In daily office work, Microsoft Excel is an important tool for us to process data and create reports. However, sometimes due to various reasons such as accidental power failure, incomplete file saving, virus infection, etc., it may lead to Excel file corruption or can not be opened normally. In the face of this situation, how to effectively repair damaged Excel files? This article will provide several practical methods to help you solve this problem.
Method 1: Use Excel Built-in Repair Function
Excel’s built-in repair function is designed to deal with a variety of reasons that may be damaged and can not open the Excel file is designed for the convenience of the tool. When the data structure of the Excel file because of some unexpected circumstances have been damaged, such as a sudden power failure, illegal shutdown, network transmission errors, virus infection, or file header information is damaged, etc., the conventional way may not be able to correctly read and parse the contents of these files.
Excel’s built-in “Open and Repair” feature performs a series of diagnostic and repair operations on damaged files, attempting to reconstruct and restore the core content of the file. This function will attempt to identify and correct any structural errors that may exist in the file, re-establish valid data links, and preserve as much of the original data and formulas as possible. In this way, the user can minimize the risk of potential data loss by maximizing the recovery of the data in the file before it becomes completely irretrievable.
The specific steps to repair a corrupted Excel file using Excel’s built-in repair feature are as follows:
- Open the Excel program, click the “File” menu.
- Select “Open”, and find and select the Excel file that needs to be repaired.
- Then do not directly click “Open”, but click the bottom right corner of the “Open Options” button.
- In the drop-down menu, select “Open and Repair” Excel will try to automatically detect and repair the errors in the file.
Method 2: Use A Professional Tool: MTM File Recovery for Excel
Meanwhile, you can also consider using professional file repair tools or services for fast Excel file repair, such as MTM File Recovery for Excel. MTM File Recovery for Excel is a professional-grade data recovery software, designed for repairing and recovering damaged, can not normally be opened Microsoft Excel files. It can efficiently handle various Excel file formats including .xls, and .xlsx extensions. The software has a powerful deep scanning engine that can deeply analyze the file structure, and find and rebuild elements such as data tables, charts, formulas, styles, and macros inside the file.
With MTM File Recovery for Excel, users can easily cope with Excel file corruption problems caused by virus attacks, system crashes, improper shutdowns, hard disk corruption, or file header errors. The software provides an intuitive and simple interface that allows users to execute the recovery process smoothly even without having a specialized technical background, ensuring maximum salvage of important spreadsheet data from front-line law enforcement, government, and businesses.
It can deeply scan and recover corrupted Excel files. Follow the steps prompted by the software to scan and repair one or more corrupted files at the same time.
- Download and install the software. Download the MTM File Recovery for Excel software and follow the installation guide to complete the installation process. Launch the software. Double-click on the software icon on the desktop to open the program.
- Select the corrupted Excel files. In the main interface of the software, click on the “Add” button, navigate to the folder where the corrupted Excel file is located, and select one or more Excel files to be repaired.
- Scan for corrupted files. The software will automatically start deep scanning and analyzing the selected Excel files to find and try to repair errors in the file structure.
- Preview the repair results. Once the scanning is complete, the software provides a preview feature that allows the user to see if what has been repaired is correct or not.
- Save the repaired file. After verifying that the previewed content is correct, select the “Export” option to save the repaired Excel file to a new safe location so as not to overwrite the original corrupted file.
Method 3: Use the Backup File for Excel Recovery
Excel defaults to the “automatic recovery of information” feature. If the file is damaged before having edited and saved the operation, Excel may have created a backup file for you. Find the original file in the same directory as the “~ $” at the beginning of the temporary file, rename it to remove the special character suffix, and try to open it with Excel.
Method 4: Save as New File Format
Sometimes, the damage to the file structure is not serious, you can try to save the damaged Excel file to another format (such as .csv), and then re-import it into Excel, so you may be able to avoid the errors in the original file.
Method 5: Manual Repair (For Professional Users)
For professional users who are familiar with the file structure, you can also try to repair it manually by opening the XML component of the corrupted file. .xls and .xlsx files in Excel 2007 and later versions are essentially compressed packages that contain multiple XML files.
After decompression, manual modification for the damaged part, and then repackaging, there is a certain probability that it can be repaired.
Conclusion
Overall, repairing corrupt Excel files requires different strategies depending on the actual situation. First of all, you should try to ensure the security of the files and backup important data regularly; secondly, when encountering problems, start from the simplest and easiest way to try, and gradually upgrade to using professional tools (such as MTM File Recovery for Excel) or even manual repair. Prevention is always better than cure, and practicing good data management habits is also the key to avoiding such problems.
