How to Repair 'Excel file is Corrupt and cannot be open' issue

Now today we’re going to talk on how to repair corrupt Excel file. Before getting in any advanced details on what are the causes making your document unreadable, what’s the best Excel repair tool out there, and last how to actually repair Excel file that cannot be opened, let us first warm up our brains with easy to grasp information on Excel. I know that now everyone might be familiar with this information, but you should know that Microsoft first introduced a spreadsheet software back then in the ‘80s. Sure it used a more primitive Excel file format type, but it sure made the life of many professionals so much easier

• Part 1: Excel File Error Repair Software
• Part 2: Solution to Repair 'Excel file is Corrupt and cannot be open'

Personally, I use excel for a lot of things. Given my major in management I have to do a lot of financial calculations, reports and generate plenty of graphs and smart charts. Sometimes, I like to do simple tasks like opening a sheet and just plan my day ahead. One of my friends is even keeping his personal budget, and keeps track of daily expenses. People use it for a lot of crazy things, that you might have never thought of. Anyway, if your document gets busted you cannot afford to lose valuable information, right? That’s the point where this article helps you how to repair Excel file that cannot be opened.

Overview of 'Excel file is Corrupt and cannot be open'

Your document can get broken for a lot of reasons. A common case when you might stumble upon the error “The file is corrupt and cannot be opened.”, is when you are trying to open a document with a newer Excel version that the one it was created in. Another cause is when downloading a file from the internet and the connection is lost right before the finish point. The same thing can happen when transferring files on email and the connection gets lost. The sure thing is that you will be unable to open that document.

Another rare but significant cause is when you are changing the file format back and forth multiple times. This action might result in messing up the information contained in the header of the document, which lead to the corruption of the file. Having an excessively strict firewall system or an antivirus can also damage the file header, and you will not be able to open the document. Other causes are strictly tied to hardware. Bad heath drives can give you sleepless night too. Excel has a recovery function that could help you repair corrupt Excel files. If that won’t work, you’ll definitely need to use an Excel repair tool.

Part 1: Excel File Error Repair Software

Repairing corrupt Excel files using an Excel repair tool is always an easy task, trust me. So, if you are keep asking yourself what’s an Excel repair tool and whether you can use it to repair Excel file that cannot be opened, we’ll get there in a minute, and I’ll show you exactly how to use it. We’re talking here about a software that is able to repair damaged Excel files. It is a highly efficient tool that can deal with both “xls” and “xlsx” file formats. Stellar Phoenix Excel Repair is one of these cool programs and the best thing about it is that it keeps the original formatting of the files without modifying anything: tables, charts, comments, formulas, images, and of course filters.

Stellar Phoenix Excel Repair has a ton of cool features, but I am going to present a few relevant ones. You should know that this piece of software can recover almost any excel file errors. If something happened to your hardware and all your files got corrupted at once, then you don’t need to worry about it because you can recover multiple files at once. Windows 10 or Windows XP? No problem. It works on any windows, and you get support for Microsoft Excel 2000 and up to 2016 as well. You are also able to preview the files even before the recovery process starts.

Part 2: Solution to Repair 'Excel file is Corrupt and cannot be open' issue

Before we can jump start to repair any corrupt Excel files, please download this Excel repair tool. After you make it through to the end of the installation process, just tap the “Finish” button and wait for the program to launch itself. Follow me and I’ll show you exactly how to repair Excel file that cannot be opened:

Step 1 It will assist you in locating the files you need to recover. Tap “Select Folder” or “Select File” if you know the exact location of your corrupted files. You may also select the drive location form the drop-down menu, and tap “Search File(s)” to let the system find files instead of you;

Step 2 The search results box is now filled with items. You may select multiple files. After you have decided which one to recover, tap the “Scan” button.

Step 3 A preview of the files is being generated after scanning finished;

Step 4 Upon making your mind on which files you want to export, click the “Save” button. Choose a place to save your files and tap “ok”.

Here we are at the end of this article on how to repair corrupt Excel files. Before start using the Excel repair tool suggested in this article don’t forget to first save, and close any Excel session, because this software is using some shared components. Here are a few more tips for you:

• Whenever you are attempting to repair any Excel file that cannot be opened, don’t forget to make a backup copy. In case something happens during the recovery process you have a spare copy to try again;
• If you are saving and editing your excel files on external drive, never interrupt the connection while copying, saving and deleting. Doing it could damage your files integrity;
• It is a good thing to always keep your system updated, and check your hardware for errors at least from time to time. Any of these will prevent you from hopefully ever having to deal with data corruption caused by your own system.