HELP PLEASE – Stuck Reinstalling Quicken

After days of calls, emails, and troubleshooting, I’m no closer to getting my 82-year-old mother’s Quicken reinstalled and her data accessible — and I’m really hoping someone here can help.

Background:
My mother’s Windows installation became corrupted and had to be reinstalled, so I’ve been tasked with setting everything back up. Most programs are back — except the one she uses and needs the most: Quicken.

We have the original Quicken 2007 CD and install key, but the install kept failing due to server issues. Quicken support sent us a download link and a new key, but that also failed to install on her machine — regardless of running as administrator, lowering UAC, or using command prompt in admin mode.

So, I dug out an old unused laptop and tried installing there. Success — Quicken 2007 installed! However, when I tried opening her data file, I got a message saying it needed to be upgraded with Quicken 2004 first.

Here's what I tried next:

• Downloaded Quicken 2004.
• Uninstalled 2007.
• Installed 2004 successfully.
• Tried opening her data file…

…but now it asks for a password, which my mother has never had to enter before. I've tried older backup files as suggested in other threads — same issue. We are stuck in this loop and can't get the data open.

To summarize:

• We have her original 2007 disk and install key.
• 2007 won’t install on her PC, only on an old laptop.
• Her data file prompts for a 2004 upgrade before it can open.
• 2004 install asks for a password that doesn’t exist (or has been long forgotten).

We are going in circles, and I’m out of ideas. Quicken support directed me to post here — I would really appreciate any help or suggestions you might have.

Thanks in advance!