Autosave not working - no files are there

Anonymous
2014-01-12T05:27:19+00:00

I use autosave and have it set for every time minutes. I had a workbook open and was inputting data for many hours. I saw the taskbar show it autosave many, many times until it crashed. When I reopened excel, it reverted back to the last user saved version which was several hours old. I searched for the autorecover files, but they are the same old file. When I tried opening one, I get the error that happeend when it crashed - it says 'Excel cannot complete the task with available resources. Choose less data or close other application" (this was the error when it crashed in the first place)

I have plenty or memory available on my computer

I really need this fixed. Autosave does me no good if I can't recover my files.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-09-22T22:59:42+00:00

    I happen to have this exact problem as well. I am using Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 and of recent I am constantly- always as a matter- of fact plagued with this problem. This also is always followed by me not being able to save any spreadsheets at all. Whenever I attempt to save the program goes non responsive and everything is lost. I really need some help on this issue urgently as I rely on spreadsheets alot.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-10-04T23:43:56+00:00

    Same exact problem. Very frustrating.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-10-12T17:33:39+00:00

    My bet is that windows 10 is messing up the auto recover feature in Office , with it's "File History Backup Feature"

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-12-16T00:27:39+00:00

    Arghhh! I've just had the exact problem. I've had a spreadsheet open since the start of the month - saved it manually once in between but it should save every 10 mins via autosave. Windows forced a restart and update and I've lost everything! Initial saved file has gone as well! Hate the forced updates!

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  5. Anonymous
    2016-12-16T01:03:16+00:00

    The "autosave" feature is an emergency backup that in theory should have worked in this specific situation.  AFIK, Windows does not do a normal shutdown of Office applications, so the autosave backup should still be there. But the reality is that autosave is not reliable.

    In theory, you can setup Win 10 File History up to do "better" automated backup saves starting at 10 minute intervals or longer intervals if you wish. In practice I can't recommend it simply because I can't beat it into submission to make it work for me.  YMMV.

    Failing getting File History to work you can/should take advantage of 3rd party autobackup tools. I posted links to a couple of possible options earlier in this discussion. You can also google search for other options.

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