ERROR: 'Unable to connect to Sage Data Service on machine' or 'Data service unavailable on this machine'

When opening Sage 50 Accounts, one of the following messages can appear:

• 'Unable to connect to Sage Data Service on machine [computer name]'
• 'Data service unavailable on this machine'

This happens if the Sage Accounts Data Service is the wrong version or stops running on the computer storing your Sage 50 Accounts data. If the software worked previously, you can normally resolve this by restarting the Sage Accounts Data Service. 

 NOTE: Use our Data Service Manager that makes this process easier. To find out more, visit Using the Sage 50 Data Service Manager in v31 and above.

Restart

Restart the computer that holds your Sage 50 Accounts data.  

Recently upgraded

After upgrading to the latest version of Sage 50 Accounts, install the latest update on the computer storing your data if you see this message.

If the issue persists

1. On the computer holding your Sage 50 Accounts data, press the Windows key + R on your keyboard.
2. Enter services.msc, click OK then in the list of services look for the following services:

   Sage 50 Accounts v30	Sage 50 Accounts Service v30 Sage 50 Accounts Control v30
   Sage 50 Accounts v29	Sage 50 Accounts Service v29 Sage 50 Accounts Control v29
   Sage 50 Accounts v28	Sage 50 Accounts Service v28 Sage 50 Accounts Control v28
   Sage 50 Accounts v27	Sage 50 Accounts Service v27 Sage 50 Accounts Control v27
   Sage 50 Accounts v26	Sage 50 Accounts Service v26 Sage 50 Accounts Control v26

   If the services don't appear or show a status of Starting, follow the steps in our Troubleshoot data service issues article.

3. If either service shows Disabled in the Startup Type column, right-click the service, click Properties, in the Startup type drop-down click Automatic, then click OK.
4. For each service, right-click the service, click Stop, right-click the service again, then click Start.

If the issue persists, follow the steps in our Troubleshoot data service issues article.

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