Troubleshooting Methods to Eliminate QuickBooks Error H202

The multi-user mode of QuickBooks is an interesting feature that allows you to collaborate with your team effectively. This feature allows multiple users to work on the same company file simultaneously. However, the QuickBooks multi-user feature is prone to facing some technical glitches. Many users have reported facing QuickBooks error h202 while switching to the multi-user mode. If you are also facing the QB error h202, there is no need to worry. We have here summarised everything about the QuickBooks Error h202. Go through the complete article to know more about the reasons behind QuickBooks error h202 and the troubleshooting methods as well. Everything here is described in very simple language so you can follow them thoroughly.

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QuickBooks error h202: Description and Error Message

In multi-user mode, the QuickBooks company files are hosted on a server computer. And all the other computers connected to the network are called workstations. The workstations do not host the QBW files but can easily access the company file. Sometimes, when the workstations fail to access the files placed on the server computer, it results in QuickBooks error h202.

The error message for QuickBooks Error h202 says,

Error code: H202

“This company file is on another computer, and QuickBooks needs some help connecting.”

The error message popup describes the error and also gives you some simple troubleshooting steps to resolve the issue. But, for detailed and advanced troubleshooting methods, follow the article.

Read Also- How to Update QuickBooks Company File

QuickBooks error h202: Causes

QuickBooks Error h202 mainly appears on your screen when the QuickBooks Dekstop on your system tries to establish a connection with the company file. But it fails to communicate with the server. Many reasons can cause this interruption in the connection, including: 

• Misconfigured hosting settings on your device.
• Some firewall on the server computer also blocks incoming and outgoing communications with the server.
• Some conflicts with the DNS server can also result in QuickBooks error h202.
• QuickBooks is facing issues while getting the IP address of the host system, the one hosting the company file.
• Some of the internal QuickBooks services, like QBCFMonitor or QuickBooksDBXX, are not running on the server computer.
• The network data file (.ND) on your system has got corrupted or damaged.

QuickBooks error h202: Signs

Apart from the error message on your screen, the following signs and symptoms can help you easily identify the QuickBooks error h202.

• Your system or the QuickBooks Desktop application freezes again and again for a few seconds.
• You are not able to access the files in multi-user mode.
• You are facing an issue while accessing the company files on the other systems.
• The error message describing the QuickBooks error h202 frequently appears on your screen.
• Your desktop screen gets frequently blurred.

QuickBooks error h202: Troubleshooting Methods

Before going forward with the troubleshooting methods, make sure that you have backed up your company file. It will ensure that you restore the data in case of any data loss. Also, remember to log in to your QuickBooks Desktop as an administrator before troubleshooting the QuickBooks Error h202.

Method 1: Check the Network connectivity on both Server Computer and Workstations

The network issue on your workstation or the server computer will interrupt your connection with the company file. So, to check that follow the given steps:

Step 1: Turn on the Network Discovery on your Server system.

1. Start by going to the Windows Start Menu on your server computer and workstation.
2. Now, type the word Network in the search bar and open the Network Sharing Center.
3. Next, tap and choose the Change Advanced Sharing Settings option.
4. Here, ensure that the Turn on Network Discovery option is chosen in Network Discovery and File and Printer sections.

Step 2: Get the Server Name from Your Server

1. Again open the Windows Start Menu on your server computer.
2. Now, type the word Run in the search to open the Run command.
3. Next, you need to type CMD in the Run window and then press Enter key.
4. Next, type the text ipconfig/all into the CMD window and press the Enter key again.
5. Now, you need to search for the Host Name in the Windows IP Configuration. You will find your server name written on the right.
6. Once you get the server name, write it down or copy it to a word document for easy access.

Step 3: Verify the network connectivity on the workstation

1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run window on the workstation where you face the error h202 in QuickBooks.
2. Next, type CMD in the box and then press OK.
3. Next, you need to ping the server computer from your workstation.
4. For that, simply type ping_server name and hit Enter. (The server name here is the one that you copied from the server computer in the previous step.) 
5. You can perform the above steps from all the workstations where you are facing the QuickBooks Error h202.
6. If you receive a very slow response or you lose a packet, then there is some issue with the network which needs to be repaired.

Method 2: Verify QuickBooks Services to resolve QuickBooks Error h202.

If the server is utilising the full version of QuickBooks, follow the given steps to start a multi-user hosting mode:

1. First, open the QuickBooks desktop while being on the server.
2. Then, navigate to the File tab and tap on Utilities.
3. Next, choose the Multi-hosting option here.

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You need to verify the QuickBooksDBXX and QBCFMonitorService on the server. 

1. Open the Run window and then type services.msc in the text field.

2. Once you have entered the input, click on the OK  option.

3. Next, choose the QuickBooksDBXX option.

4. Also, make sure to check whether the Startup Type is set to Automatic or not. If it is not set to Automatic, then do it now.

5. Next, check the Service Status options and verify that it shows Running.

6. Next, head directly to the Recovery tab and select it.

7. After that, go to the drop-down menu for the first, second, and subsequent failures and then choose the Restart the services option for all these.

8. Next, hit the Apply and then OK button to confirm changes.

You need to perform the same steps as mentioned above for the QBCFMonitorService also.

9. Lastly, access all of your workstations and make sure to enable the multi-user mode in all of them.

Method 3: Install QuickBooks Tool Hub and then Run QuickBooks database server manager to resolve the error h202.

1. First, start with downloading and installing the QuickBooks Tool Hub on your system.
2. Then press the Ctrl + J keys to go to the browser’s download list.
3. Next, click on the downloaded QuickBooksToolHub.exe file.
4. Move ahead and follow the on-screen instructions to install it.
5. After the installation gets completed, click on the desktop icon to open the tool.
6. Next, you need to run the QuickBooks Database Server Manager from the QuickBooks Tool hub.
7. For that, double-click on the QuickBooks tools hub icon and proceed further.
8. Now, choose the Network Issue tab and then click on the QuickBooks Database Server Manager.
9. If the Database Server Manager shows the correct company file location, directly click on the Start Scan option. But if it does not show automatically then browse to the company file folder and then click the Start Scan option.
10. After that, the QuickBooks database server manager will do its job and provide all the efficient permissions required to access all systems.
11. For the next step, click on the Close option after successfully completing the repair process.
12. After that, you would need to open the QuickBooks desktop on the system on which you are facing the QuickBooks error h202.
13. Now, go to the files and then click on the switch to the multi-user mode.

Method 4: Use QuickBooks File Doctor Tool to resolve the error h202.

1. First, download and install the QuickBooks File Doctor Tool from the official website of Intuit.
2. After the successful installation, run the QuickBooks Tool Hub and choose the Company File issue from the menu.
3. Next, select the company file from the drop-down menu. If you don’t see the file there, browse and locate it from the available list.
4. Once you find the file, mark the box next to the Check your File option and Continue.
5. Next, type the admin username and password in the box and then click on Next.

If the size of your QB file is big, the QB file doctor will take time to finish the scan. Once the scan finishes, open your QuickBooks Desktop application.

Method 5: Configure the System Firewall Settings

There are chances that the firewall on your system is preventing the data transfer between Quickbooks and the Server. Hence, you need to configure its setting to ensure there is an interrupted communication between QuickBooks and Server.

1. First, add an exception to the system firewall settings.
2. Then change the firewall permissions and re-launch QuickBooks on all the computers.
3. Finally, under the File menu and then choose the Switch to multi-user mode option.

Method 6: Add the Server to the Windows Host File to resolve the issue.

1. Start by closing all the Windows on your system.
2. Next, you need to go to the C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc or C:\Windows\System64\Drivers\Etc on the server.
3. Double-click on the Host file and choose Notepad when prompted to choose a program.
4. Next, you have to manually type the IP address and the name of the computer.  Separate the computer name and IP address by hitting the Tab key on your keyboard, not the Space bar.
5. Now, open QuickBooks in multi-user mode and check if the QuickBooks error h202 is resolved.

Method 7: Create a new folder for the QuickBooks file.

1. First, create a new folder for the company files.
2. Then move forward with changing the permissions for this new folder and the company file that would be shared.
3. Next, you need to copy the qwb file to the new folder.
4. For the last step, open the company file in multi-user mode.

Method 8: Changing the location of your company file to fix QuickBooks Error h202.

Sometimes merely changing the location of the company file can resolve the QuickBooks Error h202.

1. First, create a new folder, generally in the C Drive of the system, to store the company file.
2. Then, choose and copy the Company File along with the.TLG file from the existing folder by pressing the Ctrl+C keys.
3. Next, proceed to the freshly created new folder and paste the copied files there.
4. Next, open the company file in the Multi-user mode.

Method 9: Configure Hosting to utilise Local Files.

This step is done to make sure that no other client system is hosting the same company file. Follow the given steps to configure the hosting.

1. Start the QuickBooks desktop application; then, you need to press the F2 key to access the product information.
2. Now, see in the lower left corner and under the local server information, locate and select hosting to reflect only local files.

Method 10: Utilize the QuickBooks Connection Diagnostic Tool to fix QuickBooks Error h202.

1. The first step involves downloading and installing the QuickBooks Connection Diagnostic Tool on the hosting system.
2. Next, scan the folder that has the QuickBooks company files stored in it.
3. After that, Note down the IP address that appears when the connection diagnostic tool is running.
4. Next, you need to configure the firewall ports as instructed by the diagnostic tool.
5. Then follow the instructions guided by the connection diagnostic tool.
6. Lastly, open the QB company files on the system to ensure that QuickBooks error h202 does not appear.

Method 11: Include the QuickBooks port to the Firewall to fix QuickBooks Error h202.

This step ensures that the Firewall does not obstruct the working of QuickBooks in multi-user mode. You need to include the ports according to the version of QuickBooks that you use.

1. For QuickBooks 2016, Firewall Ports include 8019, 56726, and 55368-55372.
2. For QuickBooks 2017, Firewall Ports include 8019, 56727, 55373-55377.
3. For QuickBooks 2018, Firewall Ports include 8019, 56728, 55378-55382
4. QuickBooks 2019  does not include any static Firewall Ports. These ports automatically get renewed once you run the company file in the Database server manager.

Method 12: Rename the .TLG and .ND File to resolve the QuickBooks Error h202.

1. You need to start by first closing the QuickBooks Desktop application.
2. Then go to the company file folder on the server system.
3. Look for the .tgl file associated with QuickBooks and click right on it.
4. Choose the Rename option from the given options.
5. To change the name, you simply need to put the prefix .old before the file name and then hit Enter.
6. Do similar steps for the Network (.Nd) file and then close the folder.
7. Once you have performed all these steps, open QuickBooks again, this will automatically create new .tlg and .nd files. These files would be free of any suspected issues.
8. You need to open the QB company file by clicking the Alt key and then wait till the file opens.

The Final Words!!

The methods above are useful in resolving QuickBooks Error h202. Additionally, you can also try to repair the QB Desktop through Windows Control Panel for additional troubleshooting. The QuickBooks repair can be done simultaneously on all systems. Just open the Control Panel and choose QuickBooks from the Program and Features option. Finally, hit the Change and Repair option from the list of all installed programs. After the process, update your QuickBooks Desktop. For any other queries regarding QuickBooks, contact our QuickBooks Support Experts directly.

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