The following error appears when opening a company file:

QuickBooks is attempting to open this Company file. Before you can open the company file from your computer you must first open the company file on the computer where the company file is located. (-6177,0)

Rebooting the server and workstations will sometimes resolve this issue. You may want to try that first before proceeding with other troubleshooting steps.

This solution is rated 2/5 (Some technical ability required) and requires about 15-35 minutes to resolve, depending on the speed of your computers and the number of users.

After each of the following steps, try opening the company file on the computer that received the error. If it opens successfully, the issue is resolved. If the error still occurs, proceed to the next step.

1. Update your program to the most current release on each workstation and on the server.
   (Time: approximately 15 minutes per computer)

Note: It is important for each computer using the same company file to be on the same release of QuickBooks. To check the version and release of QuickBooks on any workstation, open QuickBooks and press the F2 key. The version and release are displayed in the upper left corner of the Product Information window.

2. Turn off hosting on all workstations that do not store the company data file:
   (Time: approximately 2 minutes per computer)
   1. Open QuickBooks on a computer that does not store the company file.
   2. Click the File menu and click Utilities.
      • If Stop Hosting Multi-User Access appears on the menu, click it and click Yes to confirm.
      • If Host Multi-User Access appears on the menu, stop and proceed to the next step.
   3. Close QuickBooks
   4. Repeat steps 2.a through 2.c on all workstations that do not store the company data file.

3. Go to the computer that stores the company data file and troubleshoot the server configuration.
   (Time: approximately 10 minutes)
   1. Close the QuickBooks application if it is running.
   2. Delete the network data file (QuickBooks will recreate it automatically):
      1. Open the folder that contains the QuickBooks company file.
      2. Locate a file with the same name as the company file and a .nd file extension, such as MyCompanyFile.qbw.nd.
      3. Right-click the .nd file and click Delete.
   3. Configure the QuickBooks Database Server Manager:
      1. Click the Start button and click Programs > QuickBooks > QuickBooks Database Server Manager.
      2. Click the Scan Folders tab.
      3. Click the Add Folder button.
      4. Select the folder that contains QuickBooks company files and click OK. If you don’t know where files are stored, select the entire disk.
      5. (Optional) Click the Add Folder button again to add additional folders, and then click OK.
      6. Click the Scan button. The display will indicate which folders are being scanned.
      7. After the scan is complete, click Close.
   4. Ensure the QBDataServiceUserXX user has full access to the folder where the company file is stored. For detailed instructions refer to one of the following:
      • Setting access permissions for QuickBooks in Microsoft Windows XP
      • Setting access permissions for QuickBooks in Microsoft Windows Vista

4. If the QuickBooks application is installed on the server, toggle hosting off and on, and then open the company file using a local (not mapped) hard drive:
   (Time: approximately 5 minutes)
   1. Open QuickBooks on the server.
   2. Click the File menu, click Utilities > Stop Hosting Multi-User Access, and click Yes to confirm.
   3. Close QuickBooks and reopen it.
   4. Click the File menu, click Utilities > Host Multi-User Access, and click Yes to confirm.
   5. Click the File menu and click:
      • QuickBooks 2007 or 2008: Open or Restore Company
      • QuickBooks 2006: Open Company
   6. QuickBooks 2007 or 2008 only: Click Open a company file and click Next.
   7. Click the Look in drop-down arrow and select a local hard drive (such as C: or D:), then browse to the folder that contains the company data file.
   8. Select the company file and open it according to your version of QuickBooks:
      • QuickBooks 2007 and 2008: Click Open.
      • QuickBooks 2006: Click Open file in multi-user mode and click Open.
   9. (Optional) Close QuickBooks on the server.

If this solution does not resolve the issue, please review other available QuickBooks support options for additional guidance.