Cannot open encrypted Excel file.

Question

Hey all,

I've had my laptop since 2014.  It was recently running slow, so I performed a factory reset on it.  When it started back up, I signed in with my usual Microsoft account.  I had saved a password protected Excel file with many of my internet passwords on a flash drive.  As I tried to open the file, instead of opening in the Excel desktop app (which I realized is missing since the reset) it was loaded into Excel in office.com.  However, the message I am getting states that Excel in office.com cannot open the file because it is encrypted.  Then it says it has opened the file in the Excel desktop app, yet nothing happens.  When I go to download Excel from the Microsoft store, it wants me to buy it.

What happened to my Excel after I reset Windows?  Why did my account sync properly, but not my owned desktop apps?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi SteveWaltaz,

Thank you for posting your concern here in Microsoft Community. We understand that you're having trouble with accessing an encrypted Excel workbook and with your Excel application. Let's get this addressed.

There are some functionalities that are working in Excel application but not in Excel Online. Also, you might have chose the Remove everything option when you reset your Windows computer. Remove everything option removes your apps and driver you recently installed and also the changes you made on your Windows Settings.

Just to confirm, are you subscribed to Office 365 subscription? Also, did you purchase/install Excel application as stand-alone app before?

If you're using Office 365, you may try uninstalling your Office suite by using the Uninstall Support tool provided in this  article (u nder Option 2). Once done, please reinstall your Office and check if the problem persists.

To notify us and have us get back to you, simply reply to this post.