Troubleshoot Installing and Running TurboTax on Windows

We know your computer is already plugged in and turned on, so we'll skip that step.

To ensure TurboTax installs and runs successfully, please complete all of the following steps:

• Make sure your computer meets the minimum system requirements.
• Verify that you have administrator rights on your computer.
• Check your TurboTax CD and computer's CD drive, if you're installing from the CD.
• Clean up and defragment your hard drive.
• Run Windows Update to keep your system up-to-date.
• Update your system's hardware drivers.
• Update your security software for firewall, virus, and spyware protection.
• Close all browser windows and programs before installing.

Less obvious things you should know include:

• You should not install TurboTax on a removable flash or thumb drive. Here's why.
• It's important to 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. Though outdated and no longer used, they can still wreak havoc on an installation.

If your program still won't install, despite following the suggestions above, try each of the following 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 the 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 (TurboTax 2008 or later) or Safe Mode (TurboTax 2007 or earlier) and then install TurboTax.

If you were able to successfully install TurboTax, but the program keeps crashing when you run it, without giving any error messages, close TurboTax and then try this:

• 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.
• Turn off advanced text services (possible in Windows XP only):
  1. Click Start > Control Panel then double-click the Regional and Language Options icon.
  2. Make sure the language is English (United States).
  3. On the Languages tab, under Text services and input languages, click Details.
  4. Under Preferences, click Language Bar.
  5. To turn text services off, select the Turn off advanced text services check box. 
  6. Click Yes if prompted to confirm your selection.