4 Ways to extract data from corrupt Excel file

Summary: Excel files can become corrupt due to numerous reasons. This blog will discuss the reasons behind the corrupted Excel files. Sometimes the file becomes inaccessible. This post includes four ways to extract data from a corrupt Excel file. It also mentioned Stellar Repair for Excel to repair severely corrupted files. The tool helps you recover data from damaged Excel files with complete integrity.

Imagine the frustration of an employee if an Excel workbook he took hours to complete became corrupted for some reason threatening to erase all the data saved in it. Not just that, a corrupted Excel workbook can wreak havoc for the organization too since it poses a risk of permanently deleting critical business information like work records or employee trackers.

Unless a backup of all important Excel files exists, recovering data lost due to damage/corruption to them is next to impossible. However, we’ve conducted some research and found some pretty neat hacks to help you extract data from corrupt excel files without much hassle.

Primary reasons triggering Excel file corruption

As we always point out, to solve a problem for good, getting to its root is imperative. Here are the main reasons that cause Excel file corruption. Knowing these reasons can help you keep Excel corruption at bay for a considerably long time.

• Abrupt system shutdown when you’re editing an Excel sheet
• Bugs / Defects in your Excel application or installation
• Hardware failures like bad sectors on the hard drive where Excel sheets are saved
• Virus Infection / Malware Attack
• Excessive data storage within a single Excel file
• Faulty Excel Macros and CSE Formulas

Depending upon the extent of damage, there can be several ways to perform corrupt Excel file repair.

How to repair corrupt Excel files?

There are a couple of manual methods that can help you repair corrupt Excel files .

1. If the damaged Excel sheet can be opened, immediately save its copy; thereafter:
   • Open it with a later version of Excel and save it as a new workbook.
   • If this doesn’t work, open it in Excel’s latest version and save the workbook in HTML or HTM format.
   • Once this is done, reopen the HTML file and save again in XLS format.
   • Lastly, open the file and try saving it in SLK format (symbolic link)

Note: It is important to note that saving an Excel workbook in HTML format causes loss of features like custom views, scenarios, unused styles or number formats, natural language formulas, data consolidation settings, custom function categories, etc. In SYLK format only the active worksheet is saved so if using this method, you’ll need to repeat these steps for each worksheet.

2. Use Excel’s inbuilt Repair function as follows:
   • Launch Microsoft Excel and go to Office button -> Open
   • In the Open dialog box, select the damaged Excel file
   • On the bottom-right corner of the Open dialog box, you will find a drop-down next to Open Click on it and select Open and Repair
   • This will launch the inbuilt Repair module of Excel and you’ll see a dialog box asking you to select an option from Repair or Extract Data
   • Click on Repair to initiate the repair process.
   • If this doesn’t work, repeat steps 1-4, and when Excel asks you to select an option, select Extract Data from corrupt excel file. Thereafter, follow the instruction Excel shows and you should be able to retrieve your data, but you may end up losing some formulas.
3. If you cannot open the Excel, download Spreadsheet viewer from the Microsoft website and open the file using this program. Thereafter copy all data into a new Excel.

Note: This method will cause much of your formatting, formulas, and more to be lost.

4. You can download Open Office from its official website OpenOffice.org and try opening the Excel in it. The two programs are very similar so all data should automatically align in the correct place and with the correct formatting.

Note: With this method, VBA code cannot be recovered due to incompatibility between OpenOffice.org and Excel.

Full-proof method for corrupt Excel file repair

If you find the above methods confusing, or you wish to perform Excel file repair without having to face any data and formula loss, or you cannot achieve the desired results with any of these methods, stop wasting any more time with methods that will only frustrate you more. Instead, download the sure-shot solution for dealing with severe Excel corruption –Stellar Repair for Excel  and relax!

Stellar Repair for Excel is the best choice for repairing corrupt or damaged Excel (.XLS/.XLSX) files and restoring everything to a new blank Excel file. This competent software can skillfully repair single as well as multiple XLS/XLSX files while preserving worksheet properties and cell formatting. If you have this product by your side, you don’t need to worry about Excel corruption errors ever again.

To Conclude

Instead of giving up on corrupted Excel sheets, try repairing them with the simple tricks we’ve described. And if they don’t work, keep calm and turn to Stellar Repair for Excel.

How to fix “damage to the file was so extensive that repairs were not possible” Excel error?

Summary: Unable to resolve “damage to the file was so extensive that repair was not possible” error in Excel? Read this post to discover more details about the error, possible causes, and how to rectify the error. To save time & efforts, you can also try an Excel file repair software to resolve the “damage to the file…” error in a few clicks.

When opening a workbook in Microsoft Excel 2003 or later, you may encounter an error message,

“Damage to the file was so extensive that repairs were not possible. Excel attempted to recover your formulas and values, but some data may have been lost or corrupted.”

The error message may also occur while exporting an Excel file. Let’s find out what causes this error and what we can do to fix it.

Reasons Behind “Damage to the File Was So Extensive That Repairs Were Not Possible” Error

Your Excel file may be corrupt, oversized, virus-afflicted, etc., which can trigger this error and make the repair impossible. Below are some common reasons.

• Large or oversized excel files hindering export
• Data restore errors
• Field length of a cell is more than 256 characters
• Software conflicts, viruses, network failure
• Unable to open files in upgraded versions
• Errors on output exceeding 64000 rows
• Limited system resources (such as RAM, internal memory)

In a nutshell, the error generally happens if Excel discovers unreadable content, which may also interrupt file saving in Excel.

How to Resolve “Damage to the File Was So Extensive That Repairs Were Not Possible” Error?

Here are a few methods you can follow to fix or resolve the Excel repair error.  

Method 1: Perform Basic Troubleshooting

When opening a corrupt workbook, Microsoft Excel automatically initiates the file recovery mode to repair the corrupt file. However, if it fails to perform automatic recovery, then follow these basic troubleshooting steps:

• This error mainly happens when you try to open the Excel file in an upgraded version.  Try to open the file in an older version of Excel. You might be able to open it.
• Try saving the file with a different file name.
• Use a different file extension to save the file.
• You can save the Excel file as HTML and then open it. However, an HTML file might not save conditional formatting.
• Close other opened applications on the system which may be causing the error.
• Select less data for export at once.
• Delete worksheets if copied from another document; for instance, delete any file or screenshots you have imported.
• Open the file on another system.

If the error persists, then use the manual method to repair a workbook using the below steps:

• Go to the “File” tab.

• Select Open and select the damaged spreadsheet from the Recent Workbooks section on the right, if listed. However, if you cannot find the file in the Recent Workbooks section, click on “Browse” and choose the corrupted workbook.

• Click the drop-down arrow on the Open tab and select Open and Repair.

Method 2: Check if exporting a Heavy File is Causing Resource Limitations in Excel

Sometimes, when you try to export an Excel sheet carrying a huge database, you may face memory errors in older Excel versions like Excel 2003. Here, you’ll have to decrease the amount of data as Excel 2003 does not permit exporting extensive data beyond a limit. However, modern versions such as Excel 2007, 2010 & 2016 allow exporting a large amount of data and utilize more RAM than the older versions.

Following are some other workarounds:

• Use a lesser number of query presentation fields to re-generate the query. Then, again re-enter those fields.
• Decrease the multi-line string field data text up to 8000 characters.

Method 3: Copy Macros and Data to Another Workbook (Empty) in an Advanced Excel version

If the issue is occurring due to version incompatibility, i.e., if the file opens easily in the older version but shows errors in the new version. You can:

Use the older version to open the file or copy the data or macros in an empty workbook of the new version of Excel.  

Copying the Macros in the Workstation

In Microsoft Excel, you can use the Visual Basic Editor to open the workbook with macro on another workbook by copying the macro. Both VBA tools and Macros appear in the Developer section of the excel file. This option is disabled by default. So first, you need to enable it.

Follow the instructions to enable it:

• Open Excel and go to File > Options.

• Click “**Customize Ribbon.**”

• Look at the right side of the pane and ensure the Developer tab is checked.

• Click OK.

Once you have enabled the Developer tab, follow the steps to copy the macro from one workbook to another:

• First, open both the workbooks- the workbook containing the macro and the workbook in which you need to copy the macros.
• Locate the Developer tab.

• Select Visual Basic to display the “Visual Basic Editor.”

  

• Go to the View menu in the Visual Basic Editor.

• Select Project Explorer.

• In the Project Explorer window, drag the module you need to copy to the destination workbook. For example:

Module 1 has been copied from Book2.xlsm to Book1.xlsm

Method 4- Restore the backup file

The workbook backup helps to open the corrupted or mistakenly deleted file. Sometimes, the issue can be fixed using the Recover Unsaved Workbook option in Excel. Here’s the list of steps to recover the files in Microsoft Excel:

• Go to the File tab on Excel.

• Click Open.

• Search on the top-left of the screen to click Recent Workbooks as below:

• Next, scroll down to the bottom.
• Click the “Recover unsaved workbooks” button.

• Scroll and find the lost file.
• Now double-click on the file to open.

Conclusion

“Damage to the file was so extensive that repairs were not possible” error can be fixed with the above troubleshooting methods or by using a third-party Excel repair tool, like Stellar Repair for Excel . Although There are no standard resolutions to fix the excel error as they may vary with different scenarios. In some cases, the manual methods might be time-consuming or fail to fix the error or recover the excel file. Hence, using an excel file repair tool may be the best option! It extracts data from the corrupted file and saves it to a new Excel workbook, which you can open and edit.

Top 5 Ways to Fix Excel File Not Opening Error

Summary: MS Excel users sometimes face issues while using the MS Excel application. One such issue is the Excel file not opening error. In this post, we’ve mentioned the reasons that may result in this error and the ways to resolve it. Also, you’ll find about an Excel repair software that can help you repair corrupt Excel files.

Several Microsoft Excel users have reported encountering the ‘Excel file not opening’ error when opening their Excel file. There are several reasons that may cause this error. In this post, we’ll be discussing the reasons that may lead to the ‘Excel file not opening’ error and the top 5 ways to fix this error.

Why Does the ‘Excel File Not Opening’ Error Appear?

Following are some possible causes that may result in the ‘Excel file not opening’ error:

1. There may be a problem with an add-in that is preventing you from opening the Excel files.
2. There’s a chance that your Excel application is faulty.
3. Your Excel program is unable to communicate with other programs or the operating system.
4. The file association might have been broken. This is a common problem faced by users who have upgraded their Excel application or operating system.
5. The file you’re trying to open is corrupted.

5 Ways to Fix Excel File Not Opening Error

Let’s explore the ways to resolve the Excel file not opening error:

1. Uncheck the Ignore DDE Checkbox

Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)allows Excel to communicate with other programs. The Excel error may occur due to incorrect DDE settings. You need to ensure that the correct DDE configuration is enabled. Follow the steps provided below:

• Launch your MS Excel file.
• Go to File > Options.

• Now click on Advanced.

• Further, find the General option on the screen.

• Uncheck the option **‘Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)**’.
• Click OK to save the changes.

2. Reset Excel File Associations

When you launch your Excel file, the file association ensures that the Excel application is used to open the file. You can try to reset these associations and see if Excel opens after this. Proceed with the following steps to do so:

• Navigate to Start Menu and launch Control Panel.
• Now, navigate to Programs > Default Programs > Set Your Default Programs.

• A new window will open. Herein, find the Excel program in the list and select it. Now, select the option ‘Choose defaults for this program’. Click OK.

• A new window for ‘Set Program Associations’ will open.
• Check the box against the ‘Select All’ option.
• Further, click Save to reset the Excel File Associations settings.

3. Disable Add-Ins

Many people install third-party add-ins to enhance the application’s functionality. Sometimes, these add-ins can create an issue. Follow the below-mentioned steps to disable the problem creating add-ins:

• Launch MS Excel application.
• Navigate to File > Options > Add-ins.

• In the window that opens, go to the Manage option at the bottom.
• Herein, select the COM Add-ins option from the dropdown list. Click Go.

• In the COM Add-ins window, uncheck all the boxes to disable the add-ins. Click OK.

4. Repair MS Office Program

Sometimes the issue is not with your Excel file. Instead, the reason for the error can be a corrupt MS Office application. You can repair the program to fix the Excel file not opening error. Here are the steps:

• Press the Windows + R keys to launch the ‘Run’ dialog box.

• Enter the text ‘appwiz.cpl’ to launch the program and features window.

• Find the MS Office program in the list of applications.

• Right-click on it and select Change.

• In the new window, select the Quick Repair radio button. Click Repair.

• Follow the on-screen instructions to repair the Office application. Once the repair process is completed, you can try opening the Excel file to see if the problem is resolved.

5. Disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration

The hardware graphics acceleration assists in the system’s better performance, especially when you use MS Office applications, like MS Excel or Word. Sometimes, this causes the Excel file not opening issue. You can disable this option to try to resolve the issue. Here are the steps:

• Launch your MS Excel application.
• Navigate to File > Options > Advanced.
• Herein, go to the Display option.
• Uncheck the Disable hardware graphics acceleration checkbox. Click OK.

What If These Solutions Do Not Work?

If you have applied all the methods mentioned above and still cannot open your Excel file, there are chances that your file is corrupted. You can use a specialized Excel repair tool , such as Stellar Repair for Excel to repair the corrupted Excel file. This software has powerful algorithms that can scan and repair even severely corrupt Excel files, without any file size limitation. After repairing the file, it restores all the data, including tables, charts, rules, etc. to a new Excel, with 100% integrity.

To know how the software works, see the video below:

Conclusion

Before you proceed with resolving the Excel file not opening error, try to find out the root cause of this error. If you know the real reason, you can try the method right away. If the reason for the error is corruption in the Excel file, the best option is to repair the file using a professional Excel repair tool, such as Stellar Repair for Excel .

Easy Steps to Make Excel Hyperlinks Working

Summary: This blog discusses why hyperlinks won’t work in Excel and solutions to fix it. If nothing works, try using Stellar Repair for Excel software to recover your workbook with hyperlinks and all the data intact.

Hyperlinks in your Excel file could be references to a file’s location on the computer or a location within the same worksheet. Or, hyperlinks might be pointing to a URL. Sometimes, the hyperlinks won’t work and any of the following errors may pop up on your screen on clicking a hyperlink:

‘Cannot open the specified file.’

‘This operation has been canceled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator.’

Causes of ‘hyperlinks not working in Excel’ problem, and solutions thereof

Here are some of the possible causes behind the ‘hyperlinks not working’ issue and solutions to fix it:

Cause 1 – Change in the name of the hyperlinked file

If the file name that appears in the hyperlink text is different than the actual file name, it will prevent the hyperlink from working.

Solution – Link to the renamed file

Ensure that the links in the Excel file are updated and points to the renamed file. For this, right-click the hyperlink and select ‘Edit the hyperlink’. Next, in the hyperlink address, replace the current filename with the renamed one in the hyperlink address.

Cause 2 – File name has a pound (#) sign

When you create a hyperlink for a file in Excel, you cannot use a pound character (#) in the file name that appears in the hyperlink. That is because the pound sign is not accepted in hyperlinks and may lead to the ‘Cannot open the specified file’ error.

Note: While you can use a pound character in a file name, it cannot be used in hyperlinks in an MS Office document.  

Solution – Rename the file name and remove the pound sign

Open the file that contains the ‘#’ sign and rename it by following these steps.

• Right-click the cell containing the hyperlink that is not working, and click Edit Hyperlink.
• From the Address box, copy the address of the file you are linking to.
• Go to the location where the file is stored, right-click on the file, and click Rename.
• Remove the ‘#’ character from the name of the file.
• Go back to the Excel file, right-click on the problematic hyperlink, and choose Edit Hyperlink. Next, browse and select the renamed file.
• The renamed file without the pound sign will be added in the Address box.
• Click OK.

Now try opening the hyperlink.

Cause 3 – Sudden system shutdown causes abrupt closing of Excel

There may be a discrepancy in the data in hyperlinks when a system shut down suddenly, without properly closing the Excel file. And so, when trying to open a link, it won’t open.

Solution – Enable the option to save hyperlinks

There is an inbuilt option in Excel to update hyperlinks every time the workbook is saved. Follow these steps to enable that option:

Note: The steps may vary based on the Excel version you are using.

For Excel 2013, 2016, or 2019:

• Open Excel Workbook -> Go to File->Options->Advanced
• Scroll down to find the General tab and click on Web Options
• Web Options Window pops-up
• In the Web Options Window, go to Files Tab and select the ‘Update Links on save‘ checkbox
• Click on OK button and your option is saved

The steps are also explained in the image below:

For Excel 2007:

• Click the Office button
• Select Excel Options, then follow Step 1) to Step 5), as mentioned above and get the Excel Hyperlinks to work again.

Still unable to open hyperlinks in Excel?

If you fail to make Excel hyperlinks work using the above-discussed solutions, use an Excel repair tool to fix the hyperlinks issue. Download the Stellar Repair for Excel to repair an XLS/XLSX file and restore the hyperlinks.

See the working of the tool here:

The tool recovers all components of the Excel file including tables, charts, chart sheets, cell comments, images, formulas, and more. You can repair multiple worksheets and fix all dysfunctional Excel hyperlinks across multiple worksheets in a single workbook. Click on the workbook, select all worksheets and start repairing

Conclusion

Carefully read the possible causes behind the ‘Excel Hyperlinks not working’ issue to understand what resulted in the issue in the first place. If nothing helps, use Stellar Repair for Excel to restore the hyperlinks and save the result in a new Excel file, without interfering with worksheet properties and cell formatting.

[Fixed] The Workbook Cannot Be Opened or Repaired By Microsoft Excel

An MS Excel workbook (.XLS/.XLSX) file may not open due to damage or corruption caused by various reasons, such as:

• Sudden power failure
• System crash
• Virus or malware intrusion
• Large or oversized Excel file
• Incompatible add-ins
• Drive errors
• Damaged MS Office/Excel program files

As a result, when you try to open or access a corrupt Excel document, the program displays errors, such as “The workbook cannot be opened or repaired by Microsoft Excel because it is corrupt.” This may lead to a data loss situation.

Methods to Fix ‘The Workbook Cannot Be Opened’ Error

When an Excel workbook gets corrupt, MS Excel automatically detects and starts the file recovery mode to open and repair the file. However, when it fails to repair the corruption or recover the Excel file automatically, it displays the error message, “The workbook cannot be opened or repaired by Microsoft Excel because it is corrupt.” In such a situation, you can follow these methods to repair and recover the Excel document manually.

If the manual methods fail to resolve the error, you can use an Excel repair software, such as Stellar Repair for Excel. The software repairs corrupt XLS/XLSX file, recovers all the data, and saves it in a new Excel document with 100% precision, while keeping the cell formatting and properties intact.

NOTE: Before performing the below methods to repair or recover Excel documents, create a backup copy of the original file. This will help you recover data by using an Excel repair tool and avoid permanent data loss.  

1. Repair Excel Workbook Manually

If the automatic repair fails, you may try manual repair to fix the damage or extract the data from the damaged Excel workbook. The steps are as follows:

• Navigate to File > Open and then go to the location where the spreadsheet is located.
• In the Open window, select the corrupted workbook that you want to fix and then click on the arrow next to the Open button.
• From the available options, choose Open and Repair…

• Then click ‘Repair‘ if you want to recover maximum data from the workbook or click ‘Extract data‘ if the repair option fails to fix the issue. It will extract all the values, formulas, tables, etc., from the corrupt workbook.

If both options fail to fix the issue, head to the next method.

2. Remove Faulty or Incompatible Add-ins

Faulty or incompatible add-ins may also cause this error. To find and remove such add-ins, follow these steps:

• Press **Windows key + R.
  **

• Type Excel /safe and press ‘Enter‘ or click ‘OK.’ This opens MS Excel in Safe Mode.
• Go to File > Options and then select ‘Add-ins.‘

• Choose ‘Excel Add-ins‘ from Manage: option and then click on the Go button to view all Add-ins.

• Uncheck the checkboxes of Add-ins and then click ‘OK‘ to disable them.

Now close the Excel program and run it normally. Click ‘File > Open‘ and choose the Excel file you want to access.

3. Repair MS Office Installation

Damaged Excel program files may also lead to such errors. However, you can easily repair MS Office installation to fix the problem. The steps are as follows:

• Open Control Panel and select ‘Uninstall a program.‘

• Search and choose MS Office from the programs list. Then click on the ‘Change’ button.

• Select ‘Repair’ and follow the wizard to fix the damaged program files.

If this fails to address the issue, you can uninstall and then fresh install MS Office on your system. Alternatively, try accessing the file on another PC.

4. Use Excel Repair Software

The best option is to use an Excel repair software, such as Stellar Repair for Excel , to repair the file, resolve the error, and access the Excel (XLS/XLSX) worksheet. The software can repair an Excel file without any size limitation.

After recovering the Excel file using the software, you can open it in any MS Excel program without encountering the error message.

Conclusion

A corrupt or damaged Excel workbook may lead to errors, such as “The workbook cannot be opened or repaired by Microsoft Excel because it is corrupt,” and cause a data loss situation. The most efficient way to fix such corrupt Excel files is to repair them by using an Excel repair tool, such as Stellar Repair for Excel.

Unlike manual methods that may fail to resolve the issue or lead to further damage, this software extracts the data from the damaged Excel file and saves it in a new Excel workbook. Thus, it is 100% safe to run on an original Excel file, as it does not overwrite or alter the original file.

The software is free to download. You can scan, repair, and preview a corrupt Excel file by using the demo version. Once you are satisfied with the results, activate the software to save the repaired Excel workbook data in a new sheet.

Excel AutoRecover not working, what is next?

Consider a Scenario

A professional with Windows 10 computer had MS Office 2016 installed on it. For an official purpose, he worked on an Excel workbook and saved it as an XLSX file. After working for hours on it, which was saved with a file name, a power outage occurred in his building for quite some time. After the power was back, he reopened Excel to find a list of recovered files in ‘Document Recovery’ section on the screen’s left side. However, the file that he had worked on recently was the ‘Original version,’ i.e. the last version saved by him and not the auto-saved Excel file. This meant the Excel document did not have any new data that was entered since the last time he saved it. Consequently, he lost hours of work. According to him, this happened despite the fact that the ‘AutoRecover’ feature was enabled. (Still, this needs to be checked and ensured.)

The ‘AutoRecover’ feature might not work in any of these cases:

• AutoRecover Feature is disabled - With this feature disabled, the Excel files are not auto-saved if the document is closed without saving, or the document closes unexpectedly due to an untoward incidence. To check, see if ‘Save AutoRecover information every * minutes’ and ‘Keep the last auto-saved version if I close without saving’ checkboxes are checked or unchecked. If either one is unchecked or both are unchecked, it signifies that the AutoRecover feature is disabled. Else, the AutoRecover is enabled.
• Corruption in the Excel XLSX file – If ‘AutoRecover’ is enabled, most probably the cause is ‘damaged Excel XLSX file.’

Before discussing solutions to resolve the ‘Excel AutoRecover not working’ issue, let’s have an overview of the ‘AutoRecover’ and ‘AutoSave’ features.

A Brief Overview of Excel AutoRecover and AutoSave Feature

AutoRecover is an inbuilt feature in MS Excel 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2003, and 2007 that allows saving all of the ‘open Excel files’ at a fixed-interval in a user-specified location or AutoRecover file location. Besides, AutoSave is an add-in that exists in Excel 2002 and earlier versions to save all open Excel files in case of a crash, power outage, or accidental closure of Excel files without saving. Users can recover these files if Excel closes suddenly, for instance, at the time of power outage or failure. The auto-recovered Excel files are saved at a default location.

Methods to Fix ‘Excel AutoRecover Not Working’ Issue

Manual Methods

Method 1 - Enable the ‘AutoRecover’ Feature if Disabled

Make sure that you have the ‘AutoRecover’ feature enabled in your Excel application. If not, follow these steps to enable it:

• Open Excel with MS Excel 2016/2019
• Click on File and then on Options tab
• In ‘Excel Options’, click on Save tab
• Check ‘Save AutoRecover information every * minutes’ and ‘Keep the last auto saved version if I close without saving’ box
• Set the time in ‘Save AutoRecover information every * minutes’
• Click on the OK button

Note: With this method, it is not possible to recover data from the current Excel file. From next time onwards, the AutoRecover feature starts working following which Excel shall start auto-saving Excel files as per the time set in ‘Save AutoRecover information every * minute’.

Method 2 - Repair Corrupt Excel File

If corruption in Excel XLSX file has resulted in ‘Excel AutoRecover not working’ issue, you will need to repair Excel file . Use ‘Open and Repair’ inbuilt utility to fix and repair the damaged (corrupt) Excel file and extract its data. To use the inbuilt utility, execute the following steps:

• Go to location “C:\Users\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles” to find Excel TMP files and save it as XLSX file

Note: In Windows 8, the location is the same as mentioned above that is for Windows 10. In Windows 7, the location is “C:\Users\name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\”

• Open a blank Excel sheet; click File >> Open
• Go to the location and folder containing the damaged Excel file
• In the Open dialog box, choose the damaged Excel file and click the arrow next to the Open button, and then click Open and Repair
• In the window that appears, click Repair to recover as much data as possible

Now, open the Excel (XLSX) file to check if the Excel file is repaired and its data is recovered.

Use a Professional Excel File Repair Tool

Using a third-party Excel file repair tool can help you repair damaged Excel XLSX file and recover all the data. Stellar Repair for Excel  is one tool you can rely on to repair severely corrupt Excel files (XLSX or XLS).

Here are a few other reasons why you should choose Stellar Repair for Excel software:

• Repairs Excel file while keeping the worksheet properties and cell formatting same as before.
• Recovers all of the Excel file components like tables, forms, reports, charts, chart sheets, cell comments, formulas, images, etc.
• Can batch repair multiple Excel files simultaneously
• Supports Excel 2019 and earlier versions

Conclusion

To help resolve the problem of ‘AutoRecover not working’, different methods have been discussed, depending on the cause of the problem. These solutions can be implemented to check the possibility of getting back maximum data added in last saved version of the Excel file. However, to fix corruption in the excel file, using a specialized tool such as Stellar Repair for Excel software recommended by MS Excel Experts and MVPs can help. The software can repair severely damaged Excel file easily and efficiently.

Recover Corrupted Excel File 2007, 2010 | Easy Methods

There are several reasons that can cause Microsoft Excel workbooks to turn corrupt, such as virus attack, bad sectors on a drive on which Excel file is saved, system shutdown without properly closing the Excel application, etc.

Corruption in an Excel workbook can result in data loss or render the workbook inaccessible. Fortunately, Excel automatically starts recovery upon opening a corrupted Excel file. But, if it fails, you can manually repair the file or extract data from the corrupt file.

Quick Solution: Performing 2007, 2010 Excel repair or recovery process manually can be time-consuming. Also, manual workarounds to recover corrupt Excel workbook does not guarantee recovering the complete workbook data. Use Stellar Repair for Excel software to repair single or multiple Excel (XLS/XLSX) files in 3 simple steps. The software also helps recover the Excel file, keeping the data intact.

How to Fix Microsoft Excel 2010 & 2007 Files Corruption?

Microsoft Excel comes with an inbuilt repair utility, called ‘Open and Repair’, that helps fix and recover corrupted Excel files.

Steps to Repair MS Excel 2010 Files Manually

The detailed steps to open and repair Excel 2010 are as follows:

• Open Microsoft Excel 2010 and click File from the main menu.

• Next, click Open.

• Browse the corrupt Excel 2010 file on your computer and select it in the Open dialog.

• Click the arrow next to the Open button and choose Open and Repair.

• Click Repair when prompted to recover data to the maximum.
• If Excel fails to repair, click Extract Data to extract values and formulas in the corrupt file.
• Excel prompts to ‘Convert to Values’ or ‘Recover Formulas’.
• Click Yes if it prompts the following error:

“The document file name caused a serious error the last time it was opened. Would you like to continue opening it?

• When Excel opens the last saved file, save it.

Once you’re able to access the last saved 2010 Excel file, try extracting the file contents.

Save Excel 2010 File in HTML Format

If you can open the Excel file, choose the HTML format to save it in filtered form. After that, close the Excel file as you have your data in the HTML file. The steps to save an Excel file in HTML format are as follows:

• Open Microsoft Excel 2010, click Save As, and then choose Web Page in the ‘Save as’ type drop-down list.
• Select the “Enable Entire Workbook” option, and then click the Save button.
• Close the Excel file and reopen your Microsoft Excel application. Browse the HTML file that you have saved.
• Click File from the main menu, and select Save As in the list.
• Type-in a different name, choose Microsoft Excel Workbook in the ‘Save as’ type drop-down menu, and then click the Save button.

With this, you would be able to access the data in the corrupt Excel file.

If the inbuilt tool fails to repair Excel 2010 file, a few methods can help you recover data from corrupted or lost workbook manually.

Steps to Repair Excel 2007 Files Manually

Follow these steps to repair a corrupted 2007 Excel file by using the inbuilt Microsoft Excel repair tool:

• Open Microsoft Excel 2007, click the Office button, and then select Open.

• In the Open dialog box that pops-up, browse and select the corrupt Excel 2007 file. Click the arrow next to the Open button and choose Open and Repair.

• Click Repair when prompted to recover as much data as you can from Excel 2007 file.

• If a repair fails, follow steps 1 till 3, and then click Extract Data to extract values and formulas from the corrupt file.
• In the window that appears, click Convert to Values or Recover Formulas to extract workbook data.

Note: The built-in Microsoft Excel 2007 repair tool may fail to resolve Excel corruption issue. Also, choosing to extract data from the workbook involves data loss risk. Using a professional Excel repair tool, however, can resolve all types of Excel file corruption errors and restore all its data.

Methods to Recover Data from Corrupt Excel 2010 & 2007 Files

If the ‘Open and Repair’ feature fails in getting your Excel 2010, 2007 file repaired, you can try retrieving the file contents by following some manual methods. However, the methods may vary depending on whether you can open a workbook or not.

Method 1 – Move Corrupt Excel File to another System

Move the corrupt Excel file to any other computer and try opening it in MS Excel 2010/2007. Doing so, may help you resolves disk or network-related errors leading to Excel file corruption.

Method 2 – Revert Unsaved Excel File to its Last Saved Version

If an Excel file turns corrupt while working on it but before saving any changes, try reverting it to its last saved version. To do so, perform the following:

• Open your Excel application, click the Office button, and then click Open from the menu.
• Browse the corrupt Excel file, click Yes when prompted to revert to its last saved version.

What if Nothing Works?

If you fail to recover a corrupt Excel 2007/2010 file, perform Excel file recovery with Stellar Excel repair software. The software is specially designed to help users fix their corrupted XLS/XLSX files quickly and easily without any technical assistance. It also helps restore all the file data to its original form.

Points to Remember

• Close all the MS Excel instances before using the software
• If the sheet you are repairing contains engineering formulas, please include ‘Analysis TooPak’ manually from Tools > Add-Ins

If you know the corrupt Excel 2007 or 2010 file location, click Browse to choose the file. Otherwise, click Search. Follow the below steps to recover data from corrupt Excel 2007/2010 file by using Stellar Excel repair tool:

• Click the Repair button to scan the file.

• Once the scanning process is complete, the software shows a preview of recoverable Excel file items.

• To save the repaired file, click the Save File option on File menu.

• In ‘Save File’ dialog box, choose to recover Excel 2007 & 2010 data to either the Default or New location. Click OK.

The repaired Excel file gets saved at the specified location.

Preventive Measures to Avoid Losing Excel File Data

The above-discussed methods might help salvage your data. But, it is recommended that you must take some preventive measures to avoid losing the data. One such important measure is backing up a copy of your workbook automatically. Doing so, will help you get back data in case the workbook is accidentally deleted or corrupted.

Steps to Create Backup Copy Automatically

You can automatically create an Excel backup copy by following these steps:

• Click Save As from the main menu of your Excel application.
• Browse to the location where the corrupt Excel 2010/2007 file is saved.

• In ‘Save As’ dialog box, click the arrow next to Tools button (given at the bottom left corner) and choose General Options.

• In ‘General Options’ box, check Always create backup checkbox, and then click OK.

With this, you instructed MS Excel to create a backup of every Excel file you create or open for work.

Conclusion

This article outlined the typical reasons resulting in a corrupt Excel 2010 or 2007 file, such as virus infection, bad sectors on drive, etc. It explained how to fix a corrupted Excel file by using the inbuilt MS ‘Open and Repair’ tool. The article also discussed methods to recover Excel files in MS Office 2010 & 2007 when the Microsoft Excel repair tool fails. Further, it explained how using a professional repair tool such as Stellar Repair for Excel can come in handy when the manual methods to repair and recover Excel 2007 and 2010 file fails. But, keep in mind, a workbook may get corrupt again. And so, make sure to automatically backup your workbook to avoid losing its data.

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