“We are a judicial department. Recently in the process of handling cases, we found that the Excel file “CaseRecords.xlsx” (size: 15MB) used to record case information is damaged, resulting in the case data can not be accessed normally. It seriously affects the daily work, and we urgently need to obtain the professional guidance of how to repair a corrupted Excel files. The guidance needed to meet the requirements of judicial compliance.”
In the day-to-day office environment of front-line law enforcement, government, and businesses, Microsoft Excel, a widely used spreadsheet software, plays a crucial role in data processing, analysis, and report production.
However, Excel files can sometimes become corrupted due to various reasons such as hardware failure, virus attack, accidental program closure, or storage media corruption, resulting in the inability to open and access the data therein properly.
In this article, we will delve into six effective strategies for how to repair corrupted Excel files and provide practical suggestions for preventing such problems from occurring.
Fix 1. Through Open and Repair Function
This is one of the most frequently used methods of how to repair corrupted Excel files. When encountering a potentially damaged Excel file, you can first try to repair it using Excel’s own “Open and Repair” feature:
- Open Microsoft Excel application.
- Click on the “File” option in the menu bar and select the “Open” command.
- Browse to the damaged Excel file, do not directly click on “Open”, but click in the lower right corner of the arrow icon, and select the “Open and Repair” option. Excel will automatically try to detect and repair the file errors and open it.
Fix 2. With Virus Scan on File and Computer
Virus infections are a common cause of file corruption, so it’s important to scan your Excel files and your entire system promptly to ensure their safety.
Here are the detailed steps of how to repair a corrupted Excel file with a virus scan:
- Install and update reliable antivirus software.
- Use an antivirus tool to perform a full scan of the disk partition containing the corrupted Excel file and perform a full disk scan as a precautionary measure.
- After completing the virus check, try opening the scanned Excel file again to see if it can be repaired successfully.
Fix 3. Using Professional Excel Repair Tool
MTM File Recovery for Excel is a professional data recovery software that specializes in repairing damaged or unopenable Excel files. The software uses advanced algorithms to deeply analyze and reconstruct the damaged file structure, restore the original data as much as possible, and help users get back important Excel worksheet contents when they suffer from file corruption or other unknown reasons for data loss.
The steps of how to repair corrupted Excel files using MTM File Recovery for Excel are as follows:
Step 1: Download and Install the Software
Visit the official website of MTM to download MTM File Recovery for Excel. During the installation process, follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation procedure.
Step 2: Select the Corrupted Excel Files
Launch the software and in the main interface of the software, click on the “Add” button on the top bar to locate the corrupted Excel files you want to repair. You can select one or more Excel files to repair at the same time.
Step 3: Wait for Scanning
The software will automatically scan and analyze the selected Excel files.
Step 4: Preview & Recovery
Once the scanning is complete, the software will list the data segments that have been recovered. You can preview the data to determine whether it contains the Excel sheet content you need.
Step 5: Export Repaired Excel Files
Select the damaged Excel file (one or more files are allowed) that have been repaired, and then click the “Export” button on the top of the software to save the recovered data as a new Excel file.
The recovered Excel data maintains the integrity and accuracy of the original records without any tampering or omissions. Throughout the help and recovery process with MTM, no case information is disclosed, and the recovery tools and services used are vetted for information security to ensure that the data is processed in a local environment.
Fix 4. Repair by Setting Excel Workbooks Intervals
Here is the 4th method of how to repair corrupted Excel files. To avoid loss of work due to unexpected circumstances, you can make full use of Excel’s auto-save feature:
- In Excel, click “File” > “Options” > “Save”.
- Set the appropriate auto-save time interval, such as every 5 minutes to save.
- At the same time, enable the “Keep Backups” option, so that even if you exit Excel under abnormal circumstances, you can retrieve the most recent edits through the temporary file.
Fix 5: By Repairing Hard Disk Errors with CHKDSK
Hard disk errors can also lead to Excel file corruption. Windows operating system comes with a disk checker tool (CHKDSK) that helps to identify and repair logical errors on the hard disk. It is a useful way of how to repair corrupted Excel files:
- Open a command prompt (run as administrator).
- Type chkdsk [drive letter]: /f /r, e.g. chkdsk C: /f /r, and press the Enter key to execute the operation. (Here “C:” represents the disk partition where you store Excel files)
- CHKDSK will automatically check and repair the hard disk errors the next time you start the computer, restart the computer after the completion of the restart, and then check whether the Excel file is back to normal.
Fix 6. Repair Corrupted Excel Files from Backup
Regular backups are one of the best means of preventing data loss. If you have created a backup beforehand, you can easily recover damaged Excel files from the backup copy:
- Go to your backup directory and find the backup version with the same name as the damaged file and with the most recent date.
- Copy the backup file to the original file location and overwrite the damaged file.
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Causes of Excel File Corruption and Preventive Measures
Various reasons lead to Excel file corruption. The following are some of the common reasons and the corresponding preventive measures:
Hardware failure
Hard disk drive damage, flash memory device problems, or physical damage to the storage media can lead to data loss and file corruption.
Preventive measures: Regularly check and maintain your storage devices, use reliable hard disk health monitoring tools, and back up important data to other safe locations promptly.
Software Errors
Possible bugs in the Excel program itself, incompatible plugins or add-ons, and unusual exits from the application can lead to file corruption.
Preventive measures: Keep Excel and all its related components up-to-date, avoid installing plug-ins or add-ons from unknown sources, and ensure that the operating system is stable and free of abnormalities when editing documents.
Virus Attack or Malware Infection
Virus infections may tamper with or corrupt the contents of Excel files.
Preventive measures: Install and enable reliable security software, conduct regular full disk scans, and keep it updated to the latest virus database status.
Power Failure or Accidental Power Outage
When an Excel file is being written or saved and suffers a sudden power failure, it may cause the file structure to be incomplete.
Preventive measure: Protect your computer with a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) to minimize the risk of file corruption caused by power problems.
File Sharing Conflicts
When multiple people edit the same Excel file at the same time and do not utilize proper collaborative editing mechanisms, file corruption may occur.
Preventive measures: Utilize Office 365 or other office software that supports real-time collaboration features, or prevent problems caused by concurrent editing through good file locking and version control policies.
Network Transfer Interruption
An unstable or broken network connection during file transfer can also lead to file corruption.
Preventive measures: Transfer large files when the network is in good condition, use a file transfer tool that supports intermittent transfer, and compress and encrypt important files before transferring them.
Summarize: Preventive Measures
- Regularly back up files and use cloud storage services such as OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox to automatically synchronize your work.
- Enable Excel’s auto-save feature and set appropriate save intervals.
- Use rights management and version control features to ensure document security in a multi-user environment.
- For business-critical applications, it is recommended to use high-availability solutions and redundant storage technologies.
- Maintain a good system environment, including timely patching, software upgrades, antivirus, and junk file cleanup.
Conclusion
The solutions to How to repair corrupted Excel files need to be based on the specific circumstances of different strategies, including the use of Excel’s repair function, eliminating the interference of viruses, repairing hard disk errors, recovering from backups, as well as turning on the auto-save feature and other methods.
At the same time, developing good data management habits, such as regular backups and check the health of the hard disk, can significantly reduce the risk of file corruption. For important data, be sure to establish a multi-layered protection mechanism to ensure data security and integrity.