Unrecognizable file format

[lowflyingman]

I updated an Excel 2003 spreadsheet with new data and saved it to a CD about
3 weeks ago. At that time, I checked the CD to make sure the file was saved
properly. I was able to open the spreadsheet from the CD after I saved it
without any problems. However, I just tried opening the saved file with
Excel 2003 and I got this message: "This file is not in a recognizable
format." I have updated this same spreadsheet countless times in the past
and saved it to a CD and never had a problem reopening the file later. I
don't know if this matters, but the last time I updated this file prior to 3
wks ago was back in January. In January, I had an older pc with Windows XP.
A few months ago, I got a new pc with Windows Vista Home Basic. When I
opened the Excel file 3 wks ago, it opened just fine like it always does.
Also, this might be important, about a week ago, I had to reformat my hard
drive and reinstall Vista, my apps and drivers, because my pc kept freezing
up. It hasn't frozen up since I reformatted it. I did try to use the "Open
and repair" option available in Excel 2003 when I couldn't open the file
normally. This didn't help as I got the same message about the
unrecognizable file format. When I look at the contents of the CD in Windows
Explorer, it shows the type as "Microsoft Excel Worksheet." The file is 47
kb and it's the only thing on the CD. Unfortunately I don't have a backup of
the CD (broke the cardinal rule). I'm not real computer savvy, so I'm not
sure what to do next. However, I desperately need to get the info from this
file. Please let me know if there's a way to retrieve the data from the
spreadsheet on the CD. Thank you.

 

[David Biddulph]

I hope you've copied the file from the CD to your hard disk, and unset the
read-only attribute? It isn't wise to try to open the file straight from
the CD.

 

[lowflyingman]

When the file wouldn't open directly from the CD, I did copy it to my
"Documents" folder on my hard drive. I still couldn't open it from the hard
drive. I've always been able to open the file from a CD in the past and
didn't realize this wasn't wise. Thank you for letting me know. And I'm not
familiar with unsetting the read-only attribute. However, I just used
Windows Explorer to look at the file I saved to the hard drive. I then right
clicked on the file name and then clicked on "Properties." A box comes up
and under the "General" tab, there is an "Attributes" section at the bottom.
Neither the box next to "Read-only," nor the box next to "Hidden" are
checked. Is there anything else I need to do to make sure it's not in
"Read-only" mode? Got any other ideas as I need to retrieve this data very
badly? Thank you.

 

[Joel]

Make a copy of the file. then on the copy run

Microsoft Application recovery

The program is in the Start Menu on your PC under
MicroSoft/Offfice/Microsoft Office Tools

 

[lowflyingman]

Ok, I just tried to do this. It still says file format not recognizable.

 

[David Biddulph]

Might be worth trying to see whether Open Office will open it. No
guarantee, but there have atpparently been cases where OO copes & Excel
doesn't.

 

[lowflyingman]

I tried OpenOffice and it opened the spreadsheet, but it was just a bunch of
# signs. Now something else I've noticed is that this spreadsheet I'm having
problems opening only has the following tabs listed when you right click on
the spreadsheet in Windows Explorer and click on Properties: General,
Security, and Details. I have other Excel 2003 spreadsheets saved and they
all have the 3 preceding tabs when looking at their "Properties" plus a 4th
tab: Custom. Does anyone know if this could be why Excel doesn't recognize
the file format and if so, is there anything I can do to fix this?