How To Recover Your Excel Spreadsheets From A Corrupt File

Introduction

As an Excel user, I know how frustrating it can be when a file becomes corrupted and refuses to open. Excel spreadsheets contain critical data, formulas, and analysis that are essential to daily work. Suddenly losing access to that information can be devastating. Fortunately, recovering your Excel spreadsheets from corrupt files is possible in many cases with the right tools and techniques.

In this comprehensive guide, I will walk through the main methods I have used to successfully recover corrupt Excel files. Whether the file is giving error messages, crashing on open, or just displaying nonsense, this guide will help restore your access to that critical spreadsheet data.

Determine Why the File is Corrupt

The first step is to diagnose why an Excel file has become corrupted. Determining the cause will inform the recovery approach. Here are the main reasons Excel files can become corrupt:

Accidental File Damage

• Files may become corrupt if improperly closed, such as during a program crash, system crash, or power loss. This can result in data loss or malformed file components.

• Transferring files between operating systems like Windows and Mac can sometimes cause file corruption if not done properly.

• Incorrect file associations may lead to opening Excel files in the wrong programs and damaging the contents.

Formula Errors and File Size Limits

• Large, complex Excel files with thousands of complex formulas can sometimes exceed the limits of the Excel calculation engine, leading to crashes and corruption.

• Worksheets with too many cells, rows, columns, named ranges, or other objects can also exceed Excel’s file size limits, causing corruption.

File Storage and Transfer Issues

• Saving files to damaged external drives, bad sectors on a disk, or unreliable cloud storage can introduce errors and corrupt Excel files.

• Downloading or transferring files over bad network connections leads to incomplete files or file damage.

• Email attachments resulting in file truncation or loss of portions of an Excel file will also lead to corruption.

Recover Excel Files with AutoRecover

If you accidentally closed an Excel file without saving, or if the program crashed, the built-in AutoRecover feature may have automatically saved a temporary backup copy. Here are the steps to recover an Excel file using AutoRecover:

Open a New Blank Workbook

• Launch Excel and open a new blank workbook file.

Check the Document Recovery Pane

• Go to the File tab and select Info > Manage Document Recovery.

• In the Document Recovery pane on the left, look for any autorecovered files for the corrupted document.

Recover and Save the File

• Double click the autorecovered file to open it.

• Review the contents to verify the data is intact.

• Use Save As to save a permanent copy to your location of choice.

AutoRecover is enabled by default in modern versions of Excel, so this method has the best chance of recovering your spreadsheet if it was recently open.

Use Excel’s Repair Utility

If AutoRecover does not work, the next option to try is Excel’s built-in repair utility. Here are the steps:

Launch Excel

• Open Excel. Do not try to open the corrupted file yet.

Browse to the File

• Click the File tab and select Open.

• Browse to the location of the corrupted Excel file but do not open it yet.

Click the Repair Option

• Click the small arrow next to the Open button.

• Select Open and Repair.

Let Excel Repair the File

• The repair process will run. Allow it to complete fully.

• Excel will attempt to repair errors in the file and open a recovered version.

Note: The repair process does not overwrite or modify the original corrupted file – it simply tries to open a working version. So your original stays intact.

This method utilizes Excel’s built-in diagnostics and recovery capabilities. It works well for repairing files with minor data corruption or formula issues.

Recover from a Backup or Version History

If AutoRecover and the Repair option do not succeed, the next step I try is recovering from a previous version of the Excel file. There are a couple ways to do this:

Via File History

• If you have File History enabled in Windows, browse to its folder in the File Explorer.

• Navigate to previous versions of the Excel file and open a version that worked properly.

• Save As to create a new working copy.

Via Cloud Versions

• If you have the Excel file stored in Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or another cloud storage provider, browse to the file online.

• Look for previous versions stored over time and download a good version that opens properly.

• Again use Save As to create a working copy on your local storage.

Via Manual Backups

• Similarly, if you have your own manual backup processes or use a backup program like Time Machine on Mac, locate previous backups of the Excel file.

• Recover versions of the file from before the corruption occurred.

• Save a working copy to your regular folders.

In many cases this allows me to recover Excel spreadsheets by grabbing a clean, uncorrupted version of the file from a day or two prior.

Use Specialized Recovery Software

Sometimes manual recovery methods do not work, particularly if the file is severely corrupt with major data loss. In these cases, the next step I take is to use professional Excel recovery software.

Here are some characteristics of good Excel file repair software:

• Deep scanning to detect even seriously corrupted files.
• Advanced rebuild of file structures, components, and data.
• Full and partial file recovery to rescue whatever data is possible.
• Retains Excel formatting and objects like formulas, tables, etc.

Some examples of well-reviewed recovery tools I have used include:

• Stellar Repair for Excel – My preferred tool, with a high recovery rate.
• EaseUS Excel Recovery – Also good, with free trial option.
• Remo Repair Excel – Solid performer for deep file corruption.

The key is finding a utility that can handle advanced rebuilding of corrupt Excel files, going beyond the limited repair capabilities built into Excel.

While not free, the investment is well worth it when compared to hundreds of lost hours recreating complex, corrupted spreadsheets. These tools have saved me on multiple occasions!

Contact Microsoft Support for Further Help

If all the above steps fail to recover your damaged Excel file, the final resort is to reach out to Microsoft Support for assistance.

• On Windows, go to Settings > Update & Security > Contact Support.

• Describe the issue with your Excel file corruption and recovery attempts.

• They may be able to suggest advanced technical steps for file repair beyond standard methods.

While rare, I have occasionally had to escalate to Microsoft when faced with extremely stubborn file corruption scenarios not fixable any other way.

Protect Against Future Corruption

Once you have successfully recovered your corrupted Excel files, it is wise to implement some ongoing file protection best practices:

• Perform regular file backups manually or automatically with software.

• Store important files on reliable storage media, not just a single PC.

• Utilize a cloud sync service for additional backup and versioning.

• Close Excel files properly each time vs. forced shutdowns.

• Limit size and complexity of Excel files. Split data into separate files if needed.

• Clean up unwanted versions and drafts of Excel files over time.

Applying preventative measures like these will help limit your risk of dealing with corrupted Excel files again in the future!

Conclusion

Recovering damaged Excel spreadsheets is possible using the techniques outlined above:

• Leverage Excel’s AutoRecover and Repair utilities.

• Restore from backup versions and file histories.

• Use advanced recovery software designed for Excel.

• Contact Microsoft Support as a last resort.

While frustrating, even severely corrupted spreadsheets that completely fail to open can often be salvaged and repaired with persistence, the right tools, and help if necessary. Don’t abandon hope, as long as you have not overwritten the only copy of your Excel file, there is a good chance the data can be rescued!

Implementing ongoing file protection best practices will also help you avoid having to recover from corruption again in the future.