Forum Discussion
Excel crashes when opening a specific (complex) .xlsb file (and all previous versions of it too)
There are several possible reasons why Excel crashes when opening an .xlsb file, such as corrupted cache, outdated software, incompatible add-ins, conditional formatting, antivirus interference, or system issues.
Some of the solutions that you can try, perhaps you have already tried a few, here with the order:
- Restart your computer and try opening the file again.
- Run Excel as administrator and see if it can open the file.
- Install the latest software update for Excel and Windows.
- Clear Microsoft Excel cache by deleting all files in %appdata%\Microsoft\Excel folder.
- Remove conditional formatting from your file by using Format Painter on a blank cell and applying it to the entire worksheet.
- Close unused applications that may be using up memory or resources.
- Disable your antivirus temporarily and check if it affects Excel’s performance.
- Update your system drivers and BIOS to ensure compatibility and stability.
If none of these solutions work, you may have a corrupted .xlsb file that needs to be repaired.
You can try saving the file in an old format (.xls) on a different computer that can open it, then re-saving it as .xlsb. This may fix some of the corruption issues.
You can also use a third-party tool to repair your .xlsb file, such as Stellar Repair for Excel or Kernel for Excel Repair. These tools can scan your file and recover data from damaged worksheets. Have not used these tools myself, but are recommended by some, so without guarantee.
I hope this helps you resolve your issue.
I know I don't know anything (Socrates)
Unfortunately, with so many posts without more detailed information and inappropriate comments, I can only provide general information that I think is correct.
First of all, I am not an employee of any call center or Microsoft. I'm a simple user like most people here. My answers are voluntary and without guarantee.
To be clear, not everyone has the same problem, even though it might seem so. That's why it's always recommended to publish a new post, as everyone can have a different hardware and software configuration.
If a lot of things are unclear from the start regarding the hardware and software configuration, it is good to give general step-by-step instructions that ignore the basic sources of errors.
In this link you will find some more information about it:
Welcome to your Excel discussion space!
At the same time, I ask you to behave politely and not to make yourself important with personal direct or indirect insults.
I will no longer participate in this post, thank you for your patience and understanding.