the external drive, Look for a file named with your company name ending with .QBW extension, Right Click and copy it to the desktop than try re-opening the company file from the new location. We will show you how further in this article.

Using a UNC path Or a Mapped Drive

This is a Windows server configuration setup to establish multi-user connection for users that are connected to the network.

Your files are saved on a host computer/server which is mapped with the PC from which you are accessing QB and for some reason QuickBooks is unable to connect to the mapped drive because of server down and loosing connection to the shared folder from where your files are distributed over the network.

Network Firewall Block may result into Error 6000 77 in QuickBooks

Communication issues in the Network, For example: The Windows Firewall software installed on your server or an Antivirus security program may set security restrictions while accessing a company file over the network and may block internet access to specific QuickBooks programs and files.

This happens when your firewall ports are setup incorrectly . Latest QB versions use dynamic ports such as from QB desktop 2020 and later versions ports are 8019, XXXX.

Company file damage can be a reason to cause Error 6000 77

Though this is not the most common reason, However their is a little chance that either a QuickBooks damaged file or damaged transactions with in your data is causing 6000 77 error in QuickBooks.

Finding out what caused your data to get damaged can be daunting but the good news is top data damages errors in QB desktop can easily be repaired using the verify and rebuild data feature from within QuickBooks or one of the following tools to fix QuickBooks data damaged.

• Method 1: Use QB File Doctor.

• Method 2: Use QB Auto data recovery tool.

Now that you have learned about the several scenarios that can cause 6000 77 error code in QB. So Lets go ahead and look into the solutions in detail to diagnose the error in a step by step process.

4) steps to Fix QuickBooks error 6000 77?

One of the most easiest way to tackle this kind of errors with QB files is to diagnose the issue with file doctor from Tools hub on a Windows 10 64bit. Here’s how,

Run Tools Hub 

• Download QuickBooks Tools hub and save it to your desktop.
• Open the file you downloaded (QuickBooksToolHub.exe).
• Agree to the terms and install the program.
• Once installed a shortcut icon will be created on your desktop.
• Go to your desktop and double click the icon to open tools hub.

Note: Incase you do not see the icon on your desktop, simply head over to windows search bar and type QuickBooks tools hub to find the installed application.

Run the following tools from the Tools hub application. Each tool is set to fix common Network issues and company file errors in QuickBooks.

Use Quick Fix my file to run a quick scan of your company file

• In tools hub click on the Company File Issues tab
• Choose Quick fix my file.
• Press OK.
• Once it completes scanning the file restart QuickBooks.

Run the QB File doctor to repair common errors

• Go to the Company File Issues tab.
• Click on QuickBooks File Doctor option.
• Choose the file from the drop down menu in QuickBooks file doctor. Incase your file does not appear in the menu than click browse and search to find your file from the location where it is stored.
• Choose the middle option that says Check Your File and hit continue.
• Now enter your Admin password and press next.

Now File doctor will start scanning your company data for errors and issues. The time for the scan to complete will depend on your file size though it shouldn’t take longer than 5-10 mins.

Once file doctor has completed diagnosing the file and gave you an end result. Open QB and open the data file. If you do not see any error that means file doctor has fixed the issue.

If the error still persists than head over to the next step.

5) Use UNC path to access QuickBooks files on network

Their are two ways to share files over the network.

Share through UNC path:

To share your QB data files over the network using the UNC path also known as Universal Naming Convention ) is the simplest way to avoid 6000 series errors.

A UNC path specifies the location of a network resource such as drive or folder on which your company files are saved on the server and shares the files with your workstations over a network connection.

Here is the format to the UNC path to locate your QB company files.

UNC Path example: \servernamenamepath .

Make sure your Network discovery is turned on to enable UNC path access to your company files from the server.

Windows will prompt you to enter your network password if password protected sharing is turned on. enter your network password or simply turn this feature off for specific files and folders to be shared over the network.

6) How to enable UNC path?

• Navigate to the QuickBooks icon on your Desktop.

• Press Ctrl key on your keyboard.

• Right-click on the QB icon.

• Now Run as Administrator.

• Hold down the Ctrl Key until you see the No Company Open Window.

Note: Pressing down the Ctrl key halts QuickBooks desktop from automatically opening a company file.

• Now click on File menu.
• Choose Open or Restore Company Option.
• Than Open a company file and hit Next.
• From the left window panel choose Network.
• Now head over to the location of your company file.
• Choose your company file and Open.

If using the UNC path solved your problem and you were able to open your company file on a workstation or server. Repeat the same process for every user in your organization experiencing the error.

7) Network Mapped Drive.

Are you trying to access QuickBooks company files through a mapped network drive? To find out press Windows logo Key + E to navigate to file explorer, Click This PC.

If the mapped drive is set up and communicating with your workstations that is running QuickBooks you shall see a drive right next to the local drives of your PC.

For example: a letter Z:/ , or check the letter or name setup for your network drive from the server.

If you are unable to see the mapped drive in the list of shared drives even though it has been setup correctly and is enabled than first fix Mapped Network Drive Not Showing in Windows 10/8/7.

Once you are able to see the shared drive on your PC than reopen QuickBooks to see if the error issue has been resolved.

If you haven’t already and you would like to access your company files stored on a server than here is a Quick way to setup a mapped Network Drive on your workstation to access your files over the network.

8) Setup a mapped drive to share company files

Here is how to do it in Windows 8 & 10.

• Press the windows Icon on your Keyboard.
• Navigate to Search bar and type This PC.
• Open This PC.
• On the top under the Computer tab select Map a Network Drive.
• Choose a unused drive letter and click Browse.
• Now Navigate to the location
• Now navigate to the location storing the data files.

Note: If you encounter a error using the UNC path while mapping a network drive than simply use your IP address of the server.

• Select Ok and hit Finish
• Now Open QB from the new network mapped drive.

Incase it isn’t working properly and you are still seeing the error than check to make sure that you are on a working network and that it is not down. If the connection isn’t working properly you won’t be able to access files in the mapped drive.

9) Repair the Folder that contains the .QBW file causing error 6000 77

If creating a Network Map Drive or using the UNC path did not resolve the issue than chances are the folder containing the files is damaged.

Just to clarify, If you are wondering how the folder got damaged? This will require some thorough technical troubleshooting to figure out the reason for a damaged folder and secondly this can be related to several technical for instance a file conflict, damaged windows files, malware and so forth…

However, the good news you can recreate the damaged folder in a few simple steps.

• Open File explorer.
• On the left panel click on My Computer.
• Select Drive C:/ and Open.
• Create a New folder.
• Now Go to the folder where your Company data file is stored.
• Open the folder and locate the .QBW file. (example: Company_file.QBW).
• Copy the file and paste it on the New Folder.
• Setup Windows permissions to share this company file.
• Reopen QuickBooks desktop and go to the New Folder to Open Company File.

Incase you were able to open your company file and did not encounter the error than certainly recreating the damaged folder was the solution after all.

Most importantly replace the important data from the old damaged folder to the new folder and set that folder as your new backup location.

In addition to that set windows permissions to share the folder with your colleagues and other users if you need to access the files in multi-user mode.

10) Renew Firewall Ports

To send outgoing data and receive incoming data the Windows firewall allocates “ports” to authorize software’s and programs that requires Internet to access file on the network.

Likewise QB uses specific dynamic ports. Therefore, Firstly you might want to check if the correct firewall ports have been assigned for QB to function properly across the network.

For example here is a format for QuickBooks dynamic firewall port numbers:

QuickBooks Desktop 2020, 2019 and future versions uses 8019, XXXXX. which is a dynamic Port.

QuickBooks 2018 or older versions uses static ports that has been set and cannot be renewed. Here is a list of the Static Port for older versions:

QuickBooks Desktop 2018: 8019, 55378-56728, 55382.

11) Access the Windows Firewall Security Panel

First turn off multi-user mode in QuickBooks.

• Go to Windows Search bar.
• Type in Windows defender Firewall with Advanced Security.
• Click to Open the program
• On the left panel Right-Click on Inbound rules and select New Rule.
• Choose the Port option and go Next.
• Select TCP
• Now enter the specific port according to your QuickBooks year version.

12) Here is a list of port numbers:

• 8019 or XXXXX for QB 2019 and future versions.
• 8019, 55373-55377,56727 for QB 2017 & 8019, 55378-56728, 55382 for QB 2018 version.
• Done entering the port numbers? Go Next.
• Select Allow the Connection Option and hit Next .
• Check mark all the boxes, Domain, Public and Private and go Next.
• Now Name the New Rule For example: (QBFP and the year).
• After naming the rule, Select Finish.

Similarly, lets go ahead and setup Outbound rules. Repeat the exact same steps in Step 5. Only this time select Outbound Rules.

Once you have successfully assigned the correct firewall port numbers in both Inbound and Outbound rules, Go a head and Open QuickBooks and switch to multi-user mode.

Additionally you can also try to open QB from a host or server computer to check that you are able to open the company file.

That’s it! That’s all the steps to fix 6000 77 error in QB.

Summary:

Finally, for every business medium, small or enterprise one of the most important part is accounting and when you trust an accounting software such as QB you expect it to run smooth specially during business hours when your operation is at peak.

As QB runs on platforms such as Windows and their are several other technicalities involved in using your accounting software as per your business requirements Errors such as QuickBooks Error 6000 77 may occur.

So to make it easier for you to easily overcome such issues we have mentioned the complete set of troubleshooting steps that will Quickly and easily help you fix the issue so you can continue with your operations as usual.