Forum Discussion
Excel cannot be open the file 'filename.xlsx' because the file format or file extension is not valid
Hi All,
I have a excel.xlsx file saved in my system which has been corrupted .I atleast need to recover the data stores .It is a file of 124 KB and has around 35 worksheets in the workbook .I have tried all possible ways to recover and repair the file .i even tried to extract the data using 3rd party application like stellar,ease of use recover application of excel still i have no luck . The below error message im getting whenever i try to open the file.I even tried to open it through other applications like wordpress,google sheets and so on but nothing works .
Thanks and regards ,
Muthuraman
hlw
anyone have solution this problem how i can get out this problem
Here are suggestions from MS Copilot:
This error usually occurs when Excel cannot recognize the file format or extension. Here are a few steps you can take to troubleshoot and resolve this issue:
- Check the File Extension:
- Ensure that the file has the correct .xlsx extension. Sometimes, renaming the file with the correct extension can resolve the issue.
- Verify the File Format:
- Make sure the file is indeed an Excel file. If the file was saved with a different format but has an .xlsx extension, Excel might not be able to open it.
- Open with a Different Program:
- Try opening the file with a different program, such as Google Sheets to see if the file is recognized and can be opened. If it opens, you can save it again as an Excel file.
- Repair the File:
- Open Excel, go to File > Open, and select the file. Instead of clicking Open, click the arrow next to it and select Open and Repair. This can sometimes fix issues with the file.
- Check for Corruption:
- The file might be corrupted. If you have a backup, try opening the backup file. If not, you might need to use a file recovery tool to attempt to repair the corrupted file.
- Update Excel:
- Ensure that you are using the latest version of Excel. Sometimes, updates can resolve compatibility issues with certain file formats.
- Check File Size:
- If the file size is unusually small (e.g., 0 KB), it might indicate that the file is empty or corrupted.
- Check the File Extension:
Transferring files to a different pc, I got the same problem. By renaming the extension to “xl” and then opening the file from within Excel (ignoring the warning), I got into the file. After that, “save as” with the appropriate extension. Didn’t know what I was doing but got lucky.
I got this error, and the file size was reduced from 1645 kb to 7 kb. The content was deleted. Log in to OneDrive and open the version history of the file. Restore the previous version and download the file to your computer.
If you have changed computers and/or you backed your files to One Drive and are trying to open the files on your computer, then you need to login to One Drive, open the folder with the file(s) and download it and move it to the folder the file is in.
However, if you open your OneDrive folder (from file explorer not online), the files should automatically download to your Desktop etc
- @Muthuraman Sir, Hi, pls try the below steps, i think the actual\original file might have multiple extension(Ex:"Abcxxx.xls.ghyxx.xlsx") which is not supporting. I had the same issue when i received a file from the customer. Hope this will resolve your issue if its same.
1. Goto "Folder Options" and select window "view"
2. Now uncheck the "hide extensions for known file types" and apply Ok
3. Now rename the file and check as per the example, rename it with only ".xls" extenssion and try to open the file. It should work. Potential Solution that worked for me-
The file was hosted on Teams.
OneDrive was unable to properly sync the file after I changed my account password. Had to sign out of OneDrive, delete the file, sign back into OneDrive and resync the file. Worked perfectly after that.
I am having this same issue and none of the solutions worked, can anyone help me? 😭
- Hello, I am answering a bit late but facing the same problem in 2024 I found these discussions, tried the proposed solutions and could not recover my file. However, I was able to retrive my data by opening the file in Notepad ! I don't know if this works for files with several tabs, but it worked for my simple excel sheet.
Good luck
- if you receiving this error while attempting to open the file from SharePoint, make sure your account is connected and synced with OneDrive.
Muthu69 I had the same issue - I had numerous excel files giving me the same error message. I initially though it was due to upgrading to windows 11, and tried to find a fix. Eventually I figured it was related to one drive. I deleted one drive from my machine and reinstalled it. Entered my account details and allowed it to sync. Problem solved. All my excel, notepad and word files can now open without any issues.
