Top Reliable Methods to Recover Corrupted Excel Spreadsheet

Summary: Many times users face issues while accessing excel file. This happens due to File Corruption of Issues. Therefore, we are here with an informative post about the top ways to recover corrupted Excel Spreadsheet. Here we have four manual techniques with steps by step guidance. Additionally, we have also mentioned details about an expert’s recommended tool, here. The name of this professional utility is Excel Recovery tool. Download Now   Purchase Now

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet developed for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Which is often used by individuals and organizations for preparing charts, illustrative graphics, doing complex calculations, and storing large spreadsheets. But sometimes it can be a headache too when users are unable to access Excel data properly due to corruption in it, and if not handled properly in time, such issues can cause a huge loss of data and records. So let’s see how to recover a corrupted Excel Spreadsheet in this post.

Possible Reasons For File Corruption

• Sudden power failure and improper shutdown.
• Mistakenly deleted files.
• Technical defects in Excel.
• Malware/virus attack.
• Hardware Failure.
• Other unavoidable errors like natural calamity, theft, fraud, etc.

Error Messages For Corrupted Excel Files

What error notification shows when MS Excel files get corrupted? Look below:

• “Excel found unreadable content in ‘.’ Do you want to recover the contents of this workbook? If you trust the source of this workbook, click Yes.”
• “Can’t find project or library.”
• “The workbook cannot be opened or repaired by Microsoft Excel because it is corrupted.”
• “Microsoft Excel has stopped working.”

Now, let us learn the methods to recover corrupted Excel Spreadsheets in the successive context. Manual Methods to Recover Corrupted Excel Files

Method 1. Repairing Excel files

To recover the corrupted Excel Spreadsheet, follow the below steps:

1. Click the ‘File’, and select ‘Open’.
2. Look for the place where the corrupt workbook is present, and select the corrupted worksheet.
   
   
3. Expand the arrow next to ‘Open’. Here select ‘Open and Repair’.
   
   
4. To repair, select ‘Repair’.
   
   

Method 2. Recover the data from an Open Workbook

1. Select to return to the last saved version of the file. For this:
2. Click on ‘File’. Select ‘Open’.
3. Double-click on the name of the workbook (the one that is open in your Excel)
4. Click ‘Yes’ to reopen it

The workbook will now appear. Please note that you will not have the latest modifications in the newly opened document. Fact_O_Verse: Do You Know? How Toolbar comes into Scenario? Don’t Know! It appeared in Excel 3.0 for the first time and since then almost every desktop application consists of them. Now, it’s a standard for each application and it made it easy for users like us to navigate. Isn’t It Cool!

Method 3. Recover by setting the Calculation option as Manual

Data also can be recovered from the workbooks that cannot be opened. To do this, you will need to configure the calculation option manual in Excel

1. Begin by clicking on ‘File’. Select ‘New’. In New, select ‘Blank workbook’.
   
   
2. From File, select ‘Options’.
   
   
3. In the Formulas category, under the section ‘Calculation’, select ‘Manual’. Now click on ‘OK’.
   
   
4. Now, click ‘File’, and select ‘Open’ and open the corrupted or damaged Excel file.

Method 4. Recover only the data

This is another way to recover only the data (leaving formulas/calculated values) from the workbook using external references (to link Excel workbook) as:

1. Click on ‘File’. Select ‘Open’.
2. Navigate to the folder that contains the corrupted workbook.
3. After this, ‘Right-click’ on the file name of the corrupted workbook, and click on ‘Copy’. Hit ‘Cancel’.
4. Click the ‘File’ button. Then, select ‘New’.
5. Under ‘New’, select ‘Blank workbook’. In the first cell (A1), type =!A1 and press ‘Enter’.
• Choose the corrupted workbook, in the Update Values dialogue (if it appears), then click on ‘OK’.
• Choose the relevant sheet in the Select Sheet dialogue (if it appears) sheet, then click on ‘OK’.
  
  
6. Again select ‘cell A1’, click on ‘Home’, and select Copy.
7. Now select (start from cell A1) an area equal to that of the data in the original workbook.
8. Click on the ‘Home’ now and select Paste.
9. Hit the ‘Home’ button and select Copy again (on the same selection of cells)
10. Click on the ‘Home’ and then on the arrow below Paste. Here click ‘Values’ (under Paste Values).
    
    

By pasting values, you remove the links to the corrupted workbook leaving only the data. By following these steps, you will be able to recover a corrupted Excel Spreadsheet. You can also check the blog to Fix File Not Found Error in Windows.

Method 5. Recover Corrupted Excel Files Using Automated Solution

By using Excel Recovery Software, a user can easily fix corrupted Excel files. The software supports Excel corrupted files saved with both .xls as well as .xlsx extensions and recovers the maximum possible data from them. Follow the working process of this tool step by step to repair corrupted Excel file:

1. Download and Launch the tool.
2. Select the corrupt ‘XLS/XLSX’ file to start the recovery process. Now click on ‘Next’.
3. The recovery process is being conducted on your system.
4. Select the ‘Grid option’ from the drop-down menu and then click on the ‘Next’ button.
5. Now check the preview of recovered sheets and data. Then click ‘Next’.
6. Choose any or both the options to do the finest recovery process, i.e. ‘Recreate Approach’ or ‘Save Media’
7. Now select the location where you want to save the recovered Excel sheets and click on the ‘Save’ button.
8. After a few seconds, the saving process is completed. Click on the ‘OK’ button and close the application.

Conclusion

In this article, we have suggested all the possible methods to recover a corrupted Excel Spreadsheet. If all the manual methods don’t work properly try the Excel Recovery tool to fix corrupted Excel files and recover lost data. It is one of the best-advanced recovery tools with some prominent features such as Swift & Effective Recovery, Auto-Search available Files, Grid Selection for Preview, Recreate Approach, Independent Saving, Restore Multiple Files at a Time, Complete Recovery of Damaged Sheet, Saving Media Option, Easy & Interactive User Interface, etc.

Related Post