Excel 2013 starts up with blank screen when opened from explorer

Hi Doonser,

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Thank you.

There's one change to what I said above, but it wouldn't let me save my edit for some reason.

(Edit)

I finally found the exe files for Office 15 in the following folder: 

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\root\office15

I changed the Administrator settings back and forth as you suggested. No change. 

In addition, I later checked the option "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings," as I was trying to solve a different problem (the fact that Office 15 is so hard on the eyes. I'm afraid I'm screwed on that account. My guess is Office 15 was made to look good in Windows 8 on a tablet. But I like color and depth, and am using Windows 7 on a good quality laptop and external monitor. Fonts are blurry and the color scheme is limited and depressing. But that's another issue.)

Anyway, that did not help.  

(End of edit)

Vijay, 

Thanks again for your help. 

Before I start, I'll add that I can open these files from within Excel, just not from Explorer. I have tried with several different files that worked before I installed 2013. 

Anyway, in order: 

Option 1: 

There's nothing in this folder except a folder titled "InfoPathOMFormService", several DLL's, one XML, EXE, HTML, and VBS file.

When I search the Program Files (x86) folder for "Excel" I don't get any EXE files. 

However, when I search Program Files I find a shortcut to Excel in "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\root\vfs\Common Programs\Microsoft Office 2013". The shortcut, however, is not functional: 

The properties lead me to this location, where there is clearly no  Excel.exe to be found: 

Option 2:

I tried that while I was waiting, based on results from a web search. 

Option 3: 

The only third party utilities that I can think might interfere would be Norton Internet Security ver. 21.4, but this has not caused problems with Office previously. And, as I think  I said, this problem has only come up recently. From what I have read online, other users experiencing this problem used Office 2013 for a while with no problems, and all of a sudden, problems cropped up. 

Option 4:

Tried that also. 

Option 5: Based on the problem with the shortcut mentioned in regard to Option 1, yes, I probably have shortcut problems, though this does not affect ANY MS Word files created previously from opening. Even files I created in Word XP open fine. 

Option 6: Next time I have HOURS to review all the links he refers to, I will try that. It would probably be quicker to re-install Office, but 1) since this was an install my employer requires, I am not sure how it will affect my personal files on my home machine (I paid for a personal version); 2) Although I backed up all the customizations I could, I know I will lose some, because MS always does, such as template personalizations, etc. (such as the STUPID fact that if I close a file in Word, it closes the whole program, instead of just the file, as in versions earlier than 2007). 

Option 7: IE is current, and before I did anything, I uninstalled the Compatibility package (see above). No change. 

Option 8: I guess I will. Sucks that this transition has not been smooth, not to mention other annoyances (really bad display quality, change to text boundaries in Word, and other steps backward). WASTE OF MY TIME. 

Thanks for all the time you've spent, though. I hope you're getting paid.

Microsoft Office File Validation Add-In may not be relevant for 2013 as it was for previous versions of Office. Hence, you may try uninstalling this. Once again, like every other option this is a try only, so you have to do it and see it...

Few other things, you may try -

Following are likely solution. But check the option 4 first.

1. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15, look for EXCEL.EXE

Right Click on this, Properties, In Compatibility tab, check "Run this Program as an Administrator"

Start the Excel. You might again get the error. Close Exel and uncheck "Run this Program as an Administrator". Start Exel again. You should not get the error anymore.

2. File > Options > Advanced - In General section (go very much down in Advanced), check "Ignore Other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)". Close and re-start the Excel. Uncheck "Ignore Other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)". Close and re-start Exel again. You should not get the error anymore.
3. Many third party applications also cause the problem like Tuneup Utilities, Abby Finereader etc. See if you have any of them installed.
4. You may try to disable the Hardware Graphic Acceleration and verify the result:

    Open Excel.

    Click on file, Options.

    Go to the Advanced tab.

    Under the Display section, uncheck the box for 'Disable hardware graphics acceleration'.

    Click ok.

5. Review the KB article - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919196/en-us
6. See if the suggestions that Doug Robbins has made in the following thread are useful: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office\_365hp-word/word-2013-keeps-shutting-down-wont-print-to-my/708f3b8c-ac40-4e54-a028-fc18da6cf7c4.
7. For one person upgrading Internet Explore did the trick and for one uninstalling the windows compatibility package that was left over from a previous version of office did the job.
8. If none of above works, please uninstall the current installed Office, and reinstall it again. Before resorting to uninstall, make sure that you have the license keys.

To uninstall the Office, follow the instructions in the following support article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2739501

Note: Ensure to save the Fix it on the desktop and then run the file.

Wondering if this is an issue: 

I went to Programs and Features to run the Quick Repair (options were Uninstall or Change). It actually failed halfway. But I noticed above it in the list a program called "Microsoft Office File Validation Add-In" (Options are Uninstall, Change, Repair).

Should I remove this? It looks like it is left over from the previous installation (version 14).