The issues on Excel are common with many users since most of us have faced this at least once. What is causing this? The antivirus software which is a must for your computer might also be a cause for Excel to not open. You can easily fix the issues by following some steps. For step-by-step instructions to fix Excel won’t open, read the article below.
Why is Excel Not Working?
How to Fix Excel Not Working?
Fortunately, issues regarding most Office apps can be resolved easily. Don’t overwork your computer and restart if needed first. Then you can move on to these fixes mentioned below.
Excel is not updated: If you are using an old version of excel then you will most probably have problems in it. It is because some old features are removed in the newer versions for being unsupported. So, problems may arise when you use Excel. The older versions also contain bugs and errors in it. You will need to update to have newer versions which do not have bugs.Faulty Add-ins: There are add-ins in Excel which most people may have no idea about. These add-ins are sometimes unnecessary and faulty. So, they create problems in Excel. But, you can always disable these add-ins from the Excel app.Corrupt Excel: Sometimes, the Excel app gets corrupt and hence you face all kinds of errors without knowing the reason. But fortunately, this can be solved by repairing Office and Excel.Conflict with Antivirus: The antivirus software in your computer will sometimes interfere with Microsoft Office apps including Excel. You can disable the antivirus while you use Excel so it does not interfere with the working of Excel.
Open Excel in Safe Mode
If Excel on your device often shows a message that says “ excel not responding” then try to open Excel in safe mode. Many users who face this problem got it fixed by using this method. Give it a try by following these steps:
Check for Add-ins
Add-ins can cause Excel to hang and not respond. Removing the add-ins is the best way to avoid the not responding issues of Excel. Here’s how you can disable the add-ins in Excel.If Excel works normally, open the add-ins tab again. Enable the add-ins one by one and restart excel everytime you enable one of the add-ins. By doing this, you will know which add-in was the faulty one. Once you find out the faulty add-in, uncheck that add-in and enable other add-ins.
Install updates
Updating your device and Office both are important if you don’t want to raise bugs. Look for updates in the settings and get an update if it is available. Follow these steps to install updates:Here’re the steps to update Windows:Here’re the steps to update Microsoft Office:
Disable Antivirus
Antivirus software is good to block and remove malwares but sometimes they can be conflicting with excel. You will need to disable antivirus software at times like this and see if that works for you.
Change Default Printer
Changing your default printer can also help to fix Excel. It is so because Excel works with the printers to arrange the margins of the worksheet. So, if the printer is faulty then excel will not respond and stop working. To change the default printer, follow these steps:Now, reopen the excel file and see if that worked for you.
Stop Other Apps from Using DDE
DDE(Dynamic Data Exchange) is how the Excel app communicates with other applications like printers. This can be found in the advanced settings and is unchecked by default. But in case this box is selected then Excel will not communicate with most apps. This will lead to Excel not working and other problems. Follow these steps to fix this:
Repair Office
A corrupt Microsoft Office contains bugs. You can terminate these bugs by repairing Office. First, close all the Microsoft Office files if you are using them. Then follow these steps:
Reinstall Office
If repairing Office does not work then try to reinstall Office. You can uninstall the app from your device then reinstall it again from Microsoft’s website. Please note that uninstalling Excel means removing the whole Microsoft office package.Follow these steps to uninstall Microsoft Office:
How to Recover Lost/Unsaved Files in Excel?
If you forgot to save the excel file or you did not get to save it because Excel was unresponsive then you can follow these steps to find them:
