You might have spent hours on that excel file and then finally transferred it from your home computer to your work computer. That’s exactly when you might be getting that heartbreaking dialog box saying The file is corrupted and cannot be opened. Nothing can skip your heartbeat more than this error can. Well, it can happen because of many reasons like unsupported extension issues, or maybe because of some security settings set up in your machine, or even maybe because your file doesn’t have enough permissions. Whatever be the reason, you don’t have to fret, we are here to sort.
In this article, we have lined up some very effective solutions that you can try to resolve the excel error The File is Corrupted and Cannot Be Opened. Please try out the methods listed below one by one to fix your issue in a matter of seconds.
Method 1: Change File Extension
Step 1: First of all, create a copy of the file and keep it. If your file gets corrupted somehow, you can use save the original this way.
To copy the file, click on the file and then press the keys CTRL + C together.
To paste it somewhere, press the keys CTRL + V together.
Step 2: As next, click on the copy of the file that you created and press the F2 key to rename it.
If the extension of the file is .xlsx, remove the x from the end of the file so that the extension becomes .xls.
If the extension of the file is .xls, add an x to the end of the file name so that the extension becomes .xlsx.
Hit the Enter key once done.
Step 3: When the Rename confirmation window opens up, click on the Yes button to proceed.
Please try double clicking on the copy of the file and opening it, to see if your issue is resolved.
Method 2: Change Trust Center Settings
Step 1: Click on the Search icon on the Taskbar.
Step 2: In the search window, launch Microsoft Excel by searching for it.
Step 3: Once MS Excel launches, click on the FILE tab at the top of the window.
Step 4: As next, in the left pane of the window, click on Options.
Step 5: Now Excel Options window would launch before you.
On the left side of the window, find and click on the tab that says Trust Center.
On the right side of the window, under the section Microsoft Excel Trust Center, click on the button Trust Center Settings.
Step 6: In the window that follows, click on Protected View in the left pane.
On the right side, make sure the check box is unticked for the following settings.
- Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet.
- Enable Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations.
- Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments.
Once done, hit the OK button twice to go back.
Step 7: Now that you are on the main page, click on the FILE tab once again.
Step 8: On the left pane, click on the tab Open.
On the right pane, you need to locate and click on your excel file under the Recent Workbooks section to open it.
Note: If you can’t find the file under the Recent Workbooks section, you can use the Browse button to find your file.
That’s it. Your issue should now be resolved. If not, please try the next method.
Method 3: Repair and Open
Step 1: On the taskbar, click on the Search icon.
Step 2: Search for Microsoft Excel and launch it from the search results.
Step 3: When Excel launches open, click on the FILE tab at the top.
Step 4: As next, click on the Open tab in the left window pane, then on Computer in the center pane, and finally on the Browse button at the right side of the window.
Step 5: Navigate to the location where your file is at, and click on it to select it.
As next, click on the drop-down menu associated with the Open button at the bottom and select the option Open and Repair from the drop down list.
Step 6: In the next window, click on the Repair button.
Step 7: Excel would now perform all the possible repairs and your file will most likely be recovered and can be seen in the background.
Click on the Close button once the repair process is complete.
Method 4: From Component Services Settings
Step 1: Click on the Search icon in the taskbar.
Step 2: In the Search bar, type in component services and click on Component Services from Best match.
Step 3: When the Component Services window launches, in the left pane of the window, click on Component Services as shown below.
In the right window pane, double click on the Computers icon.
Step 4: Right click on My Computers and then click on Properties.
Step 5: When My Computer Properties opens up, click on the Default Properties tab. After that, make sure the following are correctly set.
- Check the checkbox corresponding to Enable Distributed COM on this computer
- Default Authentication Level be set to Connect.
- Default Impersonation Level be set to Identity.
Hit Enter button once done.
Step 6: When the following window opens asking for confirmation, click on the Yes button.
That’s it. Try opening the file again. If the issue is still not resolved, please proceed to the next step.
Method 5: Change File Permissions
Another reason why you might be facing the issue could be because of file permissions. In this method, we are going to give full access to the file to try and open it.
Step 1: Right-click on the excel file and then click on the option Show more options.
Step 2: From the more options window that opens up, click on the Properties option.
Step 3: In the file properties window, click on the Security tab first.
As next, click on the Edit button against To change permissions, click Edit.
Step 4: In the window that follows, click on the Add button.
Step 5: In the Select Users or Groups window, under the section Enter the object names to select, type in every, and then hit the button Check Names.
Step 12: Performing the above step would fill Enter the object names to select with the text Everyone. Hit on the OK button.
Step 13: Now, click on Everyone from Group or user names. Under the Permissions for Everyone section, click on the checkbox for Full control.
Hit Apply and OK buttons once you are done.
Try re-opening the file once you are done.
That’s it. One of the 5 methods listed in this article should definitely solve your issue. If it is still not resolved, please tell us in the comments.