excel 2013 can't open old files

I got windows office 2013 and installed it on my windows 7 laptop.  I have old office 2007 excel files that I can't open, and some that will only open when I go through the program and search for them. After loading some files I tried to save them in the new format. But even after that I can't open the file. I tried coping and pasting the info, again with no sucess. what can I do to fix this.

FIXED - 3) below (actually 3b) fixed this issue for me. :)

I have these installed:

* Windows 8.1 (64bit)

* MS Project Pro 2010 installed locally (via DreamSpark as a Uni student)

* MS Visio Pro 2013 installed locally (via DreamSpark as a Uni student)

* MS Office 365 ProPlus (Office 2013) installed locally (via MS Student Advantage as a Uni student)

I am trying to open excel files (*.xls & *.xlsx) that were created with MS Office 2010 OR LibreOffice OR OpenOffice. When I double click one to open it, Excel (2013) opens but the file does not & there is no error message displayed.  I can only open the file in Excel by using File > Open > & browse for the file.

When I open *.xls files, it shows " [Compatibility Mode] - Excel" after the filename in the title bar. Everything else works fine such as editing, printing & saving, just not double clicking to open.

Potential Checks:

1. In Excel > File > Options > Advanced > 'Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)' is NOT ticked (by default).
2. *.xls & *.xlsx files are set to open with excel by default, however I have tried re-setting this, but it didn't fix the problem.

3) Re-register Excel with Windows.

The path for my excel.exe is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\root\office15\excel.exe, the path differs depending on your Windows & Office version.

3a) For Office 2003 or earlier, run these 2 separate commands in 'Run' (Windows key + R), however as we are talking about Office 2013, this method is invalid, use 3b) instead.

Windows key + R (run) >

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\root\office15\excel.exe" /unregserver

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\root\office15\excel.exe" /regserver

3b) As per http://www.jkp-ads.com/Articles/StartupProblems.asp, apparently /regserver only works up to Office 2003 as it was removed in Office 2007.

For Office 2007 & above, you need to run Office setup in 'Repair' mode from 'Programs & Features' (aka 'Add/Remove Programs') via 'Control Panel'.

eg: Control Panel > Programs & Features (Add/Remove Programs) > select Office 2013 > Change > Repair.

THIS FIXED MINE :)

4. Right click excel.exe > Properties > there is no 'Compatibility' tab so I can't do the following:

Uncheck the box 'Run this Program in Compatibility Mode',

Make sure you also click on the option 'change settings for all users' tab at the bottom of the same screen.

> Apply > Ok.

5. Installed MS Office Configuration Analyzer Tool (OffCAT) via http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2812744/en-us

and ran it for Office 2013 (ClickToRun). The only results were:

* WARNING - hyperlinks are not working in Outlook

* INFORMATIONAL - Cashed Credentials (Win Vista & above)

6. other suggestions via http://www.jkp-ads.com/Articles/StartupProblems.asp

Regards

Shell

Reinstalling fixed my issue.  Why should this have been necessary?

If I click on an Excel file Excel opens with a blank worksheet.  That is it.  If I open Excel and then open the file from Excel it is fine.  It does not seem to matter whether of not it is an older file or a new one.

Hello Peter and Jim,

Provide us the detailed information what exactly happens when you try to open files in Excel 2013.

Also let us know the result after following the suggestions provided in my previous post.

Thank you.

Same issues, folks.  VERY frustrating.  Been through this entire discussion with no success.  I even create files native to Excel, save them to my desktop, and then can't double-click to reopen them (I get a nice blank screen in Excel).  This is idiotic.