File corrupts when saving under a different name - xl2000

[Guest]

I have users that are opening a file every week and saving it under a new
name (ie: sheet-06-03-07.xls, sheet-06-10-07.xls ...) The file has recently
become corrupt. A friend suggested that it may be the saving and re-saving of
the same sheet over and over that corrupted it. Is this a possibility?

 

[Francois via OfficeKB.com]

I have users that are opening a file every week and saving it under a new
name (ie: sheet-06-03-07.xls, sheet-06-10-07.xls ...) The file has recently
become corrupt. A friend suggested that it may be the saving and re-saving of
the same sheet over and over that corrupted it. Is this a possibility?

I doubt it,

If you save an existing file under a new name, then you have added a new file.
..you haven't renamed the same file.

 

[Guest]

Thank you, Francois.

That's true. And, I can go and recover the data from 06-10-07.xls. But the
data that was entered in 06-17-07.xls is unrecoverable - as far as I can
tell. This sheet was created in 2003, and has been renamed and saved with new
data for four years. I'm trying to figure out why it corrupts every now and
again, forcing us to go back and re-enter the data into an older sheet then
saving it with a new name..

 

[Francois via OfficeKB.com]

Thank you, Francois.

That's true. And, I can go and recover the data from 06-10-07.xls. But the
data that was entered in 06-17-07.xls is unrecoverable - as far as I can
tell. This sheet was created in 2003, and has been renamed and saved with new
data for four years. I'm trying to figure out why it corrupts every now and
again, forcing us to go back and re-enter the data into an older sheet then
saving it with a new name..[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]

If you save an existing file under a new name, then you have added a new file.
..you haven't renamed the same file.

Maybe your HDD has a bad sector(s) on it.
do any other files seem to suffer from this?

I always do a file save as for my files ....several times a day....I realise
that you will end up with LOADS of old files But you could then delete the
really old ones as and when you need to..

 

[Dave Peterson]

If a workbook is corrupt, then saving it as a new name won't clean up that
problem. And from what I can tell, corruption tends to get worse over time--not
just based on saving.

Maybe it's time to create a new workbook from scratch and start using that as
the basis for all new workbooks.

But are you sure that the workbook is corrupt? You may want to share some of
the problems that you're having. Maybe it's something else???

 

[Guest]

That's a valid point.

I have seen no evidence of corruption up to this point, but now we get an
error message that the file we are opening is not a valid MS Excel file.

I must add that I am new on this system and am reporting problems that have
been encountered up to this point. It stands to reason that if the file was
saved at one point with an unseen corruption, that corruption would remain
and, perhaps, magnify over time of saving with a new name.

I'm trying to push the development of a different system, one based on
Access rather than Excel. Is there a KB article related to this? I've
searched and can't find it.

Thank you!
--
Adios,
Clay Harryman

If a workbook is corrupt, then saving it as a new name won't clean up that
problem. And from what I can tell, corruption tends to get worse over time--not
just based on saving.

Maybe it's time to create a new workbook from scratch and start using that as
the basis for all new workbooks.

But are you sure that the workbook is corrupt? You may want to share some of
the problems that you're having. Maybe it's something else???

 

[Dave Peterson]

One common problem that also generates that "not a valid excel file" is when
someone opens the .xls file in MSWord and saves the file as an MSWord file (it's
a .doc file with a .xls extension).

If you can open that troublesome file in MSWord and see your data, I bet that's
what happened. (It seems to be a more common problem that you would hope.)

Are you asking if there is a kb article about converting an Excel system to
Access? I wouldn't guess so.

That's a valid point.

I have seen no evidence of corruption up to this point, but now we get an
error message that the file we are opening is not a valid MS Excel file.

I must add that I am new on this system and am reporting problems that have
been encountered up to this point. It stands to reason that if the file was
saved at one point with an unseen corruption, that corruption would remain
and, perhaps, magnify over time of saving with a new name.

I'm trying to push the development of a different system, one based on
Access rather than Excel. Is there a KB article related to this? I've
searched and can't find it.

Thank you!

 

[Guest]

Actually, I was thinking about a KB article that would back me up about file
corruption when Excel is not properly used.

Thanks for the information! I can use this. I believe that your illustration
below has happened on occasion...
--
Adios,
Clay Harryman

One common problem that also generates that "not a valid excel file" is when
someone opens the .xls file in MSWord and saves the file as an MSWord file (it's
a .doc file with a .xls extension).

If you can open that troublesome file in MSWord and see your data, I bet that's
what happened. (It seems to be a more common problem that you would hope.)

Are you asking if there is a kb article about converting an Excel system to
Access? I wouldn't guess so.

 

[Dave Peterson]

I haven't seen a KB article, but I haven't looked.

But if the file was overwritten using MSWord, I don't think that there'll be
enough to recover--you can open the file in MSWord and copy|paste into a new
workbook. But don't depend on that saving much of your workbook.

Actually, I was thinking about a KB article that would back me up about file
corruption when Excel is not properly used.

Thanks for the information! I can use this. I believe that your illustration
below has happened on occasion...