Why is my Excel file corrupt?

A corrupted Excel file represents a significant loss of productivity and could lead to the loss of crucial data. In order to prevent this, it is important to act quickly to repair the files and recover the data they contain.

Table of Contents Show

Why do Excel files get corrupted?
What to do if you cannot open your corrupt Excel file?
Do I need to use a data recovery program?
Recover data from a corrupted workbook
Recover data when the workbook is open in Excel
Recover data when you can't open the workbook in Excel
Automatically save a backup copy of a workbook
Automatically create a recovery file at set intervals
Need more help?
How do I fix a corrupted Excel File?
Why does my Excel File keep corrupting?

As many people and businesses use Microsoft Excel to create spreadsheets in which large amounts of data and complex calculations are done, there are few things more dismaying than getting an error message when you try to access an Excel file.

A corrupted Excel file represents a big loss of time and effort as well as crucial data that you might be hard pressed to recreate or find elsewhere.

Why do Excel files get corrupted?

Excel files can get corrupted if they were not saved properly, this could be because you did not shut down the program properly or if it shut down abruptly because of a power failure, hardware failure, or because of a virus or malware attack.

There is also the possibility that, due to a defect in your Excel or Microsoft Office software, your spreadsheet did not save correctly or, because of bad or damaged sectors on your hard drive or storage device your file cannot be detected or read properly.

What to do if you cannot open your corrupt Excel file?

Open the Excel Program and click on “Open” to locate the file.

When you find your corrupted file in the document library, select it BUT instead of going ahead and clicking “Open” again, you should go to the drop down menu. The drop down menu can be found beside the “Open” option, it’s a little button to the right with an arrow pointing downward.

From there, click on the little arrow button to open the drop down menu. You should see a list of different options including an option that states “Open and Repair”. Choose that option, and a dialogue window will appear asking if you want to “Repair”, “Extract Data”, or “Cancel”.

Choose “Repair” and Excel will repair the file and if they are successful you should see your spreadsheet open before you.

If “Repair” doesn’t work, you should repeat the process again but, instead of choosing “Repair”, choose to “Extract” data.

Don’t forget, if either of these two options works, you need to save your data in a new file. When the repaired file opens, save the data right away under a new file name that is different from the original corrupted file. In the future, use this new file name to access the spreadsheet.

Do I need to use a data recovery program?

Even if Microsoft Office and Excel have repair programs that can help you recover the data from a corrupted spreadsheet, they are not fool-proof. Sometimes these repair programs will only be able to partially retrieve your data and might only be able to retrieve data from the last time you saved it. In most cases, it’s better to have a data recovery program installed on your computer. You can install a data recovery program specifically designed to recover Excel files, like DataNumen Excel Repair, or you can get one that works with all Microsoft Office applications, like DataNumen Office Repair.

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When Microsoft Excel detects a corrupted workbook upon opening, it automatically starts File Recovery mode and attempts to repair the workbook. If File Recovery mode doesn’t start, try using this manual process to recover your workbook:

Click File > Open.
Click the location and folder that contains the corrupted workbook.
In the Open dialog box, select the corrupted workbook.
Click the arrow next to the Open button, and then click Open and Repair.
To recover as much of the workbook data as possible, pick Repair.
If Repair isn’t able to recover your data, pick Extract Data to extract values and formulas from the workbook.

If neither automatic nor manual repair works, there are some recovery methods that might help salvage your data. You can also take some preventive measures to avoid losing your work by automatically saving a backup copy of your workbook or creating a recovery file from time to time.

Recover data from a corrupted workbook
Automatically save a backup copy of a workbook
Automatically create a recovery file at set intervals

Recover data from a corrupted workbook

Choose one of the following methods to help recover your data. If it’s not successful, try another method. You can also try third-party software solutions to try to recover workbook.

Important: If a disk error or network error prevents you from opening a workbook, move the workbook to a different hard disk drive or a local disk before trying any of the following recovery options.

Recover data when the workbook is open in Excel

Revert the workbook to the last saved version If a workbook becomes corrupted while you work but before you save your changes, you can revert your workbook to the last saved version:
1. Click File > Open.
2. Double-click the name of the workbook that you have open in Excel.
3. Click Yes to reopen the workbook.
  The workbook opens without any changes you made that might have caused the workbook to become corrupted.

Recover data when you can't open the workbook in Excel

Set the calculation option in Excel to manual Try changing the calculation setting from automatic to manual. Because the workbook won't be recalculated, it may open.
1. Click File > New.
2. Under New, click Blank workbook.
3. Click File > Options.
4. In the Formulas category, under Calculation options, pick Manual, and then click OK.
5. Click File > Open.
6. Locate and then double-click the corrupted workbook to open it.
Use external references to link to the corrupted workbook To retrieve only data and not formulas or calculated values from the workbook, try using external references to link to the corrupted workbook.
1. Click File > Open.
2. Go to the folder that contains the corrupted workbook.
3. Right-click the file name of the corrupted workbook, click Copy, and then click Cancel.
4. Click File > New.
5. Under New, click Blank workbook.
6. In cell A1 of the new workbook, type =File Name!A1, where File Name is the name of the corrupted workbook that you copied in step 3, and then press Enter.
  Note: You have to enter only the name of the workbook—you don’t have to type the file name extension.
7. If the Update Values dialog box appears, select the corrupted workbook, and then click OK.
8. If the Select Sheet dialog box appears, select the appropriate sheet, and then click OK.
9. Select cell A1.
10. Click Home > Copy, or press Ctrl+C.
11. Select an area, starting in cell A1 that is approximately the same size as the range of cells that contain data in the corrupted workbook.
12. Click Home > Paste, or press Ctrl+V.
13. With the range of cells still selected, click Home > Copy again, or press Ctrl+C.
14. Click Home > the arrow below Paste, and then under Paste Values, click Values.
  Pasting values removes the links to the corrupted workbook and leaves only the data.
Use a macro to extract data from a corrupted workbook If a chart is linked to the corrupted workbook, try using a macro to extract the source data of the chart.
1. Copy the following macro code and paste it in a module sheet:
  Sub GetChartValues()
  Dim NumberOfRows As Integer
  Dim X As Object
  Counter = 2
  ' Calculate the number of rows of data.
  
  NumberOfRows = UBound(ActiveChart.SeriesCollection(1).Values)
  Worksheets("ChartData").Cells(1, 1) = "X Values"
  ' Write x-axis values to worksheet.
  With Worksheets("ChartData")
  .Range(.Cells(2, 1), _
  .Cells(NumberOfRows + 1, 1)) = _
  Application.Transpose(ActiveChart.SeriesCollection(1).XValues)
  End With
  ' Loop through all series in the chart and write their values to
  ' the worksheet.
  For Each X In ActiveChart.SeriesCollection
  Worksheets("ChartData").Cells(1, Counter) = X.Name
  With Worksheets("ChartData")
  .Range(.Cells(2, Counter), _
  .Cells(NumberOfRows + 1, Counter)) = _
  Application.Transpose(X.Values)
  End With
  Counter = Counter + 1
  
  Next
  End Sub
2. Insert or delete a worksheet into your workbook right-click its sheet tab, and then rename it ChartData.
3. Select the chart from which you want to extract the underlying data values.
  
  Note: The chart can be embedded on a worksheet or on a separate chart sheet.
4. Run the macro.
5. The data from the chart is put on the ChartData worksheet.

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Automatically save a backup copy of a workbook

With a backup copy of your workbook, you'll always have access to your data if your workbook is deleted accidentally or if it becomes corrupted.

Click File > Save As.
Click Computer, and then click the Browse button.
In the Save As dialog box, click the arrow next to Tools, and then click General Options.
In the General Options dialog box, check the Always create backup box.

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Automatically create a recovery file at set intervals

A recovery file of your workbook also helps ensure you'll have access to your data if your workbook is deleted accidentally or if it becomes corrupted.

Click File > Options.
In the Save category, under Save workbooks, check the Save AutoRecover information every box, and then enter a number of minutes. (The default is 10.)
In the AutoRecover file location box, enter the location where you want to save the recovery file.
Make sure that the Disable AutoRecover for this workbook only box is unchecked.

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Need more help?

How do I fix a corrupted Excel File?

Repair a corrupted workbook.

Click File > Open..

Click the location and folder that contains the corrupted workbook..

In the Open dialog box, select the corrupted workbook..

Click the arrow next to the Open button, and then click Open and Repair..

To recover as much of the workbook data as possible, pick Repair..

Why does my Excel File keep corrupting?

Why do Excel files get corrupted? Excel files can get corrupted if they were not saved properly, this could be because you did not shut down the program properly or if it shut down abruptly because of a power failure, hardware failure, or because of a virus or malware attack.