This wikiHow teaches you how to recover and repair a corrupted Microsoft Excel file on a Windows or Mac computer.
Step
Method 1 of 5: Repairing Files
Step 1. Make sure you are using a Windows computer
You can only repair Excel files on Windows versions of Microsoft Excel.
If you're using a Mac, try one of the other methods in this article
Step 2. Open Excel
The program icon looks like a green box with an “X” in it.
Step 3. Click Open Other Workbooks
This option appears next to the folder icon in the lower-left corner of the window.
Step 4. Click Browse
This folder icon is in the middle of the page. After that, a File Explorer window will be opened.
Step 5. Select the desired Excel file
Go to the folder containing the corrupted Excel file, then click the file to select it.
Step 6. Click the "Menu" icon
This down arrow icon is to the right of the “ Open A drop-down menu will appear after that.
Step 7. Click Open and Repair…
It's at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
If the option " Open and Repair… ” cannot be selected (displayed in opaque color), make sure the Excel file is selected and try again. If it still cannot be selected, the file cannot be repaired.
Step 8. Click Repair when prompted
This option is in the pop-up window. Windows will try to repair the file.
If the option is not available, click “ Extract Data, then select " Convert to Values " or " Recover Formulas " The data that can still be saved will be recovered.
Step 9. Wait for the file to open
This process can take a few minutes if your Excel file is large enough.
If the file still can't be opened, repeat the process again and click “ Extract Data " (no " Repair ”) when prompted.
Step 10. Save the file
After the repaired file is opened, press Ctrl+S, double-click the option “ This PC ”, select a save location, enter a file name, and click “ Save ”.
Make sure you use a different file name than the corrupted Excel file name
Method 2 of 5: Changing File Types on a Windows Computer
Step 1. Understand the importance of file types
Sometimes an Excel document created on a computer or an earlier version of Excel becomes unstable when opened on a computer or a newer version of the Excel program. In addition, Excel documents can also be saved in a variety of file formats. By changing the Excel file format to "xlsx" (or "xls" for programs with earlier versions), the problem of file corruption can be resolved.
Step 2. Open the “Start” menu
Click the Windows logo in the lower-left corner of the screen.
Step 3. Open the File Explorer program
Click the folder icon that appears in the lower-left corner of the “Start” window.
Step 4. Click the View tab
This tab is at the top of the File Explorer window. The toolbar will appear below this tab.
Step 5. Check the "File name extensions" box
This box is in the "Show/hide" toolbar section. After that, you can see the file type extension at the end of the file name, including the Excel document file.
Step 6. Select the Excel file
Go to the directory where the Excel file you want to recover, then click the document to select it.
Step 7. Click Home
It's a tab in the upper-left corner of the File Explorer window. The toolbar will be displayed afterwards.
Step 8. Click Rename
This option is in the " Organize " toolbar section. Once clicked, the Excel file name will be marked.
Step 9. Change the file type
Replace the extension that appears after the period at the end of the name with xlsx, then press Enter.
- For example, if the document is named "Spreadsheet1.docx", change it to "Spreadsheet1.xlsx".
- If the file already has an "xlsx" extension, try using "xls" or "html".
Step 10. Click Yes when prompted
The changes will be confirmed and the file extension will be changed.
Step 11. Try opening the file
Double-click the file to open it. If the file can be opened in (or a web browser if you chose "html" as the extension), the file has been successfully restored.
- If you select the "html" extension, you can convert a web page into an Excel document by dragging the "html" file onto the Excel program icon, and saving the opened file as a new "xlsx" file.
- If the file still won't open, move on to the next Windows method.
Method 3 of 5: Changing File Types on Mac Computer
Step 1. Understand the importance of file types
Sometimes an Excel document created on a computer or an earlier version of Excel becomes unstable when opened on a computer or a newer version of the Excel program. In addition, Excel documents can also be saved in a variety of file formats. By changing the Excel file format to "xlsx" (or "xls" for programs with earlier versions), the problem of file corruption can be resolved.
Step 2. Open Finder
Click the blue face icon that appears in your computer's Dock.
Step 3. Select the Excel file
Go to the folder where the Excel file is stored, then click the file that you want to recover.
Step 4. Click File
This menu option is in the upper-left corner of your computer screen. Once clicked, a drop-down menu will appear.
Step 5. Click Get Info
This option is in the drop-down menu “ File A pop-up window will open afterwards.
Step 6. Expand the "Name & Extension" segment if necessary
If you don't see a file name or extension under this category, click the triangle icon to the left of the " Name & Extension " heading to see the file name and extension.
Step 7. Change the file type
Replace the extension that appears after the period at the end of the file name with xlsx, then press Return.
- For example, if the document is named "Spreadsheet1.txt", change it to "Spreadsheet1.xlsx".
- If the file already has an "xlsx" extension, try using an "xls" or "html" extension.
Step 8. Click Use.xlsx when prompted
The selection will be confirmed and the file type will be changed.
Step 9. Try opening the file
Double-click the file to open it. If the file can be opened in Excel (or a web browser if you chose the "html" extension), the file has been successfully recovered.
- If you choose the "html" extension, you can convert a web page to an Excel document by dragging the "html" file onto the Excel program icon, then saving the opened file as a new "xlsx" file.
- If the file still won't open, move on to the next Mac method.
Method 4 of 5: Recovering Temporary Saved Files on Windows Computer
Step 1. Understand the limitations of this method
Like most Microsoft Office products, Microsoft Excel will automatically save the recovery version of the file. This means that you can restore part of the data or part of the corrupted Excel document. However, Excel doesn't always save the files on time and it's possible that you won't be able to recover the entire document this way.
Step 2. Open the “Start” menu
Click the Windows logo in the lower-left corner of the screen.
Step 3. Type this pc
After that, the computer will search for the program "This PC".
Step 4. Click This PC
It's a computer monitor icon at the top of the "Start" window. After that, the “This PC” window will be displayed.
Step 5. Double-click the computer hard drive
It's usually labeled "OS (C:)" and appears under the "Devices and drives" heading in the middle of the page.
Step 6. Double click the “Users” folder
This folder is in the middle of the hard drive folder.
Step 7. Double click the user folder
This folder is named after part or all of your username on the computer.
Step 8. Double click the “AppData” folder
This folder is in the "A" section so there's a good chance you'll find it at the top of the file browsing window.
If the folder cannot be found, click the tab “ View ”, then check the box " Hidden items " in the " Show/hide " segment to display the " AppData " folder.
Step 9. Double click the “Local” folder
This option is at the top of the folder.
Step 10. Scroll down and double click the “Microsoft” folder
This folder is in the "M" segment.
Step 11. Double-click the "Office" folder
This folder is in the “O” section of the “Microsoft” folder.
Step 12. Double click the “UnsavedFiles” folder
This folder is at the top of the window.
Step 13. Select the Excel file
Look for the Excel file icon with the same name as the corrupted Excel file, then click on the file to select it.
If you don't see any files, the recovery version of the Excel document is not saved
Step 14. Change the Excel file extension
To change it:
- Click " View ”.
- Check the "File name extensions" box.
- Click " Home ”.
- Click " Rename ”.
- Replace the.tmp extension with.xlsx.
- Press the Enter key.
- Click " Yes ' when prompted.
Step 15. Open the Excel file
Double-click the recently renamed file to open it.
Step 16. Save the file
After the recovered files are opened, press the Ctrl+S key combination, double-click the “ This PC ”, select a storage directory, enter a file name, and click the “ Save ”.
Make sure you select a different file name than the name previously used for the corrupted Excel file
Method 5 of 5: Recovering Temporary Saved Files on Mac Computer
Step 1. Understand the limitations of this method
Like most Microsoft Office products, Microsoft Excel will automatically save the recovery version of the file. This means that you can restore part of the data or part of the corrupted Excel document. However, Excel doesn't always save the files on time and it's possible that you won't be able to recover the entire document this way.
Step 2. Click Go
This menu option is at the top of the screen. Once clicked, a drop-down menu will open.
If you don't see the option " Go ”, open Finder or first click on the desktop for options to appear.
Step 3. Hold down the Option key
After that, you can see the folder " Library " in the drop-down menu " Go ”.
Step 4. Click Library
This option is in the drop-down menu “ Go " Folders " Library ” hidden will be shown.
Step 5. Open the "Containers" folder
Double-click the "Containers" folder which is in the "C" section of the "Library" folder.
Step 6. Click the search bar
It's in the upper-right corner of the window.
Step 7. Locate the “Microsoft Excel” folder
Type com.microsoft.excel and press Return.
Step 8. Click the Containers tab
This tab is to the right of the " Search: " heading at the top of the Finder window.
Step 9. Open the “com.microsoft.excel” folder
Double-click the folder to open it.
Step 10. Open the “Data” folder
Step 11. Open the "Library" folder
Step 12. Open the “Preferences” folder
If you don't see this folder, swipe until you find it.
Step 13. Open the "AutoRecovery" folder
A list of saved versions of the Excel file will automatically be displayed.
Step 14. Look for a temporary version of the corrupted Excel file
Temporary versions of files contain part or all of the file name in the title.
If you can't find a temporary version of the file you want, it hasn't been automatically backed up by Microsoft Excel
Step 15. Select the Excel file
Click the file to select it.
Step 16. Click File
This menu option is in the upper-left corner of your computer screen. A drop-down menu will appear after that.
Step 17. Select Open With
It's at the top of the drop-down menu " File " A pop-out menu will appear after that.
Step 18. Click Excel
It's in the pop-out menu. A temporary version of the document will open in Microsoft Excel.
This temporary version may not contain some of the recent changes that you previously made to the original Excel document
Step 19. Save the document
Press the Command+S key combination, enter a file name, select a storage location on the " Where " menu, and click “ Save ”.
Tips
- Windows computers usually try to repair corrupted Excel worksheets automatically when you open them.
- You can open corrupted Excel files by enabling safe mode on your computer. If the document can be opened in that mode, a file error or virus may be the cause of the file not opening normally.
- There are several paid data recovery programs that can be used to recover corrupted Excel files. Stellar Phoenix Excel Repair is one such example and is available for Windows and Mac computers.
