excel not opening .csv files

Question

Excel just stopped opening excel .csv /download files in my favorites. I work with the files every couple of days and today they won't open.

Answer 1

Hi ,

I'm Dyari. Thanks for reaching out. I will be happy to assist you in this regard.

What error message do you see when trying to open a .CSV file? Does this happen for all files or just a specific one?

If the steps provided by the Q&A Assist do not work for you, press Windows + R > Type excel /safe and hit enter > Try opening the CSV file.

Also try opening the same file on another working computer just to make sure the file itself is okay.

Or, upload it to Microsoft Excel Online or open it in Google Sheets. If it works there, then the problem is just with your Excel on the computer.

Please keep me posted.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

On Windows, common causes are file associations being broken or Excel having startup issues.

Try these steps in order:

1. Check that .csv is associated with Excel
   1. Right-click any .csv file in Favorites.
   2. Select Open with > Choose another app.
   3. Select Excel from the list.
   4. Check Always use this app to open .csv files.
   5. Click OK and test opening the file again.
2. Open Excel first, then open the .csv from inside Excel
   1. Start Excel from the Start menu.
   2. In Excel, go to File > Open > Browse.
   3. Navigate to the folder where the .csv is stored (Favorites is usually a shortcut to a real folder path).
   4. Change file type filter to All Files (.) or Text Files and select the .csv.
   5. If this works, the issue is likely file association (step 1) or a shell integration problem.
3. If double‑clicking any Excel file opens the wrong app or shows a file‑association error The behavior matches the file‑association issues described for Office files:
   • Files may open in another app or an older version of Excel.
   • Or an error appears like “This file does not have a program associated with it…”.
   In that case, use the guidance in the “Double-clicking an Office file fails to open it in the correct Office program” article to repair the Office file associations for Excel.
4. If Excel opens but shows a blank screen instead of the .csv If double‑clicking a .csv launches Excel but only a blank window appears with grayed‑out buttons, follow the “Excel opens to a blank screen” guidance and run an Online Repair of Office using the steps in Repair an Office application.
5. If Excel shows an error and closes when opening any file If an error appears like “Excel has run into an error that is preventing it from working correctly” for all Office apps, run an Online Repair of Microsoft 365 from Settings > Apps > Installed apps > Microsoft 365 > Modify > Online Repair, then restart Windows and test again.

If none of these steps help and the .csv files still will not open, use the guided support in the file‑association article or contact Microsoft support from the Excel help menu.

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References:

• Double-clicking an Office file fails to open it in the correct Office program
• Excel opens to a blank screen
• Excel not responding, hangs, freezes or stops working
• When I open an excel file it shows - We're sorry, but excel has run into an error that is preventing it from working correctly, Excel will need to be closed as a result. would you like us to repair now? then shows the option "repair now","help","close" - Microsoft Q&A