Spreadsheet won't open

mjbeam · Apr 8th, 2002, 09:06 AM

I receive the following error while trying to open a particular spreadsheet:

This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down.

...then Excel closes. I can open other spreadsheets. I don't really care about the data, but I need to recover the code. There is about 2 days worth of VBA coding in it.

Any ideas?

Thanks...Mike

Tom Schreiner · Apr 8th, 2002, 09:30 AM

If the code itself is causing the problem, try opening it up with macros disabled to recover you code.
?
Tom

mjbeam · Apr 8th, 2002, 10:28 AM

Thanks for the reply.

No, it crashes Excel on loading, even with macros disabled.

-Mike

Al Chara · Apr 8th, 2002, 10:46 AM

You can open up the file in wordpad or notepad and pull some code from there, but it is not clean.

mjbeam · Apr 8th, 2002, 10:52 AM

I opened it in Notepad, wordpad, word and even with a disk editor. Not able to extract the code. It look like it tokenizes the keywords. I can see my variable names and comments.

Thanks...Mike

Jack in the UK · Apr 8th, 2002, 05:51 PM

Hi
Cold boot (that is re boot after coffee or 2 minutes)

Ermm try this open new doc and save as rubbish1

now only openexcel and this rubbish1 doc, now file open the doggy file and select NO to macros.. hiCTRl
F11 and see if lets you in...

et m know, few other ideas.

Can you mail me the doc to play with>>>

If so use JackintheUK@hotmail.com

Jack in the UK · Apr 9th, 2002, 12:16 PM

Hi --

any luck mate??

mjbeam · Apr 9th, 2002, 12:54 PM

I sent the file off to a company that specializes in retreiving corrupt files, to get an estimate on how much they would charge to fix it. They took a while to get back to me so I decided to try upgrading to Excel 2002 becasue one of the improvements was supposed to be the ability to repair corrupt files. I was able to open the file in Excel 2002 so problem solved. Still not sure what happened to it in the first place though. I had been saving the file every 10-15 minutes and giving it new names every few hours. I had not closed Excel for several days. When I did finally close Excel and tried to reopen the latest version it was corrupt. That's when I discovered that all of the previous versions were corrupt as well, back several days. So now I know to close Excel and reopen the file every few hours so I don't risk losing so much work.

I did finally receive the estimate from the restoration company. They want $169.00 to fix the file.

Thanks for the suggestions...Mike

EdE · Apr 9th, 2002, 01:39 PM

Does it have pivot tables or links in it?

mjbeam · Apr 9th, 2002, 04:19 PM

No. No pivot tables or links.

Apr 8th, 2002, 10:46 AM	#4
Al Chara MrExcel MVP Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Monterrey, Mexico Posts: 1,433	You can open up the file in wordpad or notepad and pull some code from there, but it is not clean. __________________ Kind regards, Al Chara

Apr 8th, 2002, 05:51 PM	#6
Jack in the UK Board Regular Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3,065	Hi Cold boot (that is re boot after coffee or 2 minutes) Ermm try this open new doc and save as rubbish1 now only openexcel and this rubbish1 doc, now file open the doggy file and select NO to macros.. hiCTRl F11 and see if lets you in... et m know, few other ideas. Can you mail me the doc to play with>>> If so use JackintheUK@hotmail.com __________________ Free Excel based Web Toolbar available here. Jack in the UK J & R Excel Solutions "making Excel work for you"

Apr 9th, 2002, 12:16 PM	#7
Jack in the UK Board Regular Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3,065	Hi -- any luck mate?? __________________ Free Excel based Web Toolbar available here. Jack in the UK J & R Excel Solutions "making Excel work for you"

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Apr 8th, 2002, 09:06 AM	#1
mjbeam Board Regular Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 380	I receive the following error while trying to open a particular spreadsheet: This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. ...then Excel closes. I can open other spreadsheets. I don't really care about the data, but I need to recover the code. There is about 2 days worth of VBA coding in it. Any ideas? Thanks...Mike

Apr 8th, 2002, 09:30 AM	#2
Tom Schreiner Board Regular Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Posts: 6,824	If the code itself is causing the problem, try opening it up with macros disabled to recover you code. ? Tom

Apr 8th, 2002, 10:28 AM	#3
mjbeam Board Regular Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 380	Thanks for the reply. No, it crashes Excel on loading, even with macros disabled. -Mike

Apr 8th, 2002, 10:52 AM	#5
mjbeam Board Regular Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 380	I opened it in Notepad, wordpad, word and even with a disk editor. Not able to extract the code. It look like it tokenizes the keywords. I can see my variable names and comments. Thanks...Mike

Apr 9th, 2002, 12:54 PM	#8
mjbeam Board Regular Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 380	I sent the file off to a company that specializes in retreiving corrupt files, to get an estimate on how much they would charge to fix it. They took a while to get back to me so I decided to try upgrading to Excel 2002 becasue one of the improvements was supposed to be the ability to repair corrupt files. I was able to open the file in Excel 2002 so problem solved. Still not sure what happened to it in the first place though. I had been saving the file every 10-15 minutes and giving it new names every few hours. I had not closed Excel for several days. When I did finally close Excel and tried to reopen the latest version it was corrupt. That's when I discovered that all of the previous versions were corrupt as well, back several days. So now I know to close Excel and reopen the file every few hours so I don't risk losing so much work. I did finally receive the estimate from the restoration company. They want $169.00 to fix the file. Thanks for the suggestions...Mike

Apr 9th, 2002, 01:39 PM	#9
EdE Board Regular Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: A Mile High!! Posts: 230	Does it have pivot tables or links in it?

Apr 9th, 2002, 04:19 PM	#10
mjbeam Board Regular Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 380	No. No pivot tables or links.