EXCEL CORRUPTED MY WORKBOOK

Charlotte Wang 0 Reputation points
2026-09-04T21:36:06.36+00:00

PLEASE HELP ME RECOVER MY WORKBOOK I LOST 70+ ROWS OF DATA

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | Other | Windows
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  1. Xavier-D 12,515 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-05T07:34:28.39+00:00

    Hello Charlotte Wang,

    I’m sorry that you lost that much data.

    Before trying anything else, make a copy of the workbook and perform all recovery attempts on the copy. Avoid saving over the original, as that could replace a recoverable version.

    Since the standard repair methods have already been covered, please also check these options:

    1. If the workbook is stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, open it and select File > Info > Version History. Open a version from before the rows disappeared. If it contains the missing data, use Save As to preserve it as a separate workbook before deciding whether to restore it.
    2. In Excel, select File > Info > Manage Workbook and look for a version marked “When I closed without saving.” You can also select Recover Unsaved Workbooks and check whether Excel retained another copy.
    3. If Excel or Windows previously closed unexpectedly, reopen Excel and check the Document Recovery pane. Open each available version and compare the saved date and time before saving the best copy under a new name.
    4. If the workbook still opens, copy or move the unaffected worksheets into a new workbook and save it locally under a unique name. This may help preserve the readable data if the original workbook continues to behave incorrectly.

    Please let me know whether the file was stored locally, in OneDrive, or in SharePoint, and whether the rows disappeared after a save, crash, sort, or synchronization event.

    Feel free reply back to this post and update me on this issue, I'll be happy to help.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-09-04T21:36:33.8166667+00:00

    Try the fastest recovery paths first:

    1. If the workbook is still open in Excel
      • Go to File > Open.
      • Double-click the workbook that is currently open.
      • Click Yes to reopen it.
      • This reverts the workbook to the last saved version, which can recover the file if corruption happened before the latest save.
    2. Use Excel’s repair option
      • Go to File > Open.
      • Browse to the corrupted workbook.
      • Select it.
      • Click the arrow next to Open and choose Open and Repair.
      • First choose Repair.
      • If that does not recover enough, repeat and choose Extract Data to pull out values and formulas.
    3. If the file will not open, try opening without recalculation
      • Open Excel.
      • Create a Blank workbook.
      • Go to File > Options > Formulas.
      • Under Calculation options, select Manual, then click OK.
      • Go to File > Open and open the corrupted workbook.
      • This can help if recalculation is preventing the workbook from opening.
    4. Pull data into a new workbook with external references
      • Go to File > Open.
      • Find the corrupted workbook.
      • Right-click it, choose Copy, then click Cancel.
      • Create a Blank workbook.
      • In cell A1, type =File Name!A1 using the corrupted workbook’s name, then press Enter.
      • This retrieves data only, not formulas or calculated values.
      • The workbook name only is needed; the file extension is not required.
    5. If the missing data was feeding a chart, extract chart source data with a macro
      • Insert a worksheet and rename it ChartData.
      • Select the chart.
      • Run the GetChartValues macro described in the Excel recovery guidance.
      • The chart’s data is written to the ChartData sheet.
    6. If the workbook is on a network location or affected by disk issues
      • Move the workbook to a local drive first.
      • Then retry Open and Repair or the other recovery methods.

    To reduce the chance of losing rows again after recovery:

    • Turn on Always create backup: File > Save As > Browse > Tools > General Options > Always create backup.
    • Turn on AutoRecover: File > Options > Save > Save AutoRecover information every and set the interval.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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