How do you fix excel file that keeps crashing?

You never have time to wait for a solution when you receive error messages that indicate your Excel program has crashed. Therefore, you should determine the problem and the reason for it. Furthermore, you should resolve the problem “Excel keeps crashing when opening file” effectively. In this article, we’ll discuss eleven ways to fix the problem. Let’s follow the complete guide to learn all of this.

Table of Contents Show

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11 Possible Solutions for Excel Keeps Crashing When Opening File
Solution 1: Start Excel in Safe Mode
Solution 2: Check and Install Lastest Updates
Solution 3: Examine Possible Issues with Add-ins
Solution 4: Eliminate Conditional Formatting Rules
Solution 5: Disable MS Excel Animation
Solution 6: Repair MS Office
Solution 7: Eliminate Cell Formatting and Styles
Solution 8: Look for the Presence of Any Third-Party App That Can Hinder Excel from Opening
Solution 9: Identity If Antivirus Conflicts with Microsoft Excel
Solution 10: Eliminate Boot Windows to Identify Cause of the Crash
Solution 11: Eliminate Protected View of Excel
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11 Possible Solutions for Excel Keeps Crashing When Opening File

When Excel crashes, you may receive the following error messages:

Microsoft Excel has stopped working
Microsoft Excel is not responding

We will solve the above error messages by using eleven effective and tricky methods in the following section. This section provides extensive details on eleven methods. You should learn and apply all of these to improve your thinking capability and Excel knowledge.

Solution 1: Start Excel in Safe Mode

In order to solve this problem, one of the options is to run Microsoft Excel in harmless mode, which allows it to run with restricted features and without adding any Excel add-ins. You have to follow the following process to start Excel in a safe mode.

📌 Steps:

Firstly, press Ctrl and then hold down the Ctrl key when starting Excel.
In addition, press ‘Windows +R’. Then, type excel.exe/safe. Next, press Enter.

Read More: How to Open Excel in Safe Mode (3 Handy Methods)

Solution 2: Check and Install Lastest Updates

By installing the updated version we can solve the crash problem. To install the updated version you have to follow the following process.

📌 Steps:

Firstly, in excel you have to click on File > Account.
Next, select Update Options, and click on Update Now.

Read More: [Fixed!] Why Is My Excel Formula Not Updating Automatically (8 Solutions)

Solution 3: Examine Possible Issues with Add-ins

Sometimes, faulty add-ins are responsible for Excel crashes. To solve the problem, we have to find out and eliminate the flawed add-ins. To do this, you have to follow the following process.

📌 Steps:

Firstly, you have to reboot Microsoft Excel. Then, you have to open File > Options.

Next, select Add-ins. Then, you need to select COM Add-ins. Click on Go.

Next, checkboxes must be unchecked. Then, click on OK.

Finally, you should reboot Microsoft Excel and make sure the problem has been resolved.

Read More: Excel Not Responding When Opening File (8 Handy Solutions)

Solution 4: Eliminate Conditional Formatting Rules

Sometimes only one sheet can cause an issue like crashing. You can resolve such an issue by clearing the Conditional Formatting Rules. You have to follow the following steps to clear conditional formatting rules.

📌 Steps:

Go to the Home tab on the Excel sheet causing the problem, and then select Conditional Formatting. Next, select Clear Rules, and finally select Clear Rules from the Entire Sheet.

Repeat the above steps in all sheets where you are facing problems
Next, go to File and then click on Save. You must create a new folder and save this file. This will prevent any changes or overwrites of the original sheet.

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Solution 5: Disable MS Excel Animation

Here, we will discuss another effective method to solve the problem by disabling Microsoft Excel animation. Excel overload is usually caused by animations, which require extra processing power. As the use of animations increases, Excel crashes. You have to follow the following process to disable Excel animation.

📌 Steps:

Firstly, you have to open File > Options.

When the Excel Options window appears, select the Advanced. Then, check the Disable hardware graphics acceleration. Click on OK.

Solution 6: Repair MS Office

We can also solve the problem by repairing Microsoft 365. To do this you have to follow the following process.

📌 Steps:

Firstly, press ‘Windows+R’, type appwiz.cpl, and press Enter. Or you can use a direct way to open Programs and Features in the Control panel.

Right-click on Microsoft 365 and select Change.

Solution 7: Eliminate Cell Formatting and Styles

Sometimes only one sheet can cause an issue like crashing because of Cell Formatting Styles which are similar to conditional formatting rules. You can eliminate different cell formats with Microsoft support.

Solution 8: Look for the Presence of Any Third-Party App That Can Hinder Excel from Opening

In order to fetch data, you could have used programs to generate MS Excel files. Take for example downloading records from Google and putting it into Excel. Such third-party programs may not generate accurate files. In this situation, you will need to contact the app’s developer for assistance.

Solution 9: Identity If Antivirus Conflicts with Microsoft Excel

Keep your antivirus updated and make sure it doesn’t conflict with Excel. Excel may crash or hang if an obsolete Antivirus tool interferes with it. You can also temporarily disable your anti-virus software to see whether that is the cause of your Excel crash. Whenever that solves the problem, contact your antivirus supplier and let them know there’s a problem

Solution 10: Eliminate Boot Windows to Identify Cause of the Crash

It is the fastest and most effective way to solve the problem of Excel crashes. To do this you have to follow the following process.

📌 Steps:

Firstly, press ‘Windows+R’. Then, type MSConfig. Next, press Enter.

When the System Configuration window appears, select the General option. Then, select Selective startup. Next, uncheck Load startup items. Finally, click on OK.

Finally, reboot your computer after closing all open programs.

Solution 11: Eliminate Protected View of Excel

We can also the problem ‘Excel keeps crashing when opening the file” by removing the protected view of Excel. To do this you have to follow the following method.

📌 Steps:

Firstly, you have to open File > Options.

Then, select Trust Center and select Center Center Settings.

Next, select Protected View. Then, uncheck the options like the following.

Then, select File Block Settings and you need to uncheck all options. Click on OK.

Read More: [Fixed!] Excel File Not Opening on Double Click (8 Possible Solutions)

Conclusion

That’s the end of today’s session. I strongly believe that from now, you may solve the problem ‘Excel keeps crashing when opening file”. So, if you have any queries or recommendations, please share them in the comments section below.

Don’t forget to check our website Exceldemy.com for various Excel-related problems and solutions. Keep learning new methods and keep growing.