Don’t Let a Broken Excel File Ruin Your Day – Fix It Online in Minutes!

Attending monthly client meetings is an unmissable part of being a social media manager. This is where I present my analysis of various things, such as user traffic, engagement, followers, likes, and other metrics drawn from various social media channels. To present my analysis, I use MS Excel. It helps me systematically collate data, apply formulas or filters to it, and present it using graphs and charts.

But last week, something unexpected happened right before this important monthly meeting. I was unable to open my Excel file that had all my analysis of the previous month’s social media performance. I was trying to open my file, but all I could see was an annoying error message that stated that my file had become corrupted.

I was very anxious and trying to find a way around the problem to bring my data back. So I looked up on the internet to find a solution.

A Desperate Search for a Solution

As I was in a hurry to fix the file and so I quickly searched for free solutions to repair corrupted or broken Excel files online. My search led me to a handful of such tools that seemed legitimate as they claimed to repair broken Excel files in a matter of minutes.

I took my chance and went with the first tool that came up at the top of the search results. It did repair the file, but my charts and graphs were missing. Also, some of the formulas were showing errors. It was not worth the effort.

I scrolled down the search results and found another Excel repair tool that also claimed to accurately repair an Excel file. Without hoping for much, I took another chance. Surprisingly, the online tool quickly fixed my broken Excel file. I was able to open it without any errors. Moreover, all the charts, formulas, and filters were present in the file.

I was relieved as my file was repaired and I could see all the data in it. My efforts didn’t go in vain. That day, I learned a valuable lesson – to keep a backup of important files.

But this incident left me wondering: Why did it happen?

Reasons Behind Excel File Corruption

I wanted to find out the reason my Excel file got corrupted. I searched online and scrolled through countless user forums to find an answer. What I found was that there is not one but multiple reasons behind Excel file corruption. I have listed some of them below:

• Unexpected power loss due to an outage
• Sudden system or application crash
• Conflicting third-party add-ins
• Improper file transfer from one device to another
• Malware attack on the system
• Incomplete file write due to abrupt shutdown
• Bad sectors on the hard drive can corrupt or damage the Excel file
• Bad links and references in an inherited Excel file
• Network outage while working on a shared Excel workbook

How to use an Online Excel Repair Tool?

The online Excel repair tool that helped me fix the corrupted Excel file worked flawlessly and repaired my XLSX file in a matter of a few clicks. Additionally, the process didn’t take much time. After using this, I looked for another tool, the third one, just in case the website goes down. It also worked well and was able to fix my corrupted Excel file without much hassle.

After trying all of the tools to repair Excel files online, I observed two things:

• Not all online Excel repair tools work. Some are legitimate and some are not. Hence, it is better to read the reviews before using any tool.
• A lot of online Excel file repair tools have similar steps.

Based on my observation, I have made an outline of the steps. This can slightly vary for each tool.

Step 1: User registration on the website.

Note – Some websites don’t require registration. Users can directly upload the corrupted Excel file and repair it.

Step 2: Upload the corrupted Excel file to the online tool.

Step 3: Click on the Repair.

Step 4: Download the repaired Excel file.

Tips to Prevent Data Loss due to Excel File Corruption

Here are some tips that could help prevent Excel file corruption and subsequent data loss.

• The AutoSave is an additional functionality in MS Excel that should be enabled and used alongside regular Save.
• Regularly save the Excel file after making changes to it.
• UPS should be used with your desktop. It prevents abrupt system shutdown and gives additional time to save the file and properly close it.
• Data backups come in handy. Use the 3-2-1 backup strategy to prevent unwanted data loss.
• Install a reliable antivirus on your system and keep it updated.

Conclusion

Free online Excel file repair tools like Stellar Repair for Excel online allow users to repair the files quickly without installing them on the system. Hence, they are ideal for students and users who are look for a quick and simple way to repair Excel files on the go. There are tools to help you repair corrupt or broken Excel files. It is better to prevent unwanted file corruption or data loss by following the tips shared above.