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AShort17000's avatar
AShort17000
Occasional Reader
Jan 23, 2026

Excel Auto Recovery Question

Recently used Excel and received the message that the Automatic Recovery has been disabled. What does this mean exactly and how can I enable it again?

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1 Reply

  • JoseJ's avatar
    JoseJ
    Brass Contributor
    Jan 23, 2026

    This message means Excel has turned off AutoRecover for the current session because it detected a problem (for example, a crash, instability, low disk space, or performance issue). AutoRecover being disabled prevents Excel from periodically saving recovery copies of open files.

    What AutoRecover does

    AutoRecover automatically saves temporary copies of your work at set intervals so you can recover files after a crash or power loss.

    How to re-enable AutoRecover

    1. Open Excel
    2. Go to File → Options → Save
    3. Make sure “Save AutoRecover information every X minutes” is checked
    4. Ensure “Keep the last AutoRecovered version if I close without saving” is checked
    5. Click OK
    6. Close and reopen Excel

    If the message keeps appearing

    • Check that the AutoRecover file location is valid and writable
      (File → Options → Save → AutoRecover file location)
    • Ensure you have sufficient free disk space
    • If using OneDrive or a network drive, test with a local folder
    • Restart Excel (or Windows) to reset the session state

    Once re-enabled, AutoRecover will resume protecting your files normally.

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