QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2020 Silent Install (How-To Guide)

QuickBooks is a full-featured business and financial management suite complete with tools for accounting, inventory, payroll, tax filing, invoicing, bank account tracking and reconciliation, expense management, budgeting, payment processing, and accounts receivable and accounts payable management. This article will serve as an informative guide and give you a clear understanding of how to perform a silent installation of QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2020 from the command line using the EXE installer.

How to Install QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2020 Silently

QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2020 Silent Install (EXE)

  1. Navigate to: https://dlm2.download.intuit.com/akdlm/SBD/QuickBooks/2020/Latest/QuickBooksProSub2020.exe
  2. Download the QuickBooksProSub2020.exe to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
  3. Locate your product & license number: https://emaillicense.quickbooks.com/app/qbdt/licensenumber
  4. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  5. Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
  6. Enter the following command:
QuickBooksProSub2020.exe -s -a QBMIGRATOR=1 MSICOMMAND=/s QB_PRODUCTNUM=XXX-XXX QB_LICENSENUM=XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXX

After a few minutes you should see the QuickBooks Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

Software Title:QuickBooks Pro 2020
Vendor:Intuit
Architecture:x86_64
Installer Type:EXE
Silent Install Switch:QuickBooksProSub2020.exe -s -a QBMIGRATOR=1 MSICOMMAND=/s QB_PRODUCTNUM=XXX-XXX QB_LICENSENUM=XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXX
Silent Uninstall Switch:MsiExec.exe /x {88C0857B-7734-4EA5-A7D9-636DF8622B63} UNIQUE_NAME="pro" QBFULLNAME="QuickBooks Pro 2020" ADDREMOVE=1 /qb!
Download Link:https://dlm2.download.intuit.com/akdlm/SBD/QuickBooks/2020/Latest/QuickBooksProSub2020.exe
PowerShell Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/quickbooks-desktop-pro-2020-install-and-uninstall-powershell/
Detection Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/create-a-custom-detection-script-for-quickbooks-desktop-pro-2020-powershell/

The information above provides a quick overview of the software title, vendor, silent install, and silent uninstall switches. The download links provided take you directly to the vendors website. Continue reading if you are interested in additional details and configurations.


Additional Configurations

Workaround for “An internal file in QuickBooks has become unreadable [PS107]” Error Message

  • Install & Open QuickBooks
  • Navigate to: Help->Update QuickBooks Desktop…
  • Select Options tab
  • Under the “Select the updates you want QuickBooks Desktop to download automatically.” section
    • Select Mark All
  • Click Save
  • Select Update Now tab
  • Click Get Updates
  • Once the updates have completed downloading, click Close & Exit QuickBooks
  • Navigate to: “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Intuit\QuickBooks 2020\Components\Payroll\Esgservices.dat”
  • Copy the Esgservices.dat to “C:\Downloads”
  • Uninstall QuickBooks to test
  • Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  • Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
  • Enter the following commands:
QuickBooksProSub2020.exe -s -a QBMIGRATOR=1 MSICOMMAND=/s QB_PRODUCTNUM=XXX-XXX QB_LICENSENUM=XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXX
xcopy /y ".\Esgservices.dat" "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Intuit\QuickBooks 2020\Components\Payroll\"

Disable QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2020 Automatic Updates

  • Open Notepad or your favorite text editor
  • Add the following lines:
[ChannelInfo]
BackgroundEnabled=0
DownloadDirectoryShared=0
  • Save the file to C:\Downloads and name it: QBchan.dat
  • Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  • Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
  • Enter the following commands:
QuickBooksProSub2020.exe -s -a QBMIGRATOR=1 MSICOMMAND=/s QB_PRODUCTNUM=XXX-XXX QB_LICENSENUM=XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXX
xcopy /y ".\QBchan.dat" "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Intuit\QuickBooks 2020\Components\QBUpdate\"

Suppress the “How QuickBooks Desktop Uses Your Internet Connection” Window

  • Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  • Run the following command once for each user:

QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2020

REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Intuit\QuickBooks\30.0\pro" /v Dlss /t REG_SZ /d RC1MP9/3AX /f

How to Uninstall QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2020 Silently

Check out the following posts for a scripted solution:

QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2020 Install and Uninstall (PowerShell)
QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2020 Silent Uninstall (PowerShell)
  1. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  2. Enter the following command:

QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2020 Silent Uninstall

MsiExec.exe /x {88C0857B-7734-4EA5-A7D9-636DF8622B63} UNIQUE_NAME="pro" QBFULLNAME="QuickBooks Pro 2020" ADDREMOVE=1 /qb!

Always make sure to test everything in a development environment prior to implementing anything into production. The information in this article is provided “As Is” without warranty of any kind.

Jason Bergner

I am an accomplished Software Engineer at Patch My PC, leveraging more than 18 years of hands-on experience in Configuration Manager administration and application packaging. I am driven by a genuine passion for solving complex problems and consistently strive to discover innovative and effective solutions. Sharing my extensive knowledge of application deployments is a true joy for me, and I am honored to contribute to the community here at Silent Install HQ.

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