Solution: Excel keeps crashing on Windows 10 – The fix is simple

Is Excel crashing on Windows 10 and driving you nuts? There's a risk involved: if the Excel app crashes when it starts, you won't be able to open any existing files. It gets worse – if you weren't using the AutoSave feature in Excel, you could lose all your work in a workbook that you were editing.

When Excel crashes, you might receive one of the following error messages:

#1. Microsoft Excel has stopped working. Please wait while Windows is sending a problem report to Microsoft... [Cancel]

#2. Microsoft Excel is not responding.

#3. Microsoft Excel has stopped working. A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available. [Close Program]

In fact, when you receive an error message indicating that Excel has stopped working, you cannot afford to sit and wait for a solution. You have to rely on yourself to search for workable solutions online, and that is exactly what you have here.

Method 1: Start Excel in Safe Mode

Safe Mode starts Excel in a clean environment without loading any add-ins. To start Excel in Safe Mode, do this:

• Launch Excel while holding down the Ctrl key (Option 1)
• Press Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box (Option 2)
• Type excel.exe /safe and press Enter

Method 2: Install the Latest Updates

Updating software is one common way to fix specific issues. Firstly, you don't have to spend time and effort updating your operating system; it's also an effective approach to try fixing errors by obtaining the latest version of Excel through updates. Follow the guidelines to install any updates that might resolve the crashing issue.

In Excel, go to File > Account. Under Product Information, select Update Options, then click Update Now.

Tip: If Excel won't open because it crashes, try updating your Office apps from the Microsoft Store.

Method 3: Check and Remove Faulty Add-ons

Undoubtedly, mismatched or damaged add-ins can cause Excel to crash from time to time, so it's worth checking and removing any that aren't compatible with your version of Excel.

1. Restart Excel in Normal mode, and then go to **File** > **Options** > **Add-ins** 2. Select **COM Add-ins** from the dropdown menu, and then click **Go** 3. Deselect all checkboxes, and then click **OK** 4. Restart Excel to check if the issue persists.

Method 4: End the Excel Application Process

If Excel is in use by another process, this information is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the Excel window. If you try to perform other actions while Excel is in use, Excel might not respond. Wait for the current task to finish, and then try your action again.

Method 5: Clear Conditional Formatting Rules

Conditional formatting is a feature that lets you apply specific formatting to cells. The most common type is color-based formatting, which highlights, emphasizes, or distinguishes data and information stored in a spreadsheet. If a worksheet is causing Excel to freeze or crash, the issue might be related to conditional formatting rules. You can try clearing it with these steps:

1. On the "Home" tab, click on **Conditional Formatting** 2. Select **Clear Rules** 3. Choose **Clear Rules from Entire Worksheet** 4. If the rule is applied to multiple sheets, repeat these steps for each sheet to remove the rule from all of them

Method 6: Remove Cell Formatting and Styles

Similar to conditional formatting rules, cell formatting and styles can also contribute to Excel performance issues, such as freezing or crashing. To remove various cell formats and styles, follow the recommendations provided by Microsoft Support.

Receive the "Too many different cell formats" error in Excel Resolve the "Too many different cell formats" issue in Excel

Method 7: Disable Microsoft Excel Animations

Using some animations in Excel can be fun. When used correctly, animations can enhance the story your data is telling. However, animations usually require extra processing power and resources, which can cause Excel to become overloaded. As a result, Excel may crash with too many animations. To disable some of the over-animated effects in Microsoft Excel, follow these steps.

1. Click on File > Options 2. In the left pane, click on Advanced, and then uncheck the Disable hardware graphics acceleration option. 3. Click OK to close Excel.

Method 8: Repair Microsoft Office

As part of the Microsoft Office suite, issues with Excel can be resolved by repairing MS Office. You might want to try repairing it through the Control Panel in Windows 10.

Open Programs and Features by going directly to Control Panel:

Press the Windows key + R, type appwiz.cpl, then click OK.

Find Microsoft Office in the list, right-click on it, and then select “Change.”

• Choose Quick Fix, and click the Fix button.

How to Recover Data from a Crashed Excel Workbook in Windows 10

Please refer to the previous article on <How to Repair Corrupted Excel Files>, which specifically addresses how to repair damaged Excel files containing data. The article provides detailed guides for each method, including:

• Utilize Microsoft's Open and Repair tool
• Change the file extension to a compatible format
• Recover a copy from a previous version
• Link to the damaged Excel file using external references

About half of all Excel crashes result in lost data – deleted, hidden, or unsaved. So it pays to know how to recover data from an Excel file that was closed unexpectedly due to a crash.

Solution 1: Recover a Crashed Excel File from Auto-Recover

This method only works if you have AutoSave turned on in Excel.

Step 1: Open a new Excel file in Windows 10 or Windows 8/7.

Step 2. Click File > Open > Recent.

Step 3: Check the Recently Used list in Excel to find unsaved files following a crash.

4. Click on "Recover Unsaved Workbooks," and wait for the program to recover your crashed Excel document.

Step 5: A new window will appear, allowing you to open the corrupted Excel file. Click “Save As” to save the Excel as a new file in a secure location on your computer.

Solution 2: Recover a Crashed Excel File with an Excel Recovery Tool

After a few crashes, an Excel workbook may vanish from its original location. If you are unable to locate a file after a crash, use the Data Recovery Wizard tool to scan, search and recover lost files.

Step 1: Choose the location and click "Scan".

Select the disk drive where your lost Excel file was saved, or a particular folder on your desktop, then click the “Scan” button.

Step 2: Locate your Excel file

To quickly find your Excel files from the scan results, click “Documents” on the left panel. Choose “Excel,” and then hit “Preview” to check if these Excel files are the ones you need.

Step 3: Recover Excel Files

Finally, select the required Excel file and click on the “Recover” button. Then choose a folder to save the Excel file to another location.