The FREE Read only cut down version of the QODBC Enterprise Edition that's part of QuickBooks Enterprise can't be used with the QODBC DCOMs. This requires a QODBC Server Edition license CDKey Code. 

Ok, based on the fact that I'm seeing that the latest version of QODBC v10.00.00.266 is having all sorts of other problems in a number of other areas, and seeing that it is Enterprise 7.0, let's step back to using QODBC v9 altogehter! To install QODBC v9 over the top of QODBC v10 you first will need to rename C:\WINDOWS\System32\fqqb32.dll to C:\WINDOWS\System32\fqqb32.v10 and re-install the QODBC v9 download from www.qodbc.com\download\builds\263\qodbcup.exe over your current working copy of QODBC. Do not do anything with your CDKey Code, v9 will work with your v10 CDKey Code. 

With a bit of luck, this rabbit will have everything working again!

Unless you are running pre-2005 versions of QuickBooks, QBXMLRP2EQODBCInteractive.exe is only DCOM that is actually required.

Setting your MS SQL Server services as the built-in system account is strongly suggested when you configure your Properties settings of your SQL Server. During tests, the link server sometimes fails to work when the logged on as a specified user account. To configure the build-in system account settings, please follow the steps as below:

1. Start -> Run -> Input the following command: %SystemRoot%\system32\services.msc /s to start MS SQL Services.

2. Double click SQL Server (MSSQLSERVER)

3. Select the Log On Tab, then select Local System account option and press Apply to finish the configuration.

Tom, here you go. Thanks, -Ben

Thanks for that, based on your statement, "I should mention that the entire QODBC connection on this machine was configured and working from 1/15/2010-2/15/2010. it was only after a QB registration timeout (It is registered now) that we started experiencing all the symptoms described int his thread. " please do the following:

• Open your company file, using the "File" menu, "Switch to Single-User Mode" (if you're running your company file in multi-user mode).
• Edit/Preferences/Integrated applications...
• Remove all "Flexquarters QODBC" records
• Close the preferences dialogs
• Connect QODBC using VB Demo, do NOT specify unattended mode. When QODBC starts, QuickBooks will ask you permission for this driver to access your QuickBooks data. Check the "Allow this application to access NI or Social Security Numbers, customer credit card information, and other personal data" options and answer "Yes, Always” to this and the QODBC driver will again be added to the Integrated Application list.
• Change the DSN to specify the QuickBooks company file to open.
• Then setup a new link server as per:- Does QODBC work with MS SQL Server 2005 Linked Tables? 

Tom,

I've reset the Integrated applications records several times, but did it again with an eye towards 'Not specifying unattended mode'. Unattended mode did not seem to be an option on the VB ODBC selection process, and there was no option on the QB authentication side to allow connection but not in unattended mode:

But when I looked at the details screen, the 'Allow access to NI, Social Security, etc.' was enabled.

However, deleting and reconfiguring the Linked server connections as per the 'Does QODBC work with SQL2005' post produced no change in the "{QPDBC] QB Begin session failed. Error 80040408, Could not start Quickbooks. (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 7303)" error message that we've been getting.

I ran the 'Trouble Shooting QODBC as a Linked Server' SQL debug script that you included from that post, and the results did fail on 2 steps, does this failure help isolate the problem?

(I also verified the 'OLE Authmation Procedures option in SQL server Surface area configuration)

thank you, -Ben

Tom,

All the steps so far have been done in QuickBooks when logged in as the QuickBooks 'admin', I was just trying to authenticate a different named 'Dashboard'.

So, following your advice, I removed/reconfigured the authentication process for the ;admin' user instead. Same results: The unattended mode is working using the V demo (and executing queries), and the Quickbooks program is not running when I'm attempting a connection that has already been authenticated, but SQL's Linked server test-connection is still giving the "{QPDBC] QB Begin session failed. Error 80040408, Could not start Quickbooks. (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 7303)" error.

I'm confused by the role the server-local-admin plays in this; I had the QODBC program re-installed by the server's local administrator, but all of the confirguration work since then has been done under a server non-admin. Which parts of the ODBC configuration process would have to be done under the server local-admin account once QODBC is already installed?

Thanks, -Ben

Tom, I think I understand what your explaining better now.

The SQL-debug command listed a hang-up in the DCOM services QBXMLRPEQODBCInteractive.RequestProcessor and QBXMLRP2EQODBCInteractive.RequestProcessor, which are the DCOM services that are missing when I run dcomcnfg:

Are you saying that installing the QODBC as anybody other than the server local administrator account could produce this situation where these DCOMs are missing? I conveted your instructions to the IT admin, but I will reconfirm wether he used the local administrator or not. If not, does there exist a way to manually register these DCOMs so that the computer will realize that they are there?

thank you, -Ben

Yes, the whole purpose of the QODBC DCOMs is to allow a Windows Service to start QuickBooks which is a application (not a Windows Service). In order to do that the server must be logged in as the local adminstrator. The QuickBooks session called by the MS SQL Server/QODBC link table runs within the server-local-admin console session.

VB Demo is a application and can be run under any account, however all connections via a Windows Service must connect through the server-local-admin console session.

Tom,

So is it the act of installing QODBC under the local/admin account that gives the QBXMLRP2EQODBCInteractive windows service the permissions to jump-start the QuickBook application, or is it the act of configuring the QODBC setup and Linked Server configuration that gives the QBXMLRP2EQODBCInteractive windows service the permissions to jump-start the QuickBook application? (I'm presuming the first, but want to confirm)

thanks, -Ben

OK, seems like we're going in a circle, but here's the progress since last contact:

1. Our orginal problem was that installing v10 gave us a 'Does not support Quickbooks simple start edition' error code when attempting to connect to the outdated Quickbook version 'Quickbooks Enterprise Professional services edition 7.0'.

2. Manually uninstalling & deleting everything v10 (apparently including the QBXMLRP2EQODBCInteractive services) & installing v9 (9.0.0.263) fixed the 'simple start' incompatability error, but the server linking failed because v9 did not install or register the QBXMLRP2EQODBCInteractive services and we could not manually copy/register them in.

3. So yesterday we started over from scrathc, uninstalled, and got the local admin to reinstall version 10.0, which DID restore the 2 QBXMLRP2EQODBCInteractive services but left us with the original 'Does not support Quickbooks simple start edition' error message for the test connection/VB demo. 

4. Assuming this was a known incompatability error between v10 and the outdated version of QB services 7.0, we followed your steps below renaming fqbb.dll file and had the local admin install the v9.0 (9.0.0.263) software on top of the v10 software (did not uninstall, because feared that would remove the QBXMLRP2EQODBCInteractive services.) But the 'Does not support Quickbooks simple start edition' error message persisted. It's almost like v9 didn't completely overwrite the parts of v10 that were causing the inoperability issues with QB 7.0. Comparing this server's v10  qbXMLRPeQODBCInteractive.exe & qbXMLRP2eQODBCInteractive.exe installs display the same version# (4.0.0.17), so I don't believe the problem is the DCOM serviers themselves, but something else not getting overwritten.

Any recommendations on how we can have both havles? i.e. to either make sure a fresh v9 install correctly gets the QBXML services in place, or else how we could mannulay install/register them when it does not? thanks, -Ben

Tom, we did some additional testing and have some clarrifications about our last post.

1. The v9 vs. v10 issues that we were not because v9 wasn't installing the DCOM services, it was because the version 9.0.0.263 that you pointed to below is an UPDATE rather than full install, and doesn;t install the QBXMLRP2EQODBCInteractive services from scratch.

2. So we completely uninstalled and reinstalled the full 9.0.0.261 install, we have the QBXMLRP2EQODBCInteractive services now, we ran the 'qodbcSetDCOM' script, but are still getting the 'does not support Quickbooks Simple Start Edition' Error.

3. Some permutation of uninstalling/reinstalling previously got us past the 'simple start' error before, but now we can't seem to repeat those steps and are stuck on the 'Simple start' issue. BUT we are no longer convinced that the 'simple start' error is because of v10 incompababilities with older Quickbooks version, because we're running a pure, full v9 environment now.

thanks, -Ben

Tom, we'd done all those steps, and most are accomplished through the qodbcSetDCOM proram and script.

But, we have a new hypothesis of what's been going on.

1. We tried complete isolated tests of QODBC v8, v9, and v10, and then the v10 reverted to v9 under local\admin w/ qodbcSetDCOM, manual DCOM setup, and complete restarts each time. All gave the 'Simple start' error.

2. When the system was working for a month, we believed that the head IT had initially installed QODBC v10, but he now says that he never remebers doing so.

3. Remeber that the Quickbooks install is old Professional services edition 7.0, and that the first screenshot that we posted in this thread was a QODBC About pic that sad the QODBC version was 7.0.0.192.

I checked the Quickbooks logs and the include following error line over and over:

2010-02-22 05:50:02 QODBC Ver:  7.00.00.192     *********************************************************************************************************************
IsAService: False
Begin Session Failed. S0000 00000 [QODBC] QB Begin Session Failed. Error = 80040408, Could not start QuickBooks.
Begin Session errors can be caused when running ASP or oither system service and not setting the "Advanced" button option of either "Use DCOM Servers" or "Remote Connector"

4. I'm theorizing that QODBC v7 was a packaged include wih the Quickbooks Version 7 install, and that that version worked with Quickbooks version 7, but that QODBC v8+ have this  'Simple start' incompatability error with this older Quickbooks version.

Do you know if QODBC ever came packaged in with this old version of Quickbooks?

I would like to try to test reverting the customer server to QODBC v7.0.0.192. Any idea on where I can find an install package for that QODBC version?

thank you, -Ben

What does the last set of errors in the QODBC Message Log say today? 

The QODBC installer, like most Windows installers, doesn't overhide any file with a newer date or version than the "to be installed file". You can see what's skippped or installed in C:\Program Files\QODBC Driver for QuickBooks\INSTALL.LOG.