Excel files won't open since I've upgraded to Excel 2016 (says they are corrupt)

Anonymous
2015-11-10T16:31:14+00:00

I recently upgraded to Excel 2016.  I use the Office Personal 365 subscription.

My files now won't open.  They show as corrupt.  It tries to open in "protected" mode, but it stops working before anything happens.  I didn't have issues before upgrading.

Hopefully this is an easy fix, but I can't seem to find a solution online.  Any assistance would be very much appreciated.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2016-05-12T23:48:37+00:00

Bert, I'm sorry that the Quick Repair didn't work for you. Here is a more detailed reply addressing all of the different permutations of issues I have seen. Hopefully something in the list will help you. If not, please let me know.

Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone for providing information and helping us to identify all of the different problems. Unfortunately, there is no one single cause to files not opening correctly when double clicked and there are even a few different experiences that often get grouped together as "The file didn't open". Specifically, we see the following behaviors most often:

  1. After double clicking a file to open it, Excel opens with a grey background, but the file never opens. Additionally, a message about "There was a problem sending the command to the program" may appear.
  2. Double clicking a file doesn't even open Excel, and/or the icons on the Desktop and in File Explorer don't appear to be associated with Excel.
  3. Double clicking the file opens Excel, but an error appears saying the file is corrupted or opens in Protected View, preventing edits.

Here are the proposed solutions/workarounds for each of the above problems:

Potential solutions to Problem 1 "App opens, but file doesn't"

  1. Ensure that the DDE option is unchecked. The option can be found in File -> Options -> Advanced -> "Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)"
  2. Disable all third party apps that interact with Excel. We have found some occurrences of third party add-in or applications that intercept commands from Windows to Excel, preventing Excel from opening the file. Specifically, we have seen security, encryption and two-factor authentication add-in prevent files from opening. Add-ins can be disabled by unchecking all boxes in File > Options > Add-ins > COM Add-ins (in dropdown at bottom of screen) > Go… > Uncheck all boxes > Click OK. Unfortunately, there is no way to manage Third Party applications that interact with Excel, so you would need to find those manually in Task Manager Processes and stop any that you think could interfere (CTRL+ALT+DELETE > Task Manager > Processes).
  3. Unhide windows. If all of the windows on a workbook are hidden, it will appear that the file didn’t open. You can unhide windows by clicking the "Unhide" button in the Window section of the View tab in the ribbon.
  4. Update registry entries for DDE. It is possible that through installation of add-ins, upgrades or other means, the registry values that control DDE can be changed. We recommend using Quick Repair or Full Repair  to restore registry values, rather than changing them manually. You can access repair from Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > Right click Microsoft Office 365 [or whichever version you have installed] > Change > Quick Repair.
  5. As a workaround, you can open the Excel app and then try and open the file again (either from within the app or by double clicking on the file again). This will bypass most of the problems associated with DDE, allowing you to open files.

Potential solutions to Problem 2 "Excel files aren't associated with the Excel application"

  1. Run a Quick Repair. The most likely cause here is a Windows upgrade, Office upgrade or installation of a different document management suite caused the Office files to no longer be associated with the Office applications on your computer. You can access repair from Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > Right click Microsoft Office 365 [or whichever version you have installed] > Change > Quick Repair.

Potential solutions to Problem 3 "Corruption message or Protected View Message"

  1. When opening the file, let Excel repair the corruption. This happens automatically when Excel detects the file is corrupted. It attempts to repair as much as possible.
  2. The file opens in Protected View. If it is from an untrusted location (email attachments and web locations are generally considered untrusted), then this is expected behavior and was designed that way to protect from accidently opening files that contain malicious content.

Lastly, if you are experiencing the first problem and none of the solutions resolve the issue, please let me know and I can work with you individually to determine what is happening and hopefully find a resolution.

Thanks,

Micah

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-11-05T00:14:38+00:00

    Micah,

    I have the "workbook is corrupted" problem, but only on password protected xlsx files.  I have solved my particular problem, though this is unlikely to be everyone else's problem.

    Background:

    • Old Windows 7 computer (Office 2013-ish)
    • password protected .xlsx files
    • in an encrypted folder (bitlocker ? at folder level)
    • computer died, moved files to new Windows 10 computer, bought Office 2016

    Problem:

    • The problem (can't open due to corrupt file) only occurs with password protected files that came from an encrypted folder on the old computer
    • I can password protect a new file and open it without trouble.  I don't have encrypted folders or disk on the new computer.

    Investigation:

    • File - Properties on such a copied password-protected file, click Advanced on main page, and see that the bottom checkbox "Encrypt contents to secure data" is checked (and grayed)
    • Clicking Details shows me the old computer's User and Certificate thumbnail.  I assume if I installed that certificate on this new computer I could then open the file (get to the password prompt)

    Observation:

    • I had no idea that Excel password protection actually used file system encryption

    Desired solution:

    • An error message along the lines of "this file is password protected and also requires the disk encryption certificate installed to open it".

    In my case I was able to recover these files by another means - I haven't installed the old cert (though I have it if needed).   Hopefully there's enough info here for you to repro the scenario yourself.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-11-03T01:53:38+00:00

    Hi I have also been having the same problem of not being able to open Excel files once upgrading to 2016.  We have Office 365 and I have W10 OS.

    After checking all of your suggestions I have just now tried one of the solutions suggested where I was able to drag and drop the file into a blank workbook and I then did a save as to an 'xlsm' file and was able to open it without any issues (so far).  I have usually been able to do a save as  to 'xlxs' as well depending on where I get the file from.

    Hope this helps some users.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-10-29T06:26:37+00:00

    Hi All

    After installing Office 2016 (Home & Business) Excel is unable to proceed *.xlsb or *.xlsm files containing VBA-code in modules and / or userforms. All files work properly in Windows 10 / Excel 15 environment.

    The files are opened, but after opening the files Excel goes to "not responding". I tried at least 10 extra steps to get it working, including (but not limited to) connecting all my printers to the new computer and giving them the same names as before. None of the solutions provided so far in this and other M$ Forums solved the problem.

    This is ridiculous. Sending money to M$ who even releases updates with known bugs. Spending hours to get standard software working? Incredible.

    Any fix?

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-10-26T17:16:02+00:00

    Hello Micah, your response has been quite comprehensive, but I continue to get corrupt file message. Excel window opens with message "processing" but message appears background "The file is corrupt and can't be opened". 

    Same file opens in other laptop in older excel version.

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