Tax (Bug) Trouble? Find Help Here
We tackle the latest problems with TurboTax, TaxCut, Quicken, and Money.Stuart J> Johnston
Tax time is upon us. And as if handing your money over to Uncle Sam weren't upsetting enough, bugs in popular tax preparation and bookkeeping software are already driving many of you crazy. Problems have cropped up in TurboTax, TaxCut, Quicken, and Money. Here's how to take care of some of the worst turkeys this tax season.
Federal editions of Intuit's TurboTax 2002 carry an antipiracy feature that requires users to go through product activation. Though you can install the program on two PCs, TurboTax will permit you to print, e-file, and create.pdf files on only one of them. Unfortunately, some users have not managed to get TurboTax to activate at all. Instead, they have encountered one of a number of error messages.
For example, you might run into a message that says 'Product Activation Error- Vendor Error 8, Tracking Code 120', and to fix the problem you'll need to follow different steps depending on whether your system runs Windows 98 or Me, or Windows 2000 or XP. Visit Intuit Technical Support and click the Issues and Error Messages link to obtain Intuit's instructions on dealing with this error message and others. Check out our news story for additional details about the TurboTax complaints.
If you're preparing your taxes using H&R Block's TaxCut 2002, and your PC runs Windows XP, you will not be able to access the program's Help Central unless you have installed Service Pack 1 for Windows XP. SP-1 contains a patch that enables Help Central to run.
Unfortunately, however, some users have experienced major problems with SP-1, which I wrote about in my December 2002 column. Many of you tell me that the only solution was to uninstall the service pack. So with TaxCut, you may have to decide between suffering through installation of the service pack and choosing a different tax program. Visit TaxCut's Updates page for more about this TaxCut problem and other snags. Go to Microsoft's Windows XP Downloads page to grab SP-1 for Windows XP.
People who use Quicken 99 through 2002 may run into cryptic error messages when trying to employ the product's online banking features. One error message, for instance, may say that the program was 'unable to complete your request at this time'. But the real trouble is that the program can't establish a secure connection between your PC and the bank. Intuit released a set of patches for the various versions of Quicken, as well as some workarounds. Visit Quicken Support to learn more and to locate the fix for your edition of Quicken.
Have you lost that syncing feeling with Microsoft Money lately? If you use Money 2001 or 2002 and can't synchronize with MSN Money's electronic banking and investment tracking features, you may need to install Microsoft's synchronization update. There are separate updates for the two versions. Hop to MSN.com for details.
Sour Notes: XP and Winamp Stop Attacks
Microsoft has fixed a hole in all versions of Windows XP that allows a bad guy who plants malicious code in an MP3 or Windows Media Audio (WMA) file to take control of your PC. Simply hovering your pointer over the infected file's icon--either on a Web site or on your hard drive--or opening or previewing an HTML e-mail message containing the file initiates the attack. Visit Microsoft TechNet to download Microsoft's patch.
Nullsoft has patched a similar flaw in versions 2.81 and 3 of its Winamp music player. If you downloaded your copy of Winamp before December 17, you need to install the fixed version of the player you use. Go to the Winamp page to get the patches.
In Brief: UPS Recall
American Power Conversion is recalling 900,000 units of its Back-UPS CS uninterruptible power supplies in the United States, due to a risk of overheating and fire. Nobody has been injured, but three cases of property damage have been reported. Visit APC.com to learn whether your unit needs to be returned.
Bugged?
Found a hardware or software bug? Tell us about it via e-mail at bugs@pcworld.com.
Stuart J. Johnston is a contributing editor for PC World. Click here for more Bugs and Fixes columns.