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Excel slow to open second (or subsequent) file

Miha 31 Reputation points
2020-12-21T20:11:33.347+00:00

I use MS Office Home & Business 2019 on Windows 10 PRO and my computer is quite fast (i7 processor, with 32gb RAM and and ssd drive).

I have the following problem when opening Excel files (only when double clicking files from Windows Explorer):

  • when I open the first file (from Windows Explorer) it opens fast, but only if there was previously no other Excel files open
  • when I open the second file (from Windows Explorer) it takes up to 10 seconds for the file to open. It doesn't make any difference how large the file is. But on the other hand, if I were to drag&drop the same file from Windows Explorer to the existing (opened) Excel it opens fast (or if I open it via Excel-->File-->Open)???

What could be the problem?

Note: I'm experiencing the same problem on 3 different computers

Excel Management
Excel Management
Excel: A family of Microsoft spreadsheet software with tools for analyzing, charting, and communicating data.Management: The act or process of organizing, handling, directing or controlling something.
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  1. Emi Zhang-MSFT 22,796 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor
    2020-12-22T08:15:16.3+00:00

    Hi @Miha ,
    I suggest you check if you're using 32-bit version of Office, you can go to File- Account- About Excel:

    50297-266.png

    If you're using 32-bit version of Office, try to change to 64-bit. 64-bit applications can access more memory than 32-bit applications (up to 18.4 million Petabytes).

    You can also try to disable all add-ins: Click File > Excel Options > Add-Ins on the left side of the dialog. Then click the drop-down arrow at the bottom of the dialog box and select "COM Add-Ins" from the list, then click the GO button. What comes up is a list of COM-Add Ins that are loaded and running.

    Any updates please let me know and I'm glad to help you.

    If the response is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.
    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

  2. Miha 31 Reputation points
    2020-12-28T08:18:27.513+00:00

    No one else with this problem ???

  3. SinKuk Kang 1 Reputation point
    2021-12-21T10:44:33.213+00:00

    I had the same problem and I solved it like this.

    In my case, Dropbox was the problem.
    After I killed the Dropbox process, it was faster.
    When I start Dropbox with administrator privileges, there are no symptoms.
    Go to Startup Programs in the task manager and change Dropbox to 'Run this program as administrator'.
    Then it will be solved.
    Hope this helps.

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  4. gizaha‏ 1 Reputation point
    2022-10-06T20:53:47.807+00:00

    Same. New pc, fresh windows 10 pro, fresh office 2021. SSD980 pro, 12900k, 32gb ram.
    First excel opens in less than a second, second excel makes 2 seconds.
    Problem exists even if i open two blank excels from start menu.
    Word does not have that problem.
    If i open the second excel in safe mode it opens instantly.
    I don't have addons.

    If i add to these keys
    HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\command
    HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\command
    the /dde "%1" in the end, second excel opens quickly BUT if i cut something from the first to paste it at the second, it is copied instead of cut.

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  5. Oskar Shon 866 Reputation points MVP
    2022-11-10T23:57:23.457+00:00

    Depends of file you're open.
    I use 32bit compilation because is more compatible with controls library and drivers and i do not complain on speed I've got.
    32bit and i7 too so..

    You can use safe run to see id son of addin makes bad works, pressing Ctrl during run.

    Regards.

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