fix excel lost data

Question

I have lost all access to my excel spreadsheet

I have lost all access to my excel spreadsheet

I have lost all access to my excel spreadsheet

Answer 1

Hi, Karuna Dahya

This sounds like Excel either cannot find the workbook anymore, is opening an older/cached copy, or Windows/permissions are blocking access to the file. If the usual Excel recovery and cloud recovery options did not show anything, the next best chance is to look for local temporary copies or Windows-level previous copies.

Besides the solutions provided by the Q&A Assist, here are some suggestions you can try:

First, avoid saving or downloading lots of new files on that PC for now, because any recoverable temporary copy could be overwritten.

Open File Explorer, select This PC, and search for these one at a time:

*.xlsx

*.xls

*.xlsb

*.tmp

Also search for part of the spreadsheet name if you remember it. Before searching, turn on View > Show > Hidden items, as Excel recovery files are often stored in hidden folders.

It is recommended that you manually check these folders as well. Press Windows + R, paste each path, then sort by Date modified:

%temp%

%localappdata%\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles

%appdata%\Microsoft\Excel

If you find a recent .tmp, .xlsb, or oddly named file, copy it to the Desktop first, then try opening the copy in Excel.

If the problem is “access denied,” “locked,” or “read-only,” copy the workbook to the Desktop and open that copy. Also close Excel on any other device where the same file/account may still be open.

If Windows File History was enabled, right-click the folder where the file used to be, choose Properties > Previous Versions, open an older copy of the folder, and copy the spreadsheet out before restoring anything.

Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you. 

---

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment."    

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. 

Answer 2

Try the following paths in order, depending on what happened to the spreadsheet and where it was stored.

1. Check for deleted files (local PC)

• Open Recycle Bin on the PC.
• Search for the spreadsheet name.
• If found, right-click it > Restore.

2. Check OneDrive / cloud locations

• If the file was in a OneDrive-synced folder, sign in to the OneDrive website and search for the file name.
• Check the OneDrive Recycle Bin and restore the file if it appears there.
• If the file was in Teams or SharePoint, open the related document library and check its Recycle Bin.

3. Use Excel’s built-in recovery for unsaved or earlier versions

• Open Excel.
• Go to File > Info.
• Under Manage Workbook / Recover Unsaved Workbooks, look for any autosaved or recovered versions of the file and open them.
• If the file was previously saved and stored in OneDrive/SharePoint, use Version History from the file’s location in OneDrive/SharePoint to restore an earlier version.

4. If the workbook is corrupted and won’t open

• Move the workbook from a network location to a local drive first (if applicable).
• In Excel, click File > Open.
• Browse to the file, select it.
• Click the arrow next to Open, then choose Open and Repair.
  • First choose Repair.
  • If Repair fails, repeat and choose Extract Data to recover values and formulas.

5. Configure protection against future data loss

• To always keep a backup copy of a workbook:
  • File > Save As > choose location > Browse.
  • In the Save As dialog, select Tools (next to Save) > General Options.
  • Enable Always create backup.
• To have Excel periodically create recovery files:
  • File > Options.
  • Save category > under Save workbooks, enable Save AutoRecover information every, and set the interval.
  • Set the AutoRecover file location and ensure Disable AutoRecover for this workbook only is not selected.

If none of these steps locate or open the spreadsheet, and there is no copy in any recycle bin or version history, the file may not be recoverable from within Excel and storage/backup tools or third-party recovery utilities would be the remaining options.

---

References:

• retrieving an accidental Excel file deleted - Microsoft Q&A
• Repair a corrupted workbook
• Repairing a corrupted workbook
• How to avoid broken formulas in Excel
• You receive an error message when you save a file after the network connection is lost in Excel
• onedrive sync? - Microsoft Q&A
• Using Access or Excel to manage your data