How to Fix: The file is corrupted and cannot be opened Error

Fix The file is corrupted and cannot be opened Error in Excel

The newer versions of Microsoft Excel offers more useful and efficient features to its users. But, sometimes it is seen that the .xls files of older versions deny opening in the newer Excel versions. Furthermore, when we try to open an older version Excel file in the new version, it gets corrupt and crashes. One such problem occurs when Microsoft users upgrade Excel. An error message that is generally encountered while opening a previous version file in the current one is: The file is corrupted and cannot be opened in Excel 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, or 2000.
Not only after upgrading to the new version, but, there are few more reasons due to which this kind of error occurs while accessing an XLS file. Here, in this blog, we will discuss some of the common methods to resolve this issue along with some reasons:

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Reasons Behind The file is corrupted and cannot be opened in Excel Spreadsheet

Before proceeding further, to the solution to open damaged or unsaved MS Excel document. Let’s know the major reasons that why .xls file got corrupted. Some of the reasons are listed below:

Manual Approach to Fix The file is corrupted and cannot be opened Error

There are several errors that a Microsoft user may encounter while accessing an Excel spreadsheet. Now, to resolve and fix all such errors try the following manual solution.

Repair and Recover Corrupted/Damaged XLS File

Use "Open and Repair" Option to Open Crashed or Unsaved Excel 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007 Versions

In some cases, XLS file is damaged/corrupted in such a way that even Microsoft Excel is not able to open it easily. But, it is not lost completely and can be repaired using an inbuilt Open and Repair tool. Follow the steps given below to access a crashed Excel file:

  1. Open Microsoft Excel.
  2. Now, click on the File >> Open option.
    Note: MS Excel 2007 does not contain File tab. So, click on the Office button and then click the Open button.
  3. Now, browse to the location of the file or folder where Excel workbook is stored.
    Note: Do not open the Excel spreadsheet directly from the Recent section as it can’t be opened into the Open dialog box.
  4. Select the damaged Excel file you want to open >> Click on the drop-down arrow next to the Open button >> Select Open and Repair option.

Well, we have also come up with an optimum solution to fix the above-mentioned The file is corrupted and cannot be opened Excel file error. Read the next section to know about this appropriate approach.

Perfect & Hassle-Free Solution to Open Crashed Excel Document

Sometimes MS Excel file is infected with some major corruptions, that even the above manual solution doesn't work for that. So, to overcome some of the limitations like time-consuming process, doesn't works for highly damaged documents, etc. it is suggested to use a relevant third-party tool to fix this error in Excel file. The Excel File Repair Software is such a high-tech algorithm that removes the error: The file is corrupted and cannot be opened Excel 2016, 2013, 2010 2007, 2003, 2000, and any other kind of corruption from the XLS file.