File is REad only or Encrypted

[Arge]

All of a sudden I have started having some problems when trypoing to open a
spreadsheet located on the desktop.

The last time the file(s) were open, there was a hesitation when closing
them, and on the next attempt I receive the message that "Excel cannon open
XXXXXXXX.xls -File may be read only or encrypted. I cannot move the file,
open the file, edit the file or anything else.

If I log in in Safe mode and go to the command prompt I can then delete it,
but can't open it.

Has anybody else experienced this and if so what is causing it and how do I
fix it.

This is now happening on every excel file I create

Arge

 

[Jan Karel Pieterse]

Hi Arge,

The last time the file(s) were open, there was a hesitation when closing
them, and on the next attempt I receive the message that "Excel cannon open
XXXXXXXX.xls -File may be read only or encrypted. I cannot move the file,
open the file, edit the file or anything else.

What Excel version?

SOund slike your file is corrupted. What happens if you try a different file
format to save to?

Also, check out this page on corrupt files (which I doubt will help much if I
see your error type):

www.jkp-ads.com/articles/corruptfiles.asp

Finally, there are special (free) programs that can unlock a file for you.
Just google for "file unlock".

Regards,

Jan Karel Pieterse
Excel MVP
http://www.jkp-ads.com
Member of:
Professional Office Developer Association
www.proofficedev.com

 

[Arge]

Hi Jan

It is every file I create on the desktop. Once I create it and close it, as
noted above it flashes and I can no longer do anything with it. I can't
open it (even in read only), I can't move it, I can't rename it and can't
delete it unless I go to a command prompt and type del *.xls. I can't type
the actual name of the file as it tells me the file doesn't exist.

I have tried opening it with OpenOffice and that didn't work neither. I
them created an OpenOffice spreadsheets and saved it in the OpenOffice
Format and same problem. I could no longer access it.

If I create a spreadsheet in a folder in either My documents or on the
desktop, it works just fine. It is something to do with the desktop and
spreadsheets.

I will check on the page and look at the unlock programs.

Thanks for your quick response.

Arge

 

[Alan]

All of a sudden I have started having some problems when trypoing to open a
spreadsheet located on the desktop.

The last time the file(s) were open, there was a hesitation when closing
them, and on the next attempt I receive the message that "Excel cannon open
XXXXXXXX.xls -File may be read only or encrypted.  I cannot move the file,
open the file, edit the file or anything else.

If I log in in Safe mode and go to the command prompt I can then delete it,
but can't open it.

Has anybody else experienced this and if so what is causing it and how do I
fix it.

This is now happening on every excel file I create

Arge

I think your .xls file is corrupt. And you can try some Excel file
recovery tools, see Advanced Excel Repair to repair your Excel file.
By the way, I think Advanced Excel Repair is a powerful tool.

Detailed information about Advanced Excel Repair can be found at
http://www.datanumen.com/aer/

And you can also download a free demo version at http://www.datanumen.com/aer/aer.exe

Alan

 

[Arge]

I downloaded the Advances Excel Repair and we I ran it, I got the message
that it could not repair the file. I also downloaded Jan's suggesting and
although they were many "file unlocks" out there, I downloaded "unlocker"
and it would not open the file. However it did allow me to change the name,
move it and or delete it. I will try looking at some of the other unlock
programs.

I had someone send me a spreadsheet and I saved it to my desktop. I opened
it, closed it and moved it to a folder. Once I did that I could no longer
open it, receiving the same message.

Any spreadsheet that hits my desktop become corrupted with this condition.

I am using XP home SP@ with Office 2003 Professional.

Again thanks for your suggestions

Arge

All of a sudden I have started having some problems when trypoing to open
a
spreadsheet located on the desktop.

The last time the file(s) were open, there was a hesitation when closing
them, and on the next attempt I receive the message that "Excel cannon
open
XXXXXXXX.xls -File may be read only or encrypted. I cannot move the file,
open the file, edit the file or anything else.

If I log in in Safe mode and go to the command prompt I can then delete
it,
but can't open it.

Has anybody else experienced this and if so what is causing it and how do
I
fix it.

This is now happening on every excel file I create

Arge

I think your .xls file is corrupt. And you can try some Excel file
recovery tools, see Advanced Excel Repair to repair your Excel file.
By the way, I think Advanced Excel Repair is a powerful tool.

Detailed information about Advanced Excel Repair can be found at
http://www.datanumen.com/aer/

And you can also download a free demo version at
http://www.datanumen.com/aer/aer.exe

Alan

 

[Jan Karel Pieterse]

Hi Arge,

I had someone send me a spreadsheet and I saved it to my desktop. I opened
it, closed it and moved it to a folder. Once I did that I could no longer
open it, receiving the same message.

Sounds like there is a problem with your system rather than just with Excel.

Regards,

Jan Karel Pieterse
Excel MVP
http://www.jkp-ads.com
Member of:
Professional Office Developer Association
www.proofficedev.com

 

[Arge]

Jan

And that would not surprise me at all. However it is only spreadsheets that
it seems to have a problem with it. Normally I would have formatted the
hard drive and re-load everything, but I am trying to postpone that until
the end of the Income Tax season. As much as I have not had a desire to
install Vista, I will probably do that in May.

Arge

 

[Jan Karel Pieterse]

Hi Arge,

And that would not surprise me at all. However it is only spreadsheets that
it seems to have a problem with it. Normally I would have formatted the
hard drive and re-load everything, but I am trying to postpone that until
the end of the Income Tax season. As much as I have not had a desire to
install Vista, I will probably do that in May.

If you're planning to install Vista anyway, I'd leave things be.

Try roundtripping your file through HTML, maybe that gets rid of some debris?
(see my page on corrupt files how that works)

Regards,

Jan Karel Pieterse
Excel MVP
http://www.jkp-ads.com
Member of:
Professional Office Developer Association
www.proofficedev.com