User:Kjkiser2/Recovering Lost Excel Files

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Recovering Lost Excel Files

Excel is different from most other Microsoft Office files because it is more complex. You can have a problem with the storage location, the particular file, or Excel itself could be the problem.

Problems Saving Excel

If you can't save your Excel file, the first step is to discover where the problem occurs. DO NOT CLOSE THE FILE! Doing so will make it impossible to determine the problem.


  1. Attempt to save the Excel file to a different drive or network location
    • If this works, the problem could be the original drive is full, a network connection is lost, or you don't have the necessary permissions
  2. Open a blank Excel file and save it in the same folder as the Excel file your trying to save (this will be a temperary file to use later)
    • If this works, the problem is most likely an issue with the Excel file you're working on
    • If this doesn't work, the problem is likely with the drive you're attempting to save on (see above point)
  3. Highlight all your work in the original Excel file
  4. Open the Edit menu
  5. Click Copy
  6. Open the temp Excel file from step 2
  7. On the temp file, open the Edit menu
  8. Click Paste
  9. Save the file
    • If this works, close the temp file and re-open it to be sure it worked. If it did, delete the original file and rename the temp file.
    • If this doesn't work, an anti-virus program could be interfering with the save process of Excel
  10. Open a blank Excel file
  11. Highlight all your work in the original Excel file
  12. Open the Edit menu
  13. Click Copy
  14. Open the temp Excel file from step 2
  15. On the temp file, open the Edit menu
  16. Click Paste
    • Now that the information is saved, you can determine what is wrong with the original file. DO NOT CLOSE THE COPIED FILE!
  17. Close the original Excel file (the one you copied from)
  18. Open the Start menu
  19. Open the All Programs menu
  20. Open the Microsoft Office menu
  21. Highlight (but don't click on) Microsoft Excel
  22. Hold down Ctrl
  23. Click on Microsoft Excel
    • This will open Excel in Safe Mode which should allow you to work in Excel without interference from third-party programs such as an antivirus program

The file is damaged/Excel froze

DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING! Take a step back and relax for a minute.

  1. Open the Start menu
  2. Open the All Programs menu
  3. Open the Microsoft Office menu
  4. Open the Microsoft Office Tools menu
  5. Click on Microsoft Office Application Recovery
  6. Chose Microsoft Excel and click the Recover Application... button
  7. Open Excel again
  8. The AutoRecover should have some kind of saved copy
  9. If the file was damaged to begin with, save the file
  10. Open the File menu
  11. Click on Open
  12. Find the damged file and highlight it
  13. Next to the Open button, click on the little down arrow
  14. Choose the Open and Repair option
  15. Excel with attempt to repair all it can from the damaged file
    • You may have to decide whether Excel will covert all formulas into values or to simply keep the formulas. This decision is up to you.
    • AutoRecover will also work if the machine gets turned off before you can save the file. The next time you open Excel, select the most recent file and save it.

Source Material

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