Personal Finance

Cyphire · Guest

I am trying to get my budget working. The 2004 money that I had calculated
it incorrectly. I just installed the trial version of 2006 and bought a new
copy of 2006 and am waiting for Amazon to ship it. So I am using the trial.
When I go to customer support for online chat (as the 2006 budget program has
the SAME PROBLEM), it won't let me proceed as the Trial does not have a
product ID.

Wow - Talk about your Kafka-esqe problems!

Can someone (Microsoft) or other tell me how to get support on this system?
What about a WARNING that if you install the trial (it recommends removing
your old program) that you will NOT GET SUPPORT!

Please help?

Cyphire · Guest

Hummm... I'm guessing that you don't work for Microsoft - I'm sure that your
corporate culture wouldn't allow such an arrogant and unknowledgeable
response to be offered.

So lets start again...

First - If MS is going to offer a 'free trial' for current users, and
suggest the removal of the licensed and installed software - they should make
sure to let the user know that if the problem isn't rectified in the new
version that they are Sh..t out of luck when it comes to support. If I
hadn't installed the new version (which expressed on the feature list that
the budgets were vastly improved), I would be able to get support for my
problem. But since this wasn't disclosed to me, guess the jokes on me!!!
Great bait and switch tactic (it's ok, the monopoly won't cry!!!).

Second - I have a total of x dollars over the last year in a specific income
catagory. The budget program reduces this by 70%. For no discernable
reason. I don't want the code in the budget planner to be changed, I'm just
asking how to correct the fact that it isn't working, give me a kludge, give
me a hint, explain that it is a bug... Something...

Make sense??? Having a bad day? Just not a 'people' person!????

p.s. Thanks for the crappy attitude!

"Dick Watson" wrote:

Dick Watson · Guest

Trial installations are not supported. What are you looking for us to tell
you?

I'm guessing you want Budget Planner to work differently than it does. We
can't change the code. It is what it is.

"Cyphire" <Cyphire@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
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William R Wood · Guest

Cyphire,

First, Dick Watson is one of the most knowledgeable and helpful posters on
this list by far. He has established a FAQ which is outstanding and you
might want to read it. You should have read his reply more carefully and
more posts in general before attacking him. Dick's reply to you was not
offensive but rather practical.

Second, this is not an MSFT run support site. Regular users try to help
each other. MVPs (not MSFT employees but recognized for their expertise) do
post here but they are helping folks for free so be polite to them.

As to your question, there are lot of things MSFT should do that they do not
do. One of those things would be a warning such as you describe. MSFT is
trying to trap you into buying the program. Learn to protect yourself in
the future by guarding your current Money installation from any trial
version. I demo trial versions on a separate computer.

Also learn to be skeptical about MSFT claims regarding new and improved
features. I find their advertising claims to be grossly overstated.

Finally you have not provided nearly enough information to understand your
budget problem. Money's budget feature works pretty good but it can be
buggy. If you are using scheduled bills and deposits things can get hairy.
Suggest you carefully study how Money gets the figures it comes up with.
Once you know how that is done you can fix 99% of your problems yourself.
Struggling with MSFT support on these issues should be your last resort. I
use the Annual Report feature in the budget planner to see the numbers Money
is budgeting month by month. This always allows me to determine what Money
is doing and then I can make appropriate corrections to my budget setup.
Keep in mind that most Money problems are due to user error. I have been
using Quicken and then Money every single day for over 20 years and I still
have plenty to learn.

For whatever its worth, I am using Money 2002. I have demo'd every new
version since 2002, including 2006, and rejected all of them because MSFT
introduced a change in the budget report logic in version 2003 which still
exists in 2006 that destroys my budget reports plus there are no new
substantive features of any use to me. All I see are changes in the
interface, many of which are negative, and more annoying advertising. Also
these newer versions automatically disable downloading after 2 years which
is a marketing policy that I will not buy into since it attempts to "force"
users to upgrade every 2 years. I believe this policy will reduce MSFT's
already minimal incentive to substantively improve the program.

Regards,

Bill Wood
Fountain Hills, AZ

"Cyphire" <Cyphire@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
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Dick Watson · Guest

OK. If you want to be that way. I'll answer the only question your original
post asked. (I've included it below for reference.)

No.

"Cyphire" <Cyphire@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
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Cyphire · Guest

Thank you for your message William. My sincere apologies to Dick - I need to
get my Microsoft rage in check and I took it out on Dick based on my
misunderstanding of these forums and in my own built up rage against
Microsoft.

I knew going in that I would have a support problem, and that the new
version would not fix anything. Figuring that my time is worth more than the
30ish bucks for a new version, even if it's a slicker interface with some
slight improvements, it was worth it to me, and then when problems arose
(which I knew they would), I stood on ceremony and started to get angry.

I have both pre-conversion backups, microsoft created backups (when the new
software was installed), and more importantly, a full image file of my
laptops HD for complete protection and control. I also have the original
2004 standard edition (which I uninstalled) and could have easily put it
back, used the preconversion files and then gotten support (I assume) - but i
complained rather than acted.

I thought that Dick was a Microsoft developer/support person in Money. That
was a silly and conclusion jumping thought. Had he been, and had meant to
tell me to 'piss off - I'm not fixing any bugs for you - thats your problem
and sorry you aren't getting support on the product, even though it's the
same problem with your registered version' - AS a Microsoft employee - I
would have been, if not justified, at least in the ballpark to complain.

Now understanding the situation, I feel much better and shouldn't have
worked myself into a lather. Very sincerely sorry again Dick, and thank you
for your thoughtful response William.

Brian

"William R Wood" wrote:

William R Wood · Guest

Thanks for the nice response. Glad to hear you have good backups.

I fully understand how one can get real upset with MSFT sometimes.

If you have questions about the budget issue after you get Money running to
your satisfaction, let us know.

Regards

Bill Wood

"Cyphire" <Cyphire@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
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