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excel corrupted file or wrong extension

Anonymous
2024-10-29T17:54:19+00:00

Excel file that was on my flash drive that somehow got corrupted and was gone from my flash drive, I somehow recovered it but now when I try to open the file I get a message “The file format and extension of "Cars List 15.xls' don't match. The file could be corrupted or unsafe. Unless you trust its source, dont open it. DO you want to open it anyway? When i click yes the file is corrupted and cant read any of it, anyway of getting the file back? I tried all the hacks that are online but it still wouldn’t work. When I open the file it’s all gibberish and nothing is readable. Anyway of recovering the lost data? Thanks in advance

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | Other | Other

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-10-30T02:27:52+00:00

    Hello,rami elmas

    Welcome to the Microsoft community!

    Sorry for the inconvenience. I understand the anxiety you are experiencing when trying to recover your lost files.

    According to your addition. Since the Microsoft Community only provides technical support for the software, and no community member has access to the server's backend data to help you recover your data, I will do my best to answer your questions about the strategic and technical aspects of the software.

    The first thing you can try to try to fix the file.

    1. win + R to open the command run window, enter regedit enter to open the registry

    2.open the following path:

    \HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Security

    3.in the red box part of the right -> New -> DWORD (32-bit) value (D) -> enter ExtensionHardening

    1. Right-click on ExtensionHardening and modify the value to change it to 0
    2. The following list contains the data settings that apply to the value of the ExtensionHardening setting:

    0: Does not check file extensions and file types and bypasses the function's warning message.

    1: Checks the file extension and file type. If they do not match a warning message is displayed.

    2: Checks the file extension and file type. If they do not match do not open the file.

    You can also refer to this site to try to fix the file.

    A file is in a different format than its extension indicates in Excel - Microsoft Support

    If your files are backed up in OneDrive, you can refer to the following method.

    Search for your files on OneDrive.com

    If you need to search through all files and folders, but you've turned on Files On-Demand or you're syncing only specific folders, you can do your search online.

    1. https://www.onedrive.com Sign in to the OneDrive website.
    2. Use the Search everything function to search for your files. You can search for the file by name or scroll through the list of files that appear.

    3.Microsoft 365 subscribers can restore all OneDrive apps to a point in the past. You can use the Restore Files feature to undo all actions taken on both files and folders in the last 30 days. Learn more about restoring your OneDrive.

    Recover your Microsoft 365 files - Microsoft Support

    Feel free to post back if you need further assistance. 

    Thank you for your understanding and patience and I look forward to hearing from you.

    Ryan - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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