Excel Not Responding How to Save Your Work in Windows 10 [Multiple Ways]  

Excel Not Responding How to Save Your Work in Windows 10 [Multiple Ways]

Updated on Nov 11, 2023 | by Jeremy

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If Excel is not responding when trying to save, edit, open, or close, it's a frustrating issue many people face. To recover unsaved work, try enabling autosave, which can restore the workbook when reopening Excel after it's not responding. If that doesn't work, consider using data recovery software to recover lost files. If the issue persists, try one of the six potential solutions to resolve the problem of Excel not responding.

Microsoft Excel, a widely used spreadsheet tool, often encounters issues that cause it to freeze or not respond. Despite its popularity, Excel users frequently experience problems, with the most common reason being Excel not responding. This can be due to a variety of factors, including software glitches, hardware incompatibilities, or even a simple lack of system resources.

Part 1. Excel Not Responding How to Save Your Work in Windows 10

Microsoft Excel not responding can be frustrating, but you can recover it using the "AutoSave" option, which automatically saves your document, or by using document recovery and temporary file retrieval to retrieve your unsaved file.

Method 1. Using Document Recovery Feature

To recover an Excel spreadsheet that's not responding, you can use the document recovery feature. Follow these steps:

1. To access the recovered files in Excel, go to the main page, find "Recovered" and click on "Show Recovered Files".

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2. The "Document Recovery" feature in Microsoft Office allows you to recover unsaved documents. It displays a list of unsaved documents, and you can open and save the desired file.

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Method 2. Saving from Temporary File

Temporary files can serve as backup files to help resolve issues like Excel not responding. To utilize a temporary file, navigate to a specific path, which is not specified in the provided text, to save Windows 10. However, please note that the exact path is not mentioned in the text, so it's unclear how to proceed. If you're experiencing issues with Excel not responding, you may want to explore other troubleshooting steps or seek additional guidance.

C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles

Alternatively, use the steps below:

1. To recover unsaved Excel workbooks, open Excel, click "File", then under "Info", click "Manage Workbook" and select "Recover Unsaved Workbooks" from the menu.

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2. To fix Excel not responding, open the unsaved file and click the "Open" button, then save it. This should resolve the issue.

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Method 3. Recover Lost/Deleted/Unsaved Excel Workbook with Software

If Excel is not responding, you can try restarting the application, closing the program, or waiting for it to respond. However, if you've lost or deleted the Excel workbook, you can use Deep Data Recovery software, a safe and effective tool that can recover files from disk, including Excel workbooks lost in various scenarios.

Your Effective Excel Workbook Recovery Software

How to Recover Lost, Deleted, and Unsaved Excel Workbook?

To resolve Excel sheets not responding and save work issues, you can utilize Deep Data Recovery. Download the trial version for free from the official website, then follow the installation steps. This solution can help you recover your work and prevent further issues.

1. To recover an Excel workbook, start by launching the Deep Data Recovery wizard from the desktop icon. The wizard will display various file types it can recover, so select only "Documents" and click "Next" to proceed.

2. To recover a lost Excel file, first, open the Disk Drill software on your Mac or Windows computer. It will display a list of available partitions and external storage devices. Select the location where you saved the Excel workbook from the list and press the "Scan" button to initiate the file recovery process.

3. The time taken to complete the process using Deep Data Recovery will vary depending on the number of files. After completion, the software will display all recoverable files in a folder, arranged in order. You can select the essential files by clicking on them and viewing their content as a thumbnail preview. Once you have selected the desired files, click the "Recover" button and choose a path on an external storage device to complete the recovery process.

The software can be used in "Deep Scan" mode to scan additional available files, but this process is slow as it scans sector-by-sector.

Part 2. How to Fix the Issue "Excel Not Responding?"

Solution 1. Opening Excel in Safe Mode

If Excel is not responding when trying to save, you can use the safe mode to resolve the issue. To do this, press the "Ctrl" key while opening the Excel application, or open Excel using the command prompt by typing "excel.exe /safe". This procedure can help solve several problems and get your Excel workbook open and running smoothly.

Solution 2. Installing the Latest Microsoft Update

If you haven't updated to the latest version of Microsoft Office, you'll likely encounter this process. To avoid this, it's recommended to turn on the automatic download and install feature, which allows the program to find updates, download, and install them automatically. This can be activated by following a series of steps.

1. Go to the "Control Panel". Then choose "System and Maintenance".

2. Choose "Maintenance". Once the options expand, turn on "Automatic Maintenance".

The following steps will help install Office updates:

1. Open Excel and head to File > Account.

2. To resolve the "Microsoft Excel not responding" issue, go to the "Product Information" feature and select "Update Options." Click the "Update Now" button to initiate the update process. This should resolve the problem.

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Solution 3. Close Excel Progress Using Other Programs

Excel not responding when trying to save is likely due to other applications using it in the background, as indicated by the status bar in the Excel window. To resolve this, it's best to close the current progress and start fresh. This approach can help prevent errors and ensure a smoother experience.

Solution 4. Disabling Microsoft Office Add-ins

To resolve Excel issues caused by add-ins, follow these steps: disable add-ins by going to File > Options > Add-ins, then uncheck the boxes next to each add-in, and finally restart Excel to see if the problem is resolved. This can help Excel to work correctly again.

1. Press the "Ctrl" key and launch the Excel application to start it in "Safe mode".

2. Press File > Options > Add-ins.

3. Now, choose "COM Add-ins" and press "Go".

4. To resolve the issue, uncheck all add-ins in the Excel add-ins window, click "OK", and then restart Excel.

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If Excel is not starting, you can re-enable the add-ins one-by-one to identify the problematic add-in. This process involves disabling all add-ins, then re-enabling them one at a time until Excel starts successfully.

Solution 5. Performing a Clean Boot

Many applications start running in the background when you start your PC, and a few services and processes may conflict with Excel. To troubleshoot the issue, you can try a clean boot, which will help you identify the problem by isolating the services and processes that are running. This process involves disabling all non-Microsoft services and startup programs, allowing you to run Excel and see if it functions correctly. If it does, you can then re-enable the services and programs one by one to determine which one is causing the conflict.

1. To open the System Configuration Utility, simply type "msconfig" in the search bar.

2. Select the "Selective startup" feature in the "General" tab, and check both the "Load System Services" and "Use original boot configuration" options.

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3. To disable all Microsoft services, go to the "Services" tab, click "Hide All Microsoft Services", and then press "Disable all".

fix how to save your work when excel is not responding

4. To resolve the issue, press the "Apply" and "Ok" buttons, then restart the Windows PC. This should allow you to check if Excel is functioning properly again.

Solution 6. Repair Microsoft Office

1. Open "Control Panel".

2. Select "Programs and Features".

3. Locate "Microsoft Office". Right-click it and click the "Change" button.

4. The repair window will open, and you should select the "Quick Repair" feature and press the "Repair" button. After completing the process, check if the issue persists. If it still doesn't work, select "Online Repair" to troubleshoot the Excel not responding when trying to save.

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