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
    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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  2. Anonymous
    2018-08-01T17:12:39+00:00

    So, it has been over 2 years, and this problem still seems to exist.

    I have just upgraded my computer at work and I do a huge amount of work in Excel.  All of my Excel 2013 files are not working.  I can open them but they only opened in protected view, so I turned that setting off.  If also turned off blocking and set my network drive to be a safe location.  Despite this, anytime I try to edit a field it freezes up.

    I thought I had found a work around.  I created new Excel Spreadsheets and used Copy Paste to move the dat and formulas over.  However, after doing this I found that in some cases I Could edit the fields and in other cases I couldn't and if I tried to copy any field it would freeze up.

    So.... Microsoft, these are both products you created.   Have you not yet created a conversion tool to move Excel 2013 fields to Excel 2016 format?  If not, can you not provide a 2013 add on that allows us to still use and edit 2013 and earlier files?  I understand that in the future we'll need to create all excel files in the new version. 

    Of course, if we can't have backwards compatibility from only a 3 year period, then we may have to rethink purchasing Microsoft products.  Our business processes cannot be recreated every 3 years.

    Ken

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-11-15T14:19:54+00:00

    My issue was resolved by deleting Office 365 and reinstalling the 64 bit version.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-09-08T02:44:16+00:00

    I was told online by Microsoft that all I needed to do to open my Excel files, was to download Microsoft Office 2016.  I did so.  And now, in return for downloading and signing up for one free month of Microsoft Office 2016 earlier this month (September 2017), I am now unable to view anything in my Excel spreadsheets except the very top line of the spreadsheet, at the bottom of the opened file.  Nice!  This is how Microsoft "repays" me for being a years-long customer who spent thousands of dollars on Microsoft products and services over the years.  Furthermore, none of the proposed "fixes" that I found online, posted by Microsoft Excel's Program Manager, Micah M., solve the problem.  Now what am I supposed to do?

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