Troubleshooting QuickBooks Error 80070057

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Each time I write about a specific QuickBooks error I have one or two readers either post a comment or send me an email stating they had experienced the error and thank us for including it within our content.

Just last week I experienced this error myself while working with a QuickBooks Enterprise 17 file. I thought if I'm seeing it others may experience it, too. And since we haven't previously written about this article, now is a good time.

There are multiple causes for QuickBooks Error 80070057 (shown here). The causes include:

  • A program parameter is incorrect. Unfortunately, this is the least informative message and may actually be indicative of problems that Intuit has yet to identify.
  • You (or the QuickBooks Database Server) don't have sufficient permissions to access the specified file. You must have full permissions, including read, write, create, edit and delete rights, to the Windows directory (folder) where the Company file is located. This also means you have unrestricted rights in the entire file path, including all files within the file-tree containing the file location. Depending upon your version of Windows, Windows security updates and exactly how your System "Master" Administrator configured your computer or network, you could have problems with this even if you previously had no problems accessing the file.
  • The QuickBooks Company file (*.QBW) is damaged. In this case, you should copy the QBW file from its network location to a public directory such as the location QuickBooks normally configures when it's installed, then attempt to open the file from your local machine). In this instance:

               * Relaunch QuickBooks using the Run as Administrator option

               * Update QuickBooks using the Manual Update feature within QuickBooks

               * Download and run the QuickBooks File Doctor

  • You're attempting to backup or create a portable-file at an inaccessible file location. If you're attempting to write a file to an external drive or flash drive, save it to your desktop, and then cut and paste it to the external drive or flash drive.
  • You're attempting to backup or create a portable-file with a damaged QuickBooks installation.

               * Run the repair option for QuickBooks from the Windows Control Panel

               * If the problem persists uninstall/remove option from the Windows Control Panel

               * Download and re-install QuickBooks

  • The QuickBooks network-descriptor file (*.QBW.nd) is damaged or pointing to the wrong location (IP address) for the QuickBooks Database Server. Multiple ND files may exist, which is indicative of improperly configured hosting (more than one computer has hosting turned on.)

               * Open the company file location and identify the corresponding ND file

               * Rename all copies by right-clicking the file and selecting Rename

               * Add .old1 to the file name, increment the number for each additional file

               * Re-scan your files using the QuickBooks Database Server Manager utility

               * If problems continue or multiple ND files exist, improper hosting is set-up

  • You're attempting to open the QuickBooks Company file by double-clicking on the company file rather than opening the file from inside QuickBooks. Unlike some other Windows programs, QuickBooks Desktop is not designed to open by double-clicking the company file.
  • A firewall application (or hardware) is blocking network ports required for multi-user communication between the QuickBooks Database Server and company file. BitDefender is one of the worst offenders, but other network security (antivirus and firewall) software can also be to blame. Multiple firewall ports must be open on both the server (computer) and each workstation (computer) for QuickBooks to work properly in multi-user mode. Firewall port requirements change with the release of a new QuickBooks version. The QuickBooks Database Service communicates with each QuickBooks Client using firewall ports 56728 (2018), 56727 (2017), 56726 (2016) and 56725 (2015). The respective years are shown in parenthesis after each firewall port number.

               * It's beyond the intent of this article to discuss Windows Firewall port changes

               * It's beyond the intent of this article to discuss proprietary third-party firewalls 

               * Consult an IT professional, your Firewall Vendor or ProAdvisor for assistance

               * See our 'Networking QuickBooks' series shown in the related articles (below)