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Every computer has a unique combination of components, settings, programs, services, and users. This means TurboTax can install and run flawlessly on one computer, but another computer's configuration can cause conflicts when installing, launching, or running TurboTax.
This article troubleshoots the more common causes of installation failures or errors when running TurboTax.
First steps
To ensure TurboTax installs and runs successfully, perform all of the following steps:
- Make sure your computer meets the minimum system requirements.
- Verify that you have administrator rights on your computer and TurboTax is Running as Administrator:
- Right-click the TurboTax icon or setup icon and select Properties. In the Compatibility tab, check the Run as Administrator box and select OK.
- Check your TurboTax CD and computer's CD drive, if you're installing from a CD.
- Clean up and defragment your hard drive.
- Run Windows Update to keep your computer up-to-date.
- Update your computer's hardware drivers.
- Update your security software for firewall, virus, and spyware protection.
- Close all browser windows and programs before installing.
A few other tips:
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Don't install TurboTax on a removable flash or thumb drive.
- Turn off your firewall and virus-detection software before installing. (Remember to turn it back on after installation.)
- Removing unused firewall and virus-detection programs from your computer can help you avoid potential problems. Even if they're outdated and no longer used, they can still cause problems during installation.
Additional help with installing
If TurboTax still won't install, try these steps:
- Run the Windows System File Checker tool.
- Install TurboTax from a different CD or DVD drive on your computer, if you're installing from a CD.
- If you downloaded TurboTax, delete the downloaded file and download TurboTax again. Sometimes files get corrupted during the download process.
- Install TurboTax on a different computer. If you can't get it to install on any computer, request a new CD.
- Install TurboTax from your hard drive.
- Restart your computer in Selective Startup Mode , and then install TurboTax.
Additional Troubleshooting (Starting or Running)
If successfully installed TurboTax, but it keeps crashing when you run it without giving any error messages, close TurboTax and:
- Download the latest Windows updates, especially if TurboTax was running fine before and only recently started acting up.
- Download and install the latest version of Java for your computer. Then clear your Java cache.
- Select Start Control Panel and then select Regional and Language Options.
- Make sure the language is English (United States).
- On the Languages tab under Text services and input languages, select Details.
- Under Preferences, select Language Bar.
- To turn text services off, select the Turn off advanced text services checkbox.
- Select Yes if prompted to confirm your selection.
