How to Install TurboTax without CD Drive

Learn How to Install TurboTax on Windows and Mac

One of he widely used tax preparation software according to the American tax systems, TurboTax has become the market leader in its product segment. To ensure appropriate functioning and fulfilment of desired tasks, you must know how to install TurboTax on your computer. However, before installing the software, there are few things to remember, such as closing any open programs, like firewall and antivirus, etc. Read on to explore the various ways on how to install TurboTax on both the Windows and Mac OS.

Installing TurboTax on Windows OS

While TurboTax is one of the popular tax preparation software programs, you might often find difficulties while install TurboTax Windows. There are two different ways by which you can install TurboTax on your Windows computer. Here’s a look at them:

With CD

Given below is the series of steps that you need to perform if you are looking for an answer to how to install TurboTax with CD:

1. Before you start the installation of the software, close all the active programs on your system, including the disablement of firewall and antivirus temporarily.
2. Insert the TurboTax installation CD into the CD ROM of your computer.
3. Click on the option “Run setup.exe.”
4. In case you have already downloaded the copy of TurboTax online, double-click the installer.
5. Click on the “Next” option.
6. Go through the End User License Agreement and click on I Agree if you accept it.
7. If you want to install the software in a different location, click on the “Change” option and select a different folder.
8. If you don’t want to send anonymous performance reports to Intuit, uncheck the “Sure, count me in” check box.
9. To continue with install TurboTax Windows, click on the “Install” option and complete the installation process of the software.

Now that you have read how to install TurboTax with CD, read on to explore how you can install TurboTax without CD drive.

Without CD

Here are the series of steps to install TurboTax without CD drive:

1. First, right-click on the taskbar and click on the “Task Manager” option.
2. Locate the “Intuit update service” option in the process tab and click on the end process.
3. On the “Details” tab, look for the ‘MSIexec.exe’ file. For all the active tasks, click on end task.
4. Right-click on the taskbar located at the bottom of your screen and select Task Manager again.
5. If the task manager option doesn’t have the tabs in it, select the ‘More details’ option.
6. Ensure that the status next to msiserver is not running by selecting the “Services” tab.
7. Lastly, if the status shows Running, it means that Windows is currently installing something, like Windows Updates.
8. Before attempting to install TurboTax, ensure that other installation finishes and the msiserver status is stopped.

How to Download TurboTax?

Now that you have read how to install TurboTax with or without CD, go through the below-mentioned steps to learn how you can download the software from turbotax.com. Here are the recommended steps:

1. Log into your TurboTax account using the credentials that you’ve used while making your purchase.
2. Click on the blue button for the product you need to download.
3. Save the downloaded setup file somewhere on your computer, where you can easily locate it.
4. Lastly, install the TurboTax software by double-clicking the setup file and following the on-screen instructions.

Installing TurboTax on Mac

If you are using a Mac, you can either install TurboTax without CD drive, i.e., by downloading the setup file from the TurboTax website or by using an installation CD. You can search for the filename linked to download by locating the TurboTax for Mac program. For instance, you need to type ‘m_TurboTax’ if you are looking for the download of TurboTax Basic. On purchasing the TurboTax software, you can follow the below-mentioned steps to download and install the software on your Mac device:

1. Insert the TurboTax installation CD into the CD ROM drive of your Mac.
2. In case you have downloaded TurboTax, double-click the ‘.dmg’ file.
3. On the desktop, a virtual drive will open on its own.
4. Drag the red TurboTax icon to the Applications folder.
5. Ensure that you do not drag the TurboTax icon beyond the pop-up window of the existing Applications folder.
6. In the Applications folder, double-click TurboTax and start working on your tax returns.

It is recommended that you only run TurboTax from the ‘Applications’ folder. Running the software from the mounted virtual drive or from the CD could later lead to error on TurboTax. Besides, instances might occur when you would require an answer to how to open old TurboTax files. In such cases, you can refer to various online sites and ensure that your TurboTax installation is free from any potential errors.

So, the above-mentioned pointers are recommended if you are installing TurboTax on your Windows or Mac systems. Follow them the exact way and ensure the smooth functioning of the software, without any issues.