How do I download and apply a service pack file to Microsoft Money

If you wish to download and apply an update to Microsoft Money using a downloadable file similar to those used for Windows, Office etc, then you'll be out of luck. Microsoft Money has always used a mechanism called SmartConnect (Article 230) to update itself, and it is not possible to download an update file for the program, and then install it.

Microsoft occasionally do make updates outside of smartconnect (see the patches pages. However, large updates, such as service packs do not get distributed this way - you must be online to get them, and Money will do it itself. You will not find any of the service pack files on the patches pages - I would put them on, if they were made available.

Sometimes patches do not download properly, or have special requirements. Some of these scenarios are covered in other articles:

• Installing the Money 2005 patch on Vista (Article 463)
• Constant requests to download Service Pack for Money 2007 in Vista (Article 448)

Not all versions of Money have service packs - they are available for Money 2005, 2007 and Plus. Versions such as 2004 and earlier have minor updates delivered through smartconnect, but no big service packs.