I am trying to restore a backed up file from QB2001 from an older computer with win 98 onto a new dell. When I go to restore the data a message comes up saying that the data is from a newer version of quickbooks and cannot be restored. Any solutions....this is very frustrating

Update the QuickBooks on your new computer to the latest release for QB 2001.

The QB on your old computer had been updated online after you installed QB from the CD.

I don't have a url for updates of old CAN QB. Maybe someone else does.

I updated the QB on the new computer. That is why I am so puzzled, if anything the old computer might be lacking updates. Should I uninstall on the new computer, reinstall and restore data then update QB?

You can

uninstall on the new computer, reinstall, UPDATE and restore data

The UPDATE must be done before the restore.

i did the update first already and it won't work. So should I try the opposite?

Press CTRL + 1, look at the top line where it says Product and note the number after the R. If the number is less than 7 then you haven't installed the updates. The updates for 2001 are only available through manual download, and can be found at: http://support.intuit.ca/quickbooks/updates/qb01_manual_update.php

Do you still have access to the old computer, or the information on the hard drive?

If so, there is one more thing you may want to give a try.

Rather than making a backup, and then restornig that backup onto the new machine, you might want to try just opening the company file on the new computer.

What I mean by that is making a copy of your company file in Windows, putting it onto a CD or some other medium, and then opening the file on the new computer by choosing "Open Company" from the file menu. Your company file should be in your QuickBooks directory by default (in C:\Program Files). The file will have a .qbw extension. It should look like yourcompanyname.qbw.

Chances are this might not really make a difference, but if it is an option it might be worth attempting.