how to repair an excel workbook

Repair a corrupted workbook manually

1. On the File tab, click Open.
2. In Excel 2013 or Excel 2016, click on the location where the spreadsheet is located, and click Browse.
3. In the Open dialog box, select the corrupted workbook that you want to open.
4. Click the arrow next to the Open button, and then click Open and Repair.

Full Answer

How to fix a repaired Excel document?

Repair Corrupted Excel Files with Open and Repair

• Open the Microsoft Excel app or create a new Excel file and open it.
• Click File tab and click Open -> Browse in Excel.
• In the pop-up window, you can go to the location or directory that contains the corrupted Excel file.
• Select the corrupted workbook. ...
• Click Repair to repair the spreadsheet. ...

How to recover a file that was not saved in Excel?

1. Make sure you have configured "AutoRecover" and "AutoSave" features in "File" >; "Options" >; "Save".
2. To restore previous version of excel file without saving, open the "File" tab and go to "Open" from left sidebar. ...
3. Scroll down and select "Recover Unsaved Workbooks" at the bottom. ...

What to do when an Excel file is corrupted?

• Click File > Open.
• Go to the folder that contains the corrupted workbook.
• Right-click the file name of the corrupted workbook, click Copy, and then click Cancel.
• Click File > New.
• Under New, click Blank workbook.

More items...

How to fix workbook cannot be opened or repaired error?

• Click File > Open.
• Double-click the name of the workbook that you have open in Excel.
• Click Yes to reopen the workbook. The workbook opens without any changes you made that might have caused the workbook to become corrupted.

How do I manually repair an Excel File?

Repair a corrupted workbook manuallyOn the File tab, click Open.In Excel 2013 or Excel 2016, click on the location where the spreadsheet is located, and click Browse.In the Open dialog box, select the corrupted workbook that you want to open.Click the arrow next to the Open button, and then click Open and Repair.More items...

How do I open a damaged Excel File?

0:242:41How to Open a Corrupted Excel File - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd it's saying that it's corrupted. And excel cannot open it the first thing you're going to wantMoreAnd it's saying that it's corrupted. And excel cannot open it the first thing you're going to want to do is open up excel. And excel will open. And come to the open folder and then click on browse. We

Why do Excel files get corrupted?

Some common reasons are: Abrupt System Shutdown or Power Failure: When the system shuts down abruptly or there's an unexpected power failure, the MS Excel file is likely to get corrupted. Virus or Malware Attack: It is one of the common factors that may lead to Excel file corruption.

How do you check if Excel File is corrupted?

The following are common signs that your Excel file is corrupt. When you try to open your file and it fails to respond, there is a chance it is corrupt. Sometimes you may get the error message 'Unable to read file'. Another error you are likely to come across is 'Excel Cannot Open the File '(Filename)'.

Where does Excel save repaired files?

Choose “Recover Unsaved Workbooks” to display and recover unsaved Excel files. Excel saves unsaved files to the folder C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles. You can also access the files from this folder.

How do I fix corrupted files?

The Open and Repair command might be able to recover your file.Click File > Open > Browse and then go to the location or folder where the document (Word), workbook (Excel), or presentation (PowerPoint) is stored. ... Click the file you want, and then click the arrow next to Open, and click Open and Repair.

How do you fix the file is corrupted and Cannot be opened?

Part 1: 6 Fixes for "the file is corrupted and cannot be opened" ErrorFix 1: Change Component Services Settings. ... Fix 2: Uncheck Protected View Options. ... Fix 4: Repair MS Office Application. ... Fix 5: Use Open and Repair Feature. ... Fix 6: Change File Extension (Excel Only)

How do I open a corrupted Excel file 2010?

To repair a corrupt workbook manually, follow the below steps:Click Open on the File tab.Select the corrupt Workbook.Click Open and choose 'Open and Repair' from its drop down list.Next, follow any of the steps: Click Repair to recover workbook data.

How do I open and repair an Excel file on a Mac?

Step 1: Launch Microsoft Excel and select the open option from the File menu. Step 2: Select the Excel workbook and click on the Open & Repair option from the dropdown list. Step 3: There will be a popup window; select the Repair button to repair.

How to repair a corrupted Excel spreadsheet?

Repair a corrupted workbook manually. On the File tab, click Open. In Excel 2013 or Excel 2016, click on the location where the spreadsheet is located, and click Browse. In the Open dialog box, select the corrupted workbook that you want to open. Click the arrow next to the Open button, and then click Open and Repair.

How to recover data when you can't open a workbook?

To recover the data when you cannot open the workbook in Excel, do one of the following: Set the calculation option in Excel to manual To open a workbook, try changing the calculation setting from automatic to manual. Because the workbook won't be recalculated, it may open.

Why do you need to create a recovery file for Excel?

Configuring Excel to periodically create a recovery file of your workbook helps to ensure that you will have access to a good copy of the workbook, if the original is deleted accidentally or if it becomes corrupted.

How to repair an Excel file?

Go to the File menu option the opened Excel file. And from the Open option, select Browse. Now browse the file location and select the file from there, as shown below. Click on the drop-down arrow located in the Open button and Select open and repair.

What happens if Excel is able to repair a file?

If excel is able to repair the file, then it will direct us to the last saved worksheet of that file. If not, we will again get a dialogue box where it will prompt us to message incomplete repair or repairing process discarded.

How to recover data from a corrupted file?

The best and simple way to recover the data is by trying to open the damaged file through an already opened which means we can try to open the file which is corrupted with the OPEN option. For this, we should have an opened file.

How to avoid Excel from crashing?

To avoid crashing of files, enable the autosave function in Microsoft Excel. Or, keep saving the files frequently so that there will not able any chance of files getting crashed or corrupted.

Can we repair any type of file?

We can repair any type of file.

How to recover data from a corrupted Excel file?

Step 1: Open blank workbook. Step 2: In the blank workbook, click on FILE >>> Options. Step 3: In the Excel Options window, go to “Formulas.”. Under Calculation options, choose the workbook calculation to “Manual.”. Step 4: After this, click on the Ok. Now go to file and open the corrupted excel file to recover the data from the corrupted file .

What happens when an Excel file is corrupted?

Once the excel file is corrupted and if you try to reopen it, excel, by default, starts the file recovery mode, tries to reopen the file along with repairing the workbook.

How to recover last saved version of Excel?

If you have not been able to save the latest work from the workbook, then you can recover the last saved version data from the corrupted workbook. Click on the FILE tab and choose an OPEN option from another workbook. Now select the excel workbook that you want to repair. Click on Yes to reopen the workbook.

Where is the save as button in Excel?

Save As In The Excel Save as is located in the worksheet's file tab. It can be accessed from the quick access toolbar or by pressing F12 and choosing "save as," or CTRL + S, which opens the save as dialogue box to save the file. read more

Do you always create a backup copy of anticipated corrupting files?

Always create a backup copy of anticipated corrupting files.

Can Excel create a backup of all workbooks?

We can instruct the excel workbook to create a backup copy of all the workbooks we work with automatically. Follow the below steps to apply this setting change.

How to fix a corrupted Excel file?

Here’s how: Step 1: In Excel, click the File tab and then click Open. Step 2: Select the corrupt Excel file, click the arrow button next to the Open button and then select Open and Repair. Figure 3 – Excel Open and Repair Feature. Step 3: In Microsoft Excel dialog box that opens, click Repair to begin repairing your corrupt workbook.

What is the corruption warning in Excel?

Figure 1 – Corruption Warning in Excel: The corrupt workbook cannot be opened or repaired

What happens if you don't save an Excel file?

Unexpected system shutdown or power loss: If you haven’t saved your Excel file, abrupt system shutdown or power failure can corrupt the data and render the file inaccessible.

Do you need to repair an Excel file?

You will need to repair the corrupted Excel workbook to make it usable. Before discussing the repair methods, let’s first look at the possible reasons behind file corruption.

Can corruption in Excel lead to data loss?

Summary: Corruption in an Excel workbook could lead to data loss. This blog outlines the possible reasons behind corrupted workbook and describes how to repair the workbook manually and using an Excel repair tool.

Can you save a repaired Excel file?

Note: You will need to activate the licensed version of Stellar Repair for Excel software for saving the repaired file. Once activated, proceed with the steps below to save the repaired file .

Why is my Excel file corrupt?

There are several reasons that can turn the file corrupt. The most common reason is a damaged hard drive. Other factors that can cause corruption in an Excel file are as follows:

How often does Excel auto recover?

Additionally, ensure that the Excel ‘AutoRecover’ feature is set to save a version of your Excel file after every 10 minutes. You can increase or shorten the interval as per your requirement.

What is Stellar Repair?

Stellar Repair for Excel is a powerful tool designed to help users fix corrupted .xls or .xlsx files without any technical assistance. Also, the tool recovers all the components from a corrupted workbook, including tables, pivot tables, cell values, formulas, charts, images, etc. You can preview the repaired file and its contents by downloading the free demo version from the link below. It is a useful feature that allows the user to validate the data before saving it.

How to unblock a checkbox in Excel?

In the Excel file properties dialog box, make sure that the Unblock checkbox is unchecked. If not, uncheck it, click on Apply, and then OK.

Can you recover a corrupted workbook?

You may try to recover the file from the most recent backup. But, if the back is also corrupt, you can try the below-given solutions to repair a corrupted workbook or recover the data.

Can Excel 2010 be opened on Windows 7?

Some users using Excel 2010 on Windows 7 system were able to fix ‘The workbook cannot be opened or repaired’ issue by unblocking the file.

Why won't Excel save?

Excel's AutoRecover will fail to save a valid file, while attempting to create a copy of your workbook on disk every couple of minutes (depends on user settings under Excel Options/Save). Besides corruption, an AutoRecover error may occur due to any disk write error, so your next step should be to save your active workbook.

Where is the forensic report stored in Excel?

Excel stores a summary forensic report in the application temp folder, which can be retrieved (if not erased by a disc cleaner) in order to verify beyond doubt that an Excel workbook has been repaired by a particular user, even if the person denies knowledge of such incident due to ignorance!

What is an XLSM template?

A workbook template, which was created in Excel 2003 and was later converted to 2007 .xlsm format, was sent to us by Gary. As such, it contained no data. The workbook run without any issue in both Excel 2003 & 2007, but wouldn't even open in Excel 2010.

Can a corrupted Excel file be saved?

Unfortunately, a corrupted workbook loaded in memory cannot be saved intact. Excel may warn you that:

Can you overwrite a corrupted file?

Do not overwrite the original corrupted file with the recovered version, if you have accidentally attempted recovery. Save with a new filename instead.

Can you move all controls on a ribbon?

I suggest that you move all controls possible on a ribbon UI. The ribbon is quite stable based on my 12-year experience with it. Ribbon controls can appear dynamically upon sheet tab activation and other events (review the Ribbon Commander framework ).

Can VBA recover XLS?

Please contact us for a free workbook assessment & bespoke file recovery or leave a comment. Entire VBA projects can be recovered from any corrupted XLS, PPT, DOC legacy file and from Office 2007+ OpenXML files, from both locked and unviewable VBA projects.