Need Help from an Excel Pro

[MULTIZ321]

I'm having trouble opening an Excel File to add info.

I get an error message when the file opens that says: File in Use
xxxx.xls is locked for editing by Richard. Open 'Read-Only' or Click 'Notify' to Open Read-Only and receive notificationwhen the document is no longer in use.

There are 3 choices in the error-message box: 'Read-Only', 'Notify', and 'Cancel'

Choosing any of the 3 results in another error message that says:
"Excel has run into an error preventing it from working correctly. Excel will need to be closed as a result." and 3 choices in the error box: 'Repair Now', 'Help', and 'Close'.

Clicking on 'Repair Now' closes the file and I have been unsuccessful in resolving he issue.

Any help to resolve this will be appreciated.

Thanks

Richard

 

[Ty1on]

I'm having trouble opening an Excel File to add info.

I get an error message when the file opens that says: File in Use
xxxx.xls is locked for editing by Richard. Open 'Read-Only' or Click 'Notify' to Open Read-Only and receive notificationwhen the document is no longer in use.

There are 3 choices in the error-message box: 'Read-Only', 'Notify', and 'Cancel'

Choosing any of the 3 results in another error message that says:
"Excel has run into an error preventing it from working correctly. Excel will need to be closed as a result." and 3 choices in the error box: 'Repair Now', 'Help', and 'Close'.

Clicking on 'Repair Now' closes the file and I have been unsuccessful in resolving he issue.

Any help to resolve this will be appreciated.

Thanks

Richard

You have a corrupted file.

Try copy and paste in Windows Explorer to make a new file and see if the new file will open for you. If that doesn't work, it is likely your file is lost. If it won't even let you make a copy of it using Explorer, there is a hard drive sector problem and we are done trying to restore the file.

If you have irreplaceable data on that file, there is an outside chance you can create a fresh Excel file and link each cell in the new file to the corrupted one and see if you can at least rescue the data.

To do that, create a new file, and name it similarly to the corrupted one. For example, if the corrupted one is mywealth.xlsx, create a new one in the same folder and call it mywealth1.xlsx.


Now open a THIRD new file. You will attempt to link cells in the third file to mywealth1, then rename the formula so it points to mywealth.

If you had renamed the tab(s), it is also important that your surrogate file mywealth1 has tabs named the same.

In A1, type the = sign and then navigate to A1 in mywealth1 and then hit enter.

Back in A1 of your fresh spreadsheet, edit the formula to change mywealth1 back to mywealth. You will know right away if it works. If it works, copy that formula to every column and row you believe could contain data. If it is an enormous file, you may need to copy the formula in chunks, then Copy/Paste Special Values so Excel doesn't run into memory problems.

PS it the file doesn't have sensitive info, you can email it to me and I'll have a crack at trying to rescue it. Let me know and I'll pm you my email.

 

[zinger1457]

Do you use Windows 'File History' or 'File Recovery' to back up your files? If you do you should be able to retrieve a previous saved version that you can open.

 

[Ty1on]

Do you use Windows 'File History' or 'File Recovery' to back up your files? If you do you should be able to retrieve a previous saved version that you can open.

This is actually the best solution IF you use File Recovery.

Other options....Have you emailed the file, or saved it elsewhere? If so, it can be recovered from Sent Items or the location where you saved it.

 

[MULTIZ321]

Thanks for all your help.

Once I learned the file was corrupted I decided to do PRTSCN shots of the file
(needed to do twice to capture all the data) and pasted the screen shot into Paint and saved the files in Paint and then printed the Paint files. Will now use the printouts to create a new Excel file with the needed data.

I've learned my lesson. I haven't been backing up the files - my bad. But I will now start using Windows 'File History'.


Thanks again.

Richard

 

[Ty1on]

Thanks for all your help.

Once I learned the file was corrupted I decided to do PRTSCN shots of the file
(needed to do twice to capture all the data) and pasted the screen shot into Paint and saved the files in Paint and then printed the Paint files. Will now use the printouts to create a new Excel file with the needed data.

I've learned my lesson. I haven't been backing up the files - my bad. But I will now start using Windows 'File History'.


Thanks again.

Richard

If this ever happens again in the future, and you have it open so that you see the data, do a Save As and change the file format to Tab Delimited Text File. You can then start with a fresh spreadsheet and import the tab delimited data to start over.

 

[MULTIZ321]

If this ever happens again in the future, and you have it open so that you see the data, do a Save As and change the file format to Tab Delimited Text File. You can then start with a fresh spreadsheet and import the tab delimited data to start over.

Thanks Ty1on, I'll keep that tip in mind.


Richard

 

[taterhed]

As for backup:

Install Norton Security (Yes, I know people hate Norton--I love it!). It has built in file backup (auto or pester) and cloud storage (if you get the storage version).

Buy a USB hard drive that comes with free backup software. Costco has several. Plug into the back of your wireless router if you have that feature--makes automated backups easy.

Buy a USB key and use Windows built-in backup features to save files on the (large) USB key.

Just a few suggestions.

 

[ace2000]

Sounds like you're making progress. I use Excel all the time and haven't seen an issue like this. Here's a link to Microsoft's advice...

https://support.office.com/en-us/ar...workbook-e5b49891-dde7-4796-b60a-49b0d2478a62