I can’t sign into my quickbooks 2016, get error message “the file you specified cannot be opened. Make sure that it is not currently being used by another program or a read only file

Hello there, @Htdc.

Thanks for bringing this situation to my attention. I'm here to help isolate this error so you keep your QuickBooks up and running. 

Did you try to download a payroll update, open a federal or state forms, or pay schedule liabilities and you received this error? If so, you'll need to process troubleshooting steps to resolve this. Let me walk you through the steps:

1. Keep selecting OK on the error message until the update is 100% complete.
2. Close and reopen QuickBooks Desktop.
3. Select link Downloads and Updates, select your Product and Version. 
4. Select Search, and click the Get the latest updates link to ensure you have the most recent update.
5. Close QuickBooks Desktop and restart your computer.
6. Right-click the QuickBooks icon, and select Run as the Administrator.

If the error persists, you can check this article for another troubleshooting steps solution: Resolve "the file you specified cannot be opened" errors.

If you need further assistance from out live support, I recommend contacting our QuickBooks Desktop Support Team. They have the tools to pull up your account and do a remote session.

Here's how you can contact our live support:

1. Follow the Official Intuit Contact link.
2. Select your QuickBooks product.
3. Select an issue type from the menu below, you need only to select two options for the contact information to appear.
4. Click Start a message at the bottom.

This will get you on the right track. Please know that I'm just a post away if you have any other questions about QuickBooks. Have a good one.