How to repair a corrupted Excel spreadsheet

Not too often, but there are times when a Microsoft Excel file doesn’t open. If you store anything in Excel files, it’s usually highly valuable information. Actually, that’s what Excel is for.

Solutions to the problem of a damaged Excel file:

1. Restore a previous version of a file
2. Extract a version of a file from the last backup
3. Restore with built-in tools of Microsoft Excel
4. Repair online https://excel.recoverytoolbox.com/online/
5. Recover locally for sensitive data using Recovery Toolbox for Excel from here: https://excel.recoverytoolbox.com/

If the Excel file is damaged, you should do steps 1,2,3 in any case and then select the most recent copy of the file.  These steps are completely free.

1. Restore a previous version of a file in Windows

If you use Windows System Protection, Windows automatically creates previous versions of files and folders that have changed since the last restore point was created. Typically, restore points are created once a day.

How to restore a previous version of an Excel file:

1. Open the folder with the Excel file in File Explorer
2. Right-click on the file
3. Select Properties
4. Click on the Previous Versions tab
5. Select file version
6. Click the Restore button

2. Copy the file from the backup

If your system administrator is a true professional or you regularly make backups yourself, you are lucky. Just connect to the backup storage and find the file you need there.

3. Built-in recovery function in Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel has a built-in file recovery feature hidden in the main menu. Everything is extremely simple:

1. Click on the Main menu
2. Click on Open
3. Select Browse
4. Find the corrupted Excel file on your disk
5. Click on the corrupted file
6. On the Open button, click the symbol that opens a submenu
7. Select Open and Repair

Next, Microsoft Excel will try to automatically repair the damaged file and, if successful, will open it for you.

All of the above options are free, but don’t always manage to open the file successfully. If there are multiple versions of the original Excel file, it is up to you to decide which one is more relevant for work.

If p.p.1, 2 or 3 did not give results, then there are 2 more advanced options: a special online service and a utility for Windows.

4. Recover Excel File Online

To repair a corrupted Excel spreadsheet from any device (phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, etc.) and from any system (iOS, Android, Windows, etc.) you need to:

1. Follow the link https://excel.recoverytoolbox.com/online/
2. Select file
3. Enter email (if the file recovery takes a lot of time, a link to the result will be sent to the email)
4. Enter captcha characters from the picture
5. Click Next
6. Wait for the file to be downloaded to the server and repaired
7. View the result of file recovery or download DEMO of the recovered file
8. Pay for the work of the service, if you are satisfied with the results of the recovery
9. Download recovered fil