What's inside your computer?
 

Welcome to our computer component ARchive. Have fun browsing!

 

Article #121: Repair Excel File

(Browse for more articles)

 
Excel worksheets can get corrupt or recovery would be possible in Visual
damaged at any point of time. Just Basic code in the modules and class
imagine working on important financial modules. Search for the "Sub" and
figures and power goes off. And when "Function" word to find the code.
power comes back, you cannot access your 4. Open file in MS Excel Viewer
worksheet or the excel file fails to You can recover the lost data with the
open. Now what to do? help of MS Excel Viewer. MS Excel Viewer
is a small, freely distributed program
There are times when MS Office which enables you to view and print Excel
application automatically recovers the for Windows (v2.0 and greater) and MS
unexpected closed document with the help Excel for Macintosh (v 2.2a and greater)
of Auto recover option and your data is spreadsheet files.
saved from being lost and inaccessible. Install the application and then you can
But what happens when you cannot access copy the cells and paste them in new
your data, can you still get it back. The worksheet. This method can only recover
answer is "Yes". Why not? the results of the formulas which are
The fast paced technology has developed currently in the cell and the formatting
such recovery tools to recover and of the file. Thus you cannot recover
restore the lost data. If you lose your macro sheets, module sheets, dialog
data, you can still get it back by sheets, charts or VBA macro modules.
performing some basic steps or at last if 5. Disable Macros
their remains no hope, you can select a Disable macros while attempting to open
third party utility - an excel file the corrupt excel file.
repair software. 6. Use of External Link Formulas in
This article aims to discuss those another Worksheet
methods and points which prove helpful in Type the following command in the a1 cell
the cases when you lose your important of a new worksheet: ='C:\My
data. Documents\[Corrupt File
How Data Becomes Corrupt or Inaccessible: Name.xls]Sheet'1!A1
Before discussing the preventions first Change the path according to the file
we should look at some of the causes due location and corrupt file name. Copy this
to which the excel file gets corrupt. The code down and over to mirror the range
causes are: covered in the damaged file. Cell values
Virus Attacks except the formulas or VBA codes can be
Unexpected or improper system shutdown recovered with this method.
Power Outages 7. Use of Excel's built-in Detect and
Media Errors Repair feature
Error messages like: The "Detect and Repair" feature is the
"Excel unable to read file..", built-in recovery procedure through which
"This file is not in a recognizable data from the corrupt excel files can
format", also be recovered. Follow the steps to
"????.xls file cannot be accessed. The use this feature:
file may be read-only",
Excel.exe has generated errors and will 1. Open New Excel worksheet
be closed by Windows. You will need to 2. Click the File menu and select the
restart the program; an error log is Open option.
being created". 3. In the Open dialogue box, select the
Methods to Recover Data from the Corrupt .xls file which you want to open. The
Excel Files: Open button will get activated, click the
1. Saving the file in HTML format arrow and select the Open and Repair
2. Use of Revert To Saved Document option.
feature 4. Click the Repair button to start the
3. Open file in MS Word process of recovery and Extract Data
4. Open file in MS Excel Viewer button to extract data if excel was
5. Disable Macros unable to repair a previous workbook.
6. Use of External Link Formulas in The Excel workbook with corruptions can
another Worksheet be easily recovered and repaired by using
7. Use of Excel's built-in Detect and this method.
Repair feature 8. Other Procedures
8. Other Procedures As the above mentioned steps can help you
1. Saving the file in HTML format to recover data from the corrupt excel
If you are unable to access data or open files, you can also give a try to these
the worksheet, then you can save the steps, which can prove helpful:
corrupt file in .html format and then
reopen it. To do this, perform the 1. Close the Excel file and then re-open
following steps: it.
2. This does not works, restart your
1. Click the File menu > click the computer system, try to open the excel
Save As option. file again.
2. Click the Save as type list, select 3. If this also not works, delete content
the Web Page (*.htm, *.html) option. from the "C:\Windows\Temp folder" and
3. Close the file again restart the Computer system.
4. Again open the file in MS Excel 4. If this also does not work then open
5. Click the File menu, and select the the corrupt excel file in Safe mode. This
Save As option. process disables the VBA and Add-ins.
6. Click the Save As type list and select Click the Start menu and select the Run
the Microsoft Excel Workbook option. option.
Change the name of the file, to create Enter the following command: "C:\Program
filtered copy without replacing the Files\Microsoft Office\Office\excel.exe"
original worksheet file. s. Now excel in safe mode will start.
Note: Some features might get lost when Note: If you are working on Excel 2002,
the file is saved in HTML format. Office XP, MS Office Installer will start
2. Use of Revert To Saved Document as you enter the command in Run option.
While working on an excel worksheet, if Click Cancel, safe mode will start.
by chance your worksheet closes
automatically or it becomes corrupt 1. If this also does not work, scan the
before saving the changes then you can file for viruses. This might solve the
try this method to retrieve the data problem.
back: 2. You can also try this. Copy and paste
the .xls file to another partition and
1. Click the File menu and select the then try to open the file. This might
Open option. actually work.
2. The Open dialogue box appears select 3. Finally when you have tried all the
the name of the .xls file on which you above-mentioned points and it seems that
were working. they will not work then you can select a
3. As you select the .xls file, a third party utility to recover data from
dialogue box will be displayed with the the corrupt excel file. There are many
following message : "Revert to Saved excel file recovery software which are
Document" designed to perform data recovery on the
4. Click OK corrupt files.
The last saved version of the corrupt The Excel File Repair software is an
.xls file will be displayed. efficient corrupt excel file recovery
3. Open file in MS Word or WordPad software which retrieves and recovers
To open the MS Excel worksheet in MS data from the corrupt excel sheets. The
Word, you need to install MS Excel excel recovery software recovers the cell
converter on your computer system. data, formulas, charts, images,
If the corrupt excel file gets opened in hyperlinks and other embedded objects
MS Word then you will be able to recover from the corrupt excel sheets.
text and result of the formulas which are You can try the FREE demo version of the
currently in the cells. You may not be Kernel Excel File Repair software and if
able to recover the dialog sheets, chart the excel file data recovery software
sheets, embedded charts or any module displays your lost and inaccessible data
sheets and also the cell formulas. then you can purchase Full version of the
If converting to WordPad, the data software.






1 - A - B - C - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 - 32 - 33 - 34 - 35 - 36 - 37 - 38 - 39 - 40 - 41 - 42 - 43 - 44 - 45 - 46 - 47 - 48 - 49 - 50 - 51 - 52 - 53 - 54 - 55 -