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

Anonymous

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.

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Anonymous

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:

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.
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.
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"

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)"
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).
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.
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.
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"

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"

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.
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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204 additional answers

Anonymous

2019-02-04T10:16:34+00:00

Hi Micah - I recently upgraded to Excel2016 (from 2010 version) and have tried everything in all threads.

To recap what happens: When I open Excel and wish to use the "Recent" shortcuts to files, when double-clicking on chosen file, excel looks like it's opening the file until it abruptly shuts down Excel completely, before it opens the file. When I open Excel again, it's listed as a recover file that I can choose to open either in protected view, open or repair. Choosing Repair simply opens the file but the scenario occurs again next time I open the file, so nothing really repaired. I've 'repaired office2016 several times, but problem persists. Problem only experienced in Excel, not in other Office products.

Please advise?

Kr

Raz
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Anonymous

2019-01-20T22:55:25+00:00

Thank you, Linda!

This looks like what you did may have solved my problem had I read your answer been. I didn't have a chance to re-visit it until tonight. I used Open Office to get my work done since this all started and ignored Office. I also went about solving the problem another way. I did a manual uninstall as in this Microsoft document:

https://mslivesupportchat.blogspot.com/2018/12/error-code-30010-4.html

ONLY the manual uninstall worked. That little automated thing they have you download is trash.

I've used Microsoft products for about 40 years now. In that time, their automated fixes have never worked. I had to manually change permissions on some of the folders they said to delete as well. One small example. They also can't seem to stop their own process to uninstall it. It's like they never test their own software. Laughable if it wasn't so pathetic.

Mark
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Anonymous

2019-01-10T23:21:40+00:00

Something happened since I posted this. I don't know if it's a Microsoft update or not. But with excel and word if they do not open because they are "corrupt" there's a fix. Right click on the file, go to "properties" and see a check box that says Unblock. If you check it you can open your files.

For excel if the unblock check box does not appear, open the file in an old version of excel. Both of these things are annoying but much easier than the convoluted instructions given by Microsoft. Hope this is helpful.
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Anonymous

2019-01-10T23:21:07+00:00

Something happened since I posted this. I don't know if it's a Microsoft update or not. But with excel and word if they do not open because they are "corrupt" there's a fix. Right click on the file, go to "properties" and see a check box that says Unblock. If you check it you can open your files.

For excel if the unblock check box does not appear, open the file in an old version of excel. Both of these things are annoying but much easier than the convoluted instructions given by Microsoft. Hope this is helpful.
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