“The Excel file that worked fine yesterday now says ‘The workbook is corrupted and cannot be opened or repaired by Microsoft Excel’ when I try to open it…” If that file contains important data, this kind of error can be seriously stressful.

But don’t panic yet. Even when an Excel file is corrupted, there’s a pretty good chance you can still recover the data. In this article, we’ll walk through six ways to repair or recover a broken Excel file, starting with the easiest options, mainly using features available in Microsoft 365 as of March 2026.

Why Do Excel Files Get Corrupted in the First Place?

Before we get into the fixes, it helps to know why Excel files get damaged. Understanding the cause can also help you prevent it from happening again. These are the five most common reasons.

1. A forced shutdown or power loss during saving
If your PC freezes while Excel is saving, or the power goes out in the middle of a save, the file may only be partially written. That can corrupt the workbook. This is probably the most common cause.

2. Removing a USB drive or external hard drive without ejecting it safely
If you pull out a USB drive while an Excel file on it is still open, or remove it without using “Safely Remove Hardware,” the saved data can become incomplete.

3. Network drive connection problems
If you’re editing a file stored on a company file server or NAS and your Wi-Fi drops or your VPN becomes unstable, Excel may fail to save properly and the file can become corrupted.

4. The file is too large
Excel workbooks with hundreds of thousands of rows or lots of pasted images are more likely to run into errors while saving or opening.

5. Excel bugs or update-related issues
In rare cases, a Windows Update or Office update can cause certain files to stop opening. Check Microsoft Support to see if there are any known issues.

Method 1: Use Excel’s “Open and Repair” Feature First

Excel has a built-in feature that can automatically repair damaged files. It’s also a method recommended in Microsoft’s official help, so this should be your first stop.

Steps:

  1. Launch Excel. A new blank workbook is fine.
  2. Click “File” → “Open” → “Browse.”
  3. Select the corrupted file, but don’t click “Open” yet.
  4. Click the small arrow ▼ next to the “Open” button.
  5. Select “Open and Repair.”
  6. Click “Repair” first. If that doesn’t work, click “Extract Data.”

When you choose “Repair,” Excel analyzes the workbook structure and tries to fix the broken parts. “Extract Data” is more of a last resort: it discards formatting and charts and tries to recover only the values and formulas. If either option opens the file, immediately use “Save As” and save it as a separate file.

Method 2: Restore From an AutoRecover File

Excel includes an AutoRecover feature that automatically saves backup copies of your work at set intervals. The default is every 10 minutes. If the original file is corrupted, you may still be able to use one of these AutoRecover files.

Steps:

  1. Launch Excel.
  2. Click “File” → “Info” → “Manage Workbook.”
  3. If “Recover Unsaved Workbooks” appears, click it and check the list.
  4. Look at the dates and times, then open a version from before the file became corrupted.

AutoRecover files are usually stored here:

C:\Users\（ユーザー名）\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\

If you find a .xlsb or .tmp file there, you may be able to open it after changing the extension to .xlsx.

💡 Prevention tip: For the future, go to “File” → “Options” → “Save” and set “Save AutoRecover information every” to 5 minutes or less. That can greatly reduce data loss if something goes wrong.

Method 3: Restore From OneDrive or SharePoint Version History

If the file was saved in OneDrive or SharePoint, Microsoft 365’s cloud storage, you can often roll it back to an earlier version. This is one of the biggest benefits of saving files in the cloud.

Steps for OneDrive:

  1. Sign in to OneDrive in your browser.
  2. Right-click the corrupted file and choose “Version history.”
  3. Find a version from before the file broke, then click “Restore.”

OneDrive keeps version history for the past 30 days with a Microsoft 365 subscription. So even if the file broke a week ago, there may still be a healthy version from before the problem started.

SharePoint works in a similar way: select the file, open “Version history,” and restore an earlier copy. If your company file server is based on SharePoint, it’s also worth asking your IT department for help.

Method 4: Use Windows “Previous Versions”

Even if the file was saved locally on your PC, Windows may be able to restore an older copy if File History or restore points were enabled beforehand.

Steps:

  1. Right-click the corrupted file.
  2. Open “Properties” → the “Previous Versions” tab.
  3. If older versions are listed, select one and click “Restore.”

However, this only works if File History was already turned on before the problem happened. If the list is empty, this method won’t help, so move on to the next option.

💡 Prevention tip: Turn on “Back up using File History” under “Settings” → “Update & Security” → “Backup.” If you choose an external hard drive or NAS as the backup destination, Windows can automatically save file history for you.

Method 5: Try Opening the File in Excel Online

This isn’t widely known, but sometimes a file that won’t open in the desktop version of Excel will open in the browser version, Excel Online. Excel Online reads files differently from the desktop app, so it may be able to skip the damaged part and display the contents.

Steps:

  1. Upload the corrupted file to OneDrive.
  2. Click the uploaded file to open it in your browser.
  3. If the data appears, use “Download a copy” to save it back to your computer.

Anyone with a free Microsoft account can use this. It’s absolutely worth a try.

Method 6: Switch Calculation to “Manual” Before Opening the File

If the workbook contains a large number of complex formulas, Excel may run into an error during automatic recalculation when the file opens and mistakenly treat the workbook as corrupted. Switching calculation mode to “Manual” first can sometimes let you open the file by skipping recalculation.

Steps:

  1. Open a new blank Excel workbook.
  2. Go to the “Formulas” tab → “Calculation Options” → “Manual.”
  3. With that setting still enabled, go to “File” → “Open” and open the corrupted file.

If the file opens, look for the formula that’s causing the problem and fix it. Afterward, don’t forget to change calculation mode back to “Automatic.”

What If None of These Methods Work?

If you’ve tried all six methods above and the file still won’t open, consider these next steps.

Repair the Office application
Excel itself may be the problem. Try going to “Settings” → “Apps” → “Microsoft 365” → “Modify” → “Online Repair.” You can find Microsoft’s official instructions here.

Open the file in another app
LibreOffice Calc, which is free, and Google Sheets read Excel files differently from Excel itself, so they may be able to open a damaged workbook.

Contact a professional data recovery service
If the data is absolutely essential, a data recovery service may be an option. Just keep in mind that these services often cost tens of thousands of yen or more, so weigh the cost against the importance of the data.

5 Habits That Help Prevent Excel File Corruption

Knowing how to repair a file is useful, but preventing corruption in the first place is even better. These habits can significantly reduce the risk of damaged Excel files.

  1. Save files to OneDrive or SharePoint — Cloud storage keeps version history automatically, so you can roll files back when needed.
  2. Set AutoRecover to 5 minutes or less — You can change this under “File” → “Options” → “Save.”
  3. Don’t edit files directly on a USB drive — Copy the file to your computer first, edit it there, then copy it back when you’re done.
  4. Split up huge workbooks — If a file has more than 20 sheets or over 100,000 rows, consider separating it into multiple files.
  5. Don’t use your PC while a large file is saving — With big files, it’s safest to wait until the save is finished.

FAQ

If Excel’s “Open and Repair” can’t fix the file, is the data gone for good?

No, you don’t have to give up yet. “Extract Data” may still be able to recover values and formulas. You may also be able to restore the file through OneDrive version history, AutoRecover files, or Excel Online.

Are the repair steps different for .xlsx and .xls files?

The basic steps are the same. However, .xlsx files, used by Excel 2007 and later, are collections of XML files compressed as a ZIP archive. That means you may be able to change the extension to .zip and inspect or extract the contents directly. Older .xls files, used by Excel 97-2003, are binary files, so that method won’t work.

Is it safe to use an online repair tool if the corrupted Excel file contains confidential information?

We strongly recommend avoiding web-based “Excel repair tools” for files that contain confidential information, because you have to upload the file. Prioritize local methods such as Excel’s “Open and Repair” feature or Office repair instead.

Can I use the same repair methods on a Mac?

Excel for Mac with Microsoft 365 also includes the “Open and Repair” feature. OneDrive version history and Excel Online work the same way, too. However, the “Previous Versions” option depends on Time Machine on macOS, so the steps are different.

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