xls: file format is not vaild

  • Thread starter Thread starter Maria
  • Start date Start date
M

Maria

Hi
I am trying to open my Excel files and every file I try to
open it gives me this error:

"filename".xls: file format is not vaild

I can open the Excel program itself but the OPEN function
does not work. I can't open any files while in Excel. Are
these problems related? PLEASE HELP!

THANK YOU IN ADVANCED!

Excel Version:2000
 
I think the first thing I'd try is to open (a few???) of these workbooks on a
different pc.

If the files are really corrupted, do you have backups?

===
Sometimes excel workbooks get corrupted.

One cause is opening them from a floppy and saving to that floppy. (Instead you
should use windows explorer to copy to your harddrive/LAN drive), work on it
from there, save it there and use windows explorer to copy it back to the
floppy.)

Another is opening the workbook in MSWord and saving it as an MSWord document
(with a .xls extension).

If someone did the MSWord thing, you maybe able to recover a little bit of your
data by opening it in MSWord and copying and then pasting to excel. (But tons
of stuff will be lost.)

And sometimes the workbooks just get corrupted.

You might be able to recover more by using another program--both xl2002 and
OpenOffice have better reputations for opening files that earlier versions of
excel couldn't.

(http://www.openoffice.org, a 60-65 meg download or a CD)

If the file is really important, there are commercial recovery services. I've
never used it, but you might want to check into:
http://www.officerecovery.com

Do you have a backup? Any chance you emailed a version to someone who could
email it back?
 
Could a corrupted wrkbk be why I'm getting the msg: "Unable
to read file." when trying to open? I am not having
trouble opening other files.

M. Rose
(e-mail address removed)
 
It sure sounds like it's one explanation.

Have you tried just opening the file in another program (say NotePad). Don't
save it from notepad!

But if notepad can't even open the file, it sounds like the file got damaged
some way.

Are you trying to open a file from a floppy disk? If you are, then stop it.
Maybe you'll get lucky if you copy to a harddrive and open from there.
(Although you may not get any further.)

(But if notepad opens it, I'd think I'd try OpenOffice if it were really
important data.)
 
No, I'm not reading directly from a floppy. I have tried
1)opening in msword, 2)copying to diskette and opening on
another computer, 3)drive scanning, defragging, virus
scanning and 4)rebooting, rebooting, rebooting. No Luck at
all.

As I read this newsgroup, it seems like there are a lot of
people having the same type problem - files becoming unable
to open/read. Is there some explanation? It couldn't all
be user error, could it?

It's MY most important file also! Thanks for the notepad
suggestion - I'll give it a try and let u know.

Mart Rose
 
I really don't know what causes corrupt workbooks. I've only encountered one
that was really corrupt. My gut feeling (in my case) was that it was an old
workbook (started in xl95) and the one worksheet that got corrupt had lots of
formatting and lots of comments.

(Again, my gut feeling--with no real data to back it up.)

My new rule is to limit different formatting to stuff that's important and try
to limit the number of objects on the sheet (comments/pictures/etc).

Don't forget to try openoffice if everything else fails. You may get lucky.
(Then start keeping backups????)
 
Hi -
The workbooks aren't corrupted. I've been able to open
them up on a different PC. What can I do now? I have
over 250 Excel spreadshhets I can't access! HELP!

THANKS
 
First, how did you open the files on the other pc? Were these network files
that you could both access or were they copied then opened?

If you copied them to some other media and the problem pc had trouble with them,
then maybe it's a problem with the media (floppy/cd/zip drive) and one pc can
read them, but another couldn't.

But if they were on a shared network drive, I'd try this:

Try opening excel in safe mode on the problem pc.

Close excel
windows start button
Run
excel /safe

then File|Open.

Did that work?

if yes, then maybe there's something starting up that's causing touble with your
workbooks.

Excel loads your customized toolbars, files in your XLStart folder and addins
that are checked in Tools|Addins each time it starts.

I'd start with the easiest.

Close excel
use windows start button|find to search for *.xlb. (customized toolbar
settings). Look through hidden folders and for hidden files (just in case).

When you find it, rename it (or all of them) to *.xlbOLD.

Then restart excel and test it out.

If it worked, then dump the *.xlbOLD and rebuild your customized toolbars at
your leisure.

If it didn't work, then tools|Addins| and uncheck all the addins. Make a note
so that you can add them back later.

Close excel and
then use windows start button|Find to search for XLStart.
Move all the workbooks out of there, too. (keep track here, too).

Now start excel and retest.

If it worked now, then you can put each addin back (one at a time) and retest.

If you still haven't found the culprit, you close excel, move each of the files
back into XLStart (one at a time) and test each one.

Chip Pearson has some notes at:
http://www.cpearson.com/excel/StartupErrors.htm

If all this didn't work, then you could try:
Help|Detect and repair

and finally, maybe, maybe a reinstall.
OFF2000: Utility to Completely Remove Remaining Office CD1 Files and
Registry Entries
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=239938
 
Thanks Dave. I was wondering if I had "over-stuffed" my
workbook. I have lots and lots of formulas and charts in
it and the last time I used it I had just added several new
charts. I do have a backup (thank goodness) but I will
still have to re-do some work if I can't recover this file.
I will try openoffice and let you know.

Thanks again

Mart
 
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