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Repair an Excel File
- Thread starter Sopman
- Start date
AnotherHiggins
Technical User
I've had luck with opening damaged .xls files using OpenOffice ( then saving the file as an .xls again. Sometimes that has allowed me to open the file in Excel. OpenOffice is a free, open source office suite.
There are lots of commercial products to recover damaged excel files, but I haven't used any of them.
Hope that helps.
[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue]
[/tt][red]"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it."[/red]
-Mitch Hedberg
Help us help you. Please read FAQ181-2886 before posting.
There are lots of commercial products to recover damaged excel files, but I haven't used any of them.
Hope that helps.
[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue]
[/tt][red]"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it."[/red]
-Mitch Hedberg
Help us help you. Please read FAQ181-2886 before posting.
- Thread starter
- #3
- Thread starter
- #4
How did you get a 64 MB or GB file onto a 1.44 MB floppy?
[red]"... isn't sanity really just a one trick pony anyway?! I mean, all you get is one trick, rational thinking, but when you are good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit!" - The Tick[/red]
[red]"... isn't sanity really just a one trick pony anyway?! I mean, all you get is one trick, rational thinking, but when you are good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit!" - The Tick[/red]
AnotherHiggins
Technical User
=>The file is 64 MB
I think Sopman was referring to the file size of the OO download.
[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue]
[/tt][red]"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it."[/red]
-Mitch Hedberg
Help us help you. Please read FAQ181-2886 before posting.
I think Sopman was referring to the file size of the OO download.
[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue]
[/tt][red]"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it."[/red]
-Mitch Hedberg
Help us help you. Please read FAQ181-2886 before posting.
- Thread starter
- #8
That makes more sense. Did Open Office fix it?
[red]"... isn't sanity really just a one trick pony anyway?! I mean, all you get is one trick, rational thinking, but when you are good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit!" - The Tick[/red]
[red]"... isn't sanity really just a one trick pony anyway?! I mean, all you get is one trick, rational thinking, but when you are good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit!" - The Tick[/red]
- Thread starter
- #10
When I tried to open it in OpenOffice, in the open dialog box the excel icon symbol was replaced with a different picture. It open the file, but the spreadsheet was blank. The data in the file was gone.
I went back to windows explorer and the excel icon picture is still replaced with something different.
I downloaded a lot of Excel Repair software from the internet to no help. I may have to pay to open this one, if it can be open.
Thanks for the help.
Sopman
I went back to windows explorer and the excel icon picture is still replaced with something different.
I downloaded a lot of Excel Repair software from the internet to no help. I may have to pay to open this one, if it can be open.
Thanks for the help.
Sopman
- Thread starter
- #11
I figure out why the picture icon changed. MS-Excel is not the default program anymore. Now it's OpenOffice.
I renamed it a .doc file. MS-Word did open it, but it was unreadable with just a bunch of symbols. So I know there is data in this file.
Is there another extension I can try that is close to excel?
Sopman
I renamed it a .doc file. MS-Word did open it, but it was unreadable with just a bunch of symbols. So I know there is data in this file.
Is there another extension I can try that is close to excel?
Sopman
AnotherHiggins
Technical User
You must have selected to let OO associate itself with certain file types.
To get Excel back as the default program to open .xls files, go to Windows Explorer, then Tools > Folder Options then on the File Types tab scroll down to XLS, click on Change and select MS Excel. If you have any trouble with those instructions, please post back with your Operating System.
None of that will help you with your damaged file, but at least Excel will open your .xls files again.
_______
I'm surprised that OO opened the file with no information displayed. I would think that it would either not open the file at all, or open it with information - even if the information is displayed incorrectly. Strange...
[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue]
[/tt][red]"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it."[/red]
-Mitch Hedberg
Help us help you. Please read FAQ181-2886 before posting.
To get Excel back as the default program to open .xls files, go to Windows Explorer, then Tools > Folder Options then on the File Types tab scroll down to XLS, click on Change and select MS Excel. If you have any trouble with those instructions, please post back with your Operating System.
None of that will help you with your damaged file, but at least Excel will open your .xls files again.
_______
I'm surprised that OO opened the file with no information displayed. I would think that it would either not open the file at all, or open it with information - even if the information is displayed incorrectly. Strange...
[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue]
[/tt][red]"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it."[/red]
-Mitch Hedberg
Help us help you. Please read FAQ181-2886 before posting.
No need to work that hard.
Simply Shift-Right-Click and choose "Open With..." then pick Microsoft Excel, tick the box that says "Always use...program to open this...file" and click OK.
(If you are using XP, Select "Choose Program..." from the sub-menu to display the "Open With" dialog box.)
- Thread starter
- #15
Well, since I downloaded a bunch of repair files from the internet I caught something. I don't thing it was a virus, but not sure what it was. I have Norton Anti-Virus corporate edition and it's updated.
This is what it did, when I opened an excel file it acted as if the file was a template, but the file extension was .xls. I found alot of spyware by running spy-bot, ad-ware & yahoo spyware.
I'm on a network and the only thing we knew for sure was that it was in my profile. When another person logged into my computer they didn't have the problem. We rebuilt my profile and its gone now.
Geoff, I did try those extension, no luck. Thanks.
Sopman
This is what it did, when I opened an excel file it acted as if the file was a template, but the file extension was .xls. I found alot of spyware by running spy-bot, ad-ware & yahoo spyware.
I'm on a network and the only thing we knew for sure was that it was in my profile. When another person logged into my computer they didn't have the problem. We rebuilt my profile and its gone now.
Geoff, I did try those extension, no luck. Thanks.
Sopman
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