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
    2017-03-23T03:55:05+00:00

    Well, the repair and all of the various suggestions didn't work for me.  Ultimately, after working  a long time with Microsoft Support, I had to remove and reinstall Office.  That worked.  

    I think the software is so complicated that people just guess things to try rather than knowing what actually is wrong.

    Good Luck,

    Keith

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-03-23T09:11:37+00:00

    I upgraded to Windows 10 when it came live.  I use office 365 and it worked perfectly.

    Now I cannot launce Excel 2016. 

    1. I've had 4 MS Support technicians work remotely on my laptop to try sort it out.
    2. Windows Defender show nothings wrong.
    3. All 4 techs uninstalled Office 365 and reinstalled office 365. all components.
    4. Still Excel won't launch.  a quick repair was done. no success . Full repair was done. no success.
    5. The 4th tech uninstalled windows 10.  and reinstalled it.  still no excel 2016 launch.  just wont open. When double clicking a doc to open it I have the following warning: There was a problem sending the command to the program.
    6. They also did the windows +R right click on program (uninstall/change) CHANGE several times, with no success.
    7. This morning I also did windows + R Excel /Safe.   still excel can't launch.

    the Installed Updates:

    Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (15.023.20070)

    KB2565063

    KB2565063

    Microsoft Silverlight 5.1.40728.0

    Security update for adobe Flash Player

    Security update for MS windows KB3200970

    MS Windows KB2194623

    MS windows KB3199986

    I also have AVG PC tuner which also cannot open now.

    My outlook mail also cannot send mail.  It does not ask for a password like it asked during the previous re-installations of Office.

    ALL THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE FRIDAY LAST WEEK.  and it has been taking hours and hours per day.  I really do not know what to try next.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-04-12T01:14:23+00:00

    I am having the problem of accessing excel files which have opened in the past using Excel 2016 and now refusing to open with the message "This file is corrupt and cannot be opened" yet I can open the same file using Excel 2007 all the times. 

    I have  gone thru the solutions above without any success.  Where to now?

    Thanks

    Max

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-04-12T17:02:42+00:00

    There is a new patch out that fixed this for me. My files had said they were corrupt in 2007 but would open, in Excel 2016 they would say they were corrupt and then would do nothing.

    Patch is  https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3178719/april-4-2017-update-for-excel-2016-kb3178719

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