An MS Excel workbook (.XLS/.XLSX) file may not open due to damage or corruption caused by various reasons, such as:
- Sudden power failure
- System crash
- Virus or malware intrusion
- Large or oversized Excel file
- Incompatible add-ins
- Drive errors
- Damaged MS Office/Excel program files
As a result, when you try to open or access a corrupt Excel document, the program displays errors, such as "The workbook cannot be opened or repaired by Microsoft Excel because it is corrupt." This may lead to a data loss situation.
Methods to Fix 'The Workbook Cannot Be Opened' Error
When an Excel workbook gets corrupt, MS Excel automatically detects and starts the file recovery mode to open and repair the file. However, when it fails to repair the corruption or recover the Excel file automatically, it displays the error message, "The workbook cannot be opened or repaired by Microsoft Excel because it is corrupt." In such a situation, you can follow these methods to repair and recover the Excel document manually.
If the manual methods fail to resolve the error, you can use an Excel repair software, such as Stellar Repair for Excel. The software repairs corrupt XLS/XLSX file, recovers all the data, and saves it in a new Excel document with 100% precision, while keeping the cell formatting and properties intact.
NOTE: Before performing the below methods to repair or recover Excel documents, create a backup copy of the original file. This will help you recover data by using an Excel repair tool and avoid permanent data loss.
1. Repair Excel Workbook Manually
If the automatic repair fails, you may try manual repair to fix the damage or extract the data from the damaged Excel workbook. The steps are as follows:
- Navigate to File > Open and then go to the location where the spreadsheet is located.
- In the Open window, select the corrupted workbook that you want to fix and then click on the arrow next to the Open button.
- From the available options, choose Open and Repair…
- Then click 'Repair' if you want to recover maximum data from the workbook or click 'Extract data' if the repair option fails to fix the issue. It will extract all the values, formulas, tables, etc., from the corrupt workbook.
If both options fail to fix the issue, head to the next method.
2. Remove Faulty or Incompatible Add-ins
Faulty or incompatible add-ins may also cause this error. To find and remove such add-ins, follow these steps:
- Press Windows key + R.
- Type Excel /safe and press 'Enter' or click 'OK.' This opens MS Excel in Safe Mode.
- Go to File > Options and then select 'Add-ins.'
- Choose 'Excel Add-ins' from Manage: option and then click on the Go button to view all Add-ins.
- Uncheck the checkboxes of Add-ins and then click 'OK' to disable them.
Now close the Excel program and run it normally. Click 'File > Open' and choose the Excel file you want to access.
3. Repair MS Office Installation
Damaged Excel program files may also lead to such errors. However, you can easily repair MS Office installation to fix the problem. The steps are as follows:
- Open Control Panel and select 'Uninstall a program.'
- Search and choose MS Office from the programs list. Then click on the 'Change' button.
- Select 'Repair' and follow the wizard to fix the damaged program files.
If this fails to address the issue, you can uninstall and then fresh install MS Office on your system. Alternatively, try accessing the file on another PC.
4. Use Excel Repair Software
The best option is to use an Excel repair software, such as Stellar Repair for Excel, to repair the file, resolve the error, and access the Excel (XLS/XLSX) worksheet. The software can repair an Excel file without any size limitation.
After recovering the Excel file using the software, you can open it in any MS Excel program without encountering the error message.
Conclusion
A corrupt or damaged Excel workbook may lead to errors, such as "The workbook cannot be opened or repaired by Microsoft Excel because it is corrupt," and cause a data loss situation. The most efficient way to fix such corrupt Excel files is to repair them by using an Excel repair tool, such as Stellar Repair for Excel.
Unlike manual methods that may fail to resolve the issue or lead to further damage, this software extracts the data from the damaged Excel file and saves it in a new Excel workbook. Thus, it is 100% safe to run on an original Excel file, as it does not overwrite or alter the original file.
The software is free to download. You can scan, repair, and preview a corrupt Excel file by using the demo version. Once you are satisfied with the results, activate the software to save the repaired Excel workbook data in a new sheet.
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