Problems opening Excel files

  • Thread starter Thread starter stomped
  • Start date Start date
S

stomped

I don't know if I'm in the right forum, but hopefully someone can help me.

When I go to my documents and try to open an Excel file, I get a message
saying that Windows can't find the file in that folder, to try and retype the
name again. I have other documents in that same folder which I can open
without a problem.

If I open the Excel application and go to the place showing the files last
opened, I can open the files listed there; however, I can't open those same
files from the "documents" folder. If I do a file search, the files show as
being in the "documents" folder, but windows does not seem to recognize them.
This only happens with Excel files. If I create a new Excel file, I can
open it by opening the application and going to the place that shows the last
documents opened, but can not open it from the "documents" folder. I tried
putting the Excel files in a different folder, but can't open them still.

I dragged and dropped the files from the "documents" folder, put them in a
flash drive and was able to open them in another computer.

If I receive an Excel file over the Internet, I can't open it either. I
tried restoring my system, but this did not work either.

I'll greatly appreciate any help that I can get.
 
what version on what operating system?

also can you open by clicking the file from your thumb drive on the subject
machine?
 
I had the same problem. Be sure you don't have the Compatibility tab set to
Run as administrator in the Properties dialog of Excel.exe
 
I have the same problem and run as administrator is not checked. You can
use the open button and browse to the file you want to open. If it is in
documents it is quick to find and open.
 
I have the identical problem, starting a week ago. I have 2007 Office Home
and Student 2007, which I tried reloading today, as the problem seems limited
to Excel files. Same problem. (However, when I paste a spreadsheet into a
Word document, I cannot save that either.)

I have Norton Security, but I have tried turning it off.

I had not updated Office since installing it three months ago, so I updated
it today, including SP1. Still no success.

I cannot open the excel files from a folder, including by right-clicking and
clicking on Open. Nor can I open them under recent documents. The only way to
open them is by opening Excel, clicking on File>>Open and then opening a file
in a file folder.

Any suggestions welcomed.
 
It's not Norton in my case or any other anti-virus. I personally wouldn't
have it in the same house.


Bob said:
Norton is likely causing your problem.

Replace Norton with the free AVG http://free.grisoft.com/ or Avast
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html, and Windows Firewall and
Windows Defender. Disabling Norton is not enough. You need to completely
uninstall it. If it doesn't solve the problem, get rid of Norton anyway.
Norton is known to cause many problems in Vista which don’t always appear
immediately.

Download and run the Norton Removal Tool.

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039

It's called "360" because Symantec's goal is complete ownership of your
computer, and with even less communication about what it's trying to do or
ways to configure it than ever before (which would only interfere with its
goal.) That, along with Symantec's famous technical support, makes Norton
360 a disaster that I would only install on Granny's computer if she was
going to disinherit me.

-------
*Report back, please*
[When responding to posts, please include the post(s) you are replying to
so that others may learn and benefit from the issue]

[How to ask a question]
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

confounded said:
I have the identical problem, starting a week ago. I have 2007 Office Home
and Student 2007, which I tried reloading today, as the problem seems
limited
to Excel files. Same problem. (However, when I paste a spreadsheet into a
Word document, I cannot save that either.)

I have Norton Security, but I have tried turning it off.

I had not updated Office since installing it three months ago, so I
updated
it today, including SP1. Still no success.

I cannot open the excel files from a folder, including by right-clicking
and
clicking on Open. Nor can I open them under recent documents. The only
way to
open them is by opening Excel, clicking on File>>Open and then opening a
file
in a file folder.

Any suggestions welcomed.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the suggestion Bob. Unfortunately, the response is unchanged.

FYI, I did have 3 updates about a week ago for Vista. They were:
-Windows malicious software Removal tool
-Update for Windows Mail junk email filter
- Update for Windows Vista (KB946041)

Here is the exact text I get when I try to open a file:

Windows cannot find
'C:\Users\....\filename.xls'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, then
try again.



Bob said:
Norton is likely causing your problem.

Replace Norton with the free AVG http://free.grisoft.com/ or Avast
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html, and Windows Firewall and Windows
Defender. Disabling Norton is not enough. You need to completely uninstall
it. If it doesn't solve the problem, get rid of Norton anyway. Norton is
known to cause many problems in Vista which don’t always appear immediately.

Download and run the Norton Removal Tool.

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039

It's called "360" because Symantec's goal is complete ownership of your
computer, and with even less communication about what it's trying to do or
ways to configure it than ever before (which would only interfere with its
goal.) That, along with Symantec's famous technical support, makes Norton
360 a disaster that I would only install on Granny's computer if she was
going to disinherit me.

-------
*Report back, please*
[When responding to posts, please include the post(s) you are replying to so
that others may learn and benefit from the issue]

[How to ask a question]
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

confounded said:
I have the identical problem, starting a week ago. I have 2007 Office Home
and Student 2007, which I tried reloading today, as the problem seems
limited
to Excel files. Same problem. (However, when I paste a spreadsheet into a
Word document, I cannot save that either.)

I have Norton Security, but I have tried turning it off.

I had not updated Office since installing it three months ago, so I
updated
it today, including SP1. Still no success.

I cannot open the excel files from a folder, including by right-clicking
and
clicking on Open. Nor can I open them under recent documents. The only way
to
open them is by opening Excel, clicking on File>>Open and then opening a
file
in a file folder.

Any suggestions welcomed.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for attempting an answer. I'll try an Excel newsgroup, but perhaps
there is a different question I should ask the Vista Group.

Is there anyway I can just replace Vista with XP?

All of the software that doesn't work now worked fine on a virtually
identical computer with XP up to 3 months ago, when I had to replace it.
Foolishly, I said, "well I'll buy the same computer but give Vista a try
despite the complaints I've heard. I am patient and I'll learn to move to
the new world."

Now, it seems that nothing works right. I can't print from Word to pdf
without buying new software. "Windows can't find..." an Excel file when I
just saved it a minute ago. I am told, "that's an Excel problem" or "that's
an Adobe problem" or "that's a Norton problem" or "that's an Office problem".
And Vista is slow as molasses, and it's always asking me dumb questions.
(God Bless John for making the suggestion, but does anyone else think it's
silly to have to "Be sure you don't have the Compatibility tab set to Run as
administrator in the Properties dialog of Excel.exe.")

Or maybe there is another solution. Does someone have software that actually
works on Vista? Am I better just using Google apps on-line? I got my 80 year
old mom her first computer three weeks ago - a Mac and she loves it. Maybe
it's time I moved to the new world, and it just isn't Microsoft.

Well, I'm obviously no expert in this stuff, so I'd welcome any suggestions.
I recognize that getting Vista was my mistake, and no one else's. But what
do you recommend for someone who just wants the computer to work and doesn't
want to spend hours in newsgroups trying to understand what's wrong?



Bob said:
You might have better luck posting to an Excel newsgroup.

confounded said:
Thanks for the suggestion Bob. Unfortunately, the response is unchanged.

FYI, I did have 3 updates about a week ago for Vista. They were:
-Windows malicious software Removal tool
-Update for Windows Mail junk email filter
- Update for Windows Vista (KB946041)

Here is the exact text I get when I try to open a file:

Windows cannot find
'C:\Users\....\filename.xls'. Make sure you typed the name correctly,
then
try again.



Bob said:
Norton is likely causing your problem.

Replace Norton with the free AVG http://free.grisoft.com/ or Avast
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html, and Windows Firewall and
Windows
Defender. Disabling Norton is not enough. You need to completely
uninstall
it. If it doesn't solve the problem, get rid of Norton anyway. Norton is
known to cause many problems in Vista which don’t always appear
immediately.

Download and run the Norton Removal Tool.

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039

It's called "360" because Symantec's goal is complete ownership of your
computer, and with even less communication about what it's trying to do
or
ways to configure it than ever before (which would only interfere with
its
goal.) That, along with Symantec's famous technical support, makes Norton
360 a disaster that I would only install on Granny's computer if she was
going to disinherit me.

-------
*Report back, please*
[When responding to posts, please include the post(s) you are replying to
so
that others may learn and benefit from the issue]

[How to ask a question]
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

I have the identical problem, starting a week ago. I have 2007 Office
Home
and Student 2007, which I tried reloading today, as the problem seems
limited
to Excel files. Same problem. (However, when I paste a spreadsheet into
a
Word document, I cannot save that either.)

I have Norton Security, but I have tried turning it off.

I had not updated Office since installing it three months ago, so I
updated
it today, including SP1. Still no success.

I cannot open the excel files from a folder, including by
right-clicking
and
clicking on Open. Nor can I open them under recent documents. The only
way
to
open them is by opening Excel, clicking on File>>Open and then opening
a
file
in a file folder.

Any suggestions welcomed.

:

What firewall, anti-virus application or security suite is installed?
There
are some that cause problems which do not appear immediately.
--
*Report back, please*

How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375
http://dts-l.net/goodpost.htm
http://oakroadsystems.com/genl/unice.htm

I don't know if I'm in the right forum, but hopefully someone can
help
me.

When I go to my documents and try to open an Excel file, I get a
message
saying that Windows can't find the file in that folder, to try and
retype the
name again. I have other documents in that same folder which I
can
open
without a problem.

If I open the Excel application and go to the place showing the
files
last
opened, I can open the files listed there; however, I can't open
those
same
files from the "documents" folder. If I do a file search, the
files
show as
being in the "documents" folder, but windows does not seem to
recognize
them.
This only happens with Excel files. If I create a new Excel file,
I
can
open it by opening the application and going to the place that
shows
the
last
documents opened, but can not open it from the "documents" folder.
I
tried
putting the Excel files in a different folder, but can't open them
still.

I dragged and dropped the files from the "documents" folder, put
them
in
a
flash drive and was able to open them in another computer.

If I receive an Excel file over the Internet, I can't open it
either.
I
tried restoring my system, but this did not work either.

I'll greatly appreciate any help that I can get.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, Jane. You've done it again. :-) There must have been an update
that changed this a couple of months ago, since it had worked this way the
first year I had Vista and Office installed, then suddenly it stopped.
 
I don't know if I'm in the right forum, but hopefully someone can help me. 

When I go to my documents and try toopenanExcelfile, I get a message
saying that Windowscan'tfind the file in that folder, to try and retype the
name again.  I have other documents in that same folder which I canopen
without a problem.

If IopentheExcelapplication and go to the place showing the files last
opened, I canopenthe files listed there; however, Ican'topenthose same
files from the "documents" folder.  If I do a file search, the files show as
being in the "documents" folder, but windows does not seem to recognize them.
 This only happens withExcelfiles.  If I create a newExcelfile, I canopenit by opening the application and going to the place that shows the last
documents opened, but can notopenit from the "documents" folder.  I tried
putting theExcelfiles in a different folder, butcan'topenthem still.

I dragged and dropped the files from the "documents" folder, put them in a
flash drive and was able toopenthem in another computer.

If I receive anExcelfile over the Internet, Ican'topenit either.  I
tried restoring my system, but this did not work either.

I'll greatly appreciate any help that I can get.
Click to expand...

Hi,

Perphaps the the file you cannot open is damaged by some reason. You
may try Advanced Excel Repair at http://www.datanumen.com/aer/ This
tool is rather useful in salvaging damaged Excel xls files. Hope this
helps.

Alan
 
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