When an Excel file is corrupted, then you can try several methods to recover it:
 
1.(Free Method) First of all, you can try to repair the file manually in Excel, as follows:
 
(1) On the File menu, click Open.
 (2) In the Open dialog box, select the file you want to open, and click the arrow next to the Open button.
 (3) Click Open and Repair, and then choose which method you want to use to recover your workbook.
 
You may find more information about this at:
 
http://office.microsoft.com/en-ca/excel-help/repairing-corrupted-files-in-excel-HA001034656.aspx (for Excel 2003)
 
2.(Free Method) If method 1 fails, there are still several methods to recover your Excel file manually with Excel, including writing a small VBA macro, as below
 
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/repair-a-corrupted-workbook-HA102749554.aspx?CTT=1#_Toc337637262
 
3.(Free Method) Third, there are also free tools from third-parties that can open and read Microsoft Excel files, for example,
 
3.1 OpenOffice at http://www.openoffice.org. This is a very famous open source project that is designed to support Office file formats, including Excel files. The software can run under Windows.

3.2 LibreOffice at http://www.LibreOffice.org. Another free office suite.
 
3.3 KingSoft Spreadsheets at http://www.kingsoftstore.com/office/free-excel. This is a free Windows tool that can open Excel files.

3.4 Google Drive at https://drive.google.com/also support to load Excel files.

Sometimes when Excel fails to open your file, these tools may be able to open it successfully. If that is the case, then after the Excel file is opened, you can just save it as a new file which will be error-free.
 
 
4.(Non-Free Method) If all above methods do not work, then you may try third-party tools such as DataNumen Excel Repair at
 
http://www.datanumen.com/excel-repair/
 
It supports both .xls and .xlsx format. I have used it to recover some Excel files successfully. It provides a free demo version so that you can try to see if the data you want can be recovered or not.
 
Good luck!

When an Excel file is corrupted, then you can try several methods to recover it:
 
1.(Free Method) First of all, you can try to repair the file manually in Excel, as follows:
 
(1) On the File menu, click Open.
 (2) In the Open dialog box, select the file you want to open, and click the arrow next to the Open button.
 (3) Click Open and Repair, and then choose which method you want to use to recover your workbook.
 
You may find more information about this at:
 
http://office.microsoft.com/en-ca/excel-help/repairing-corrupted-files-in-excel-HA001034656.aspx (for Excel 2003)
 
2.(Free Method) If method 1 fails, there are still several methods to recover your Excel file manually with Excel, including writing a small VBA macro, as below
 
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/repair-a-corrupted-workbook-HA102749554.aspx?CTT=1#_Toc337637262
 
3.(Free Method) Third, there are also free tools from third-parties that can open and read Microsoft Excel files, for example,
 
3.1 OpenOffice at http://www.openoffice.org. This is a very famous open source project that is designed to support Office file formats, including Excel files. The software can run under Windows.

3.2 LibreOffice at http://www.LibreOffice.org. Another free office suite.
 
3.3 KingSoft Spreadsheets at http://www.kingsoftstore.com/office/free-excel. This is a free Windows tool that can open Excel files.

3.4 Google Drive at https://drive.google.com/also support to load Excel files.

Sometimes when Excel fails to open your file, these tools may be able to open it successfully. If that is the case, then after the Excel file is opened, you can just save it as a new file which will be error-free.
 
 
4.(Non-Free Method) If all above methods do not work, then you may try third-party tools such as DataNumen Excel Repair at
 
http://www.datanumen.com/excel-repair/
 
It supports both .xls and .xlsx format. I have used it to recover some Excel files successfully. It provides a free demo version so that you can try to see if the data you want can be recovered or not.
 
Good luck!

Hi,

I have a very small, but massively important excel document that appears to be corrupt and I am unable to open. I get the following message: The document is corrupt and cannot be opened.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Hello IgorrGeorgiadis,

Many suggestions:

1. Any backups? Why not???
2. This is the only document that gives this error?
3. Excel Repair option?

I've corrected this error before by running SpyBot on the document.

Possibly if you install it - then right mouse click the document and run SpyBot - it may fix the document.

Other options:

In Windows Explorer you can right mouse click the Excel File and Select Scan for Viruses

Also from Excel, select File - Open select your File once then go to the bottom of the open window and click on the arrow beside Open and select Open and Repair.

Hi,

So it's an Excel 2003 file, and what's the version of your current Office client?

Please go to (take Excel 2013 as an example here) FILE>Options>Trust Center>Trust Center Settings...>Protected View, uncheck all the options under Protected View and save the chages. Restart Excel and verify result again.

If issue persists, please try the Open and Repair option suggested above and see if it helps.

Regards,

Ethan Hua
TechNet Community Support

Hi,

So it's an Excel 2003 file, and what's the version of your current Office client?

Please go to (take Excel 2013 as an example here) FILE>Options>Trust Center>Trust Center Settings...>Protected View, uncheck all the options under Protected View and save the chages. Restart Excel and verify result again.

If issue persists, please try the Open and Repair option suggested above and see if it helps.

Regards,

Ethan Hua
TechNet Community Support

Visit, non-commercial source to know more about the process of excel files restoration:- http://www.filerepairforum.com/forum/microsoft/microsoft-aa/excel/481-%E2%80%8Bexcel-files-corrupted

How to Fix a Corrupt Excel File

1. Log on to your computer and open Microsoft Excel. Click on the "File" menu and then "Open," or use the "Open" icon on the Microsoft Excel toolbar.

1. Highlight the spreadsheet you want to open and wait for the "Open" button to light up. Look for the down arrow on the button and click on it.

1. Choose "Open and Repair" from the list of options and wait for the file to open. Hold down the "Ctrl" key and press the "A" key. This will highlight the entire contents of the spreadsheet.

1. Click on the "File" menu and choose "New" from the menu. This will open up a new spreadsheet. Hold down the "Ctrl" key and press the "V" key. This will paste the contents of your old spreadsheet into the new one you just created.

Also there is a paid software Excel Repair Toolbox

In case of anything helps you, you may try it- http://www.excelrepairtoolbox.com/