How to Fix Excel File Error: Data May Have Been Lost?

Summary: Encountering ‘File Error: Data may have been lost’ in Excel? Learn the causes, manual fixes, and advanced recovery methods. Also, see how a professional Excel file repair tool like Stellar Repair for Excel can help to get your data back.

Trying to open an Excel file and encountering a “File Error: Data may have been lost” message can be scary.

The error message itself says that your data may have been lost. The important data, the formulae, the graphs, and whatnot – all gone in a blink.

However, opposed to what “File Error: Data may have been lost” sounds, you can still recover your Excel data.

Table of Content:

• What Causes The “File Error: Data may have been lost” Message?
• Manual workarounds to Fix “File Error: Data may have been lost” message
• Recovering Data If You Face “File Error: Data May Have Been Lost” 

What Causes The “File Error: Data may have been lost” Message?

Understanding the specific cause can help in choosing an appropriate solution to fix File Error.

The error can occur due to various reasons, including:

1. File Corruption

The Excel file may be corrupt, which disrupts the proper structure of the data, causing the error.

Also Read: How to Fix “The file is corrupted and cannot be opened” Error in Excel?

2. Compatibility Issues

If you open an Excel file created in a newer version of Excel with an older version, or vice versa, compatibility issues may arise. 

3. External Link Issues

Broken or incorrect links to external data sources can lead to data loss and trigger the error.

4. Disk Space Limitations

Insufficient disk space on the drive where the file is stored impacts file integrity, resulting in the error message.

5. Faulty Add-ins or Macros

Malfunctioning or incompatible Excel add-ins or macros can interfere with the file, causing corruption and data loss.

Now, it can be hard to identify what exactly is causing the issue. However, you can try the following workarounds to fix the issues.

Also Read: How to Recover Deleted Excel Files?

Manual workarounds to Fix “File Error: Data may have been lost” message

If the Excel file has been created in a different version and is being opened in another version, start by opening the file in the original version.

This is likely to resolve the incompatibility issues and resolve “File Error: Data may have been lost”.

If that doesn’t work, try the methods outlined below.

Method 1: Excel Open And Repair

The ‘Excel Open and Repair’ feature is a built-in tool aimed at resolving corruption issues within Excel files. It can also fix the “File Error: Data may have been lost” message.

Here’s how to do it:

1: Launch Excel.

2: Navigate to ‘File‘ and select ‘Open.’

3: Choose the corrupted file.

4: Click the drop-down arrow next to ‘Open‘ and select ‘Open and Repair.’

5: Click ‘Repair’ in the dialog box that opens up

If that doesn’t work, you can follow step 1 to step 4 again. Then, instead of selecting ‘Repair’ from the dialog box, select ‘Extract Data’. This will help you recover whatever values or formulae that you possibly can.

Also Read: How to Repair Excel File Online?

Method 2: Import Data Into A New Workbook

Creating a new workbook and importing data from the corrupted file, provides a fresh starting point, often bypassing the issue.

Here’s what you need to do:

1: Open Excel and create a new workbook.

2: Go to ‘Data’ and select ‘From Workbook’ or ‘From Text.’

3: Choose the corrupted file and follow the prompts to import the data.

Method 3: Save As Another Format

Saving the file showing “File Error: Data may have been lost” message in a different format can address compatibility issues. This can potentially solve the error by reformatting the data for improved stability.

1: Open the corrupted file in Excel.

2: Navigate to ‘File’ and select ‘Save As.’

3: Choose a different format and save the file.

Try opening the file now to see if the error message shows up again or not.

If none of these methods are able to resolve the issue for you, you need to find a way to recover your data.

Also Read: How to Resolve Excel Crash Issue?

Recovering Data If You Face “File Error: Data May Have Been Lost” 

There are two ways to recover data if you face “File Error: Data May Have Been Lost”

• Manual extraction using formulae
• Using a professional Excel file repair tool

Let’s explore both the methods.

1. Manual Data Extraction Using Formulae

This method involves manually extracting data using formulae such as VLOOKUP or INDEX/MATCH. While it allows for a cell-by-cell retrieval to minimise potential data loss it is more complicated than others.

You will require expert Excel skills to recover the data this way.

2. Using A Professional Excel File Repair Tool

In extreme cases, a professional Excel file repair tool like Stellar Repair for Excel can be considered for advanced data recovery.

The Stellar Excel Repair Tool not just repairs all kinds of corruptions in Microsoft Excel but also restores data.

Some key features of the Stellar Excel Repair tool are:

• Repairing multiple corrupt files in one go
• Option to preview file data before recovering it so you know what you will get
• Recovers all Excel objects like numbers, texts, tables, charts, images, etc.
• Compatible with MS Excel 2019 and all previous versions. 

Here’s the simple 3-step process you can follow to use Stellar Repair for Excel.

1. Browse and add the MS Excel files you wish to repair.

2. Select the Repair option.

3. Preview your repaired files and save them.

Don’t let “File Error: Data May Have Been Lost” cause data loss, use Stellar Repair for Excel to fix corrupt Excel files and get your data back.

Also Read: What to do if Unable to open Files Recovered by using Software?

FAQs

1. Can the issue be fixed without a professional Excel file repair tool?

Yes, manual methods discussed above like using Excel’s built-in repair features or importing data into a new workbook may resolve the issue. 

However, a third-party professional Excel file repair tool may be needed for severe cases.

2. How can I prevent the occurrence of the File Error: Data may have been lost message in Excel files?

Here are some tips to avoid “Error: Data may have been lost” message and keep your data safe:

• Maintain up-to-date software versions, 
• Ensure version compatibility when sharing files, 
• Avoid abrupt interruptions during save operations.

3. When should I consider using third-party tools like Stellar Repair for Excel to address this error?

If manual methods fail or if the file is severely corrupted, third-party tools like Stellar Repair for Excel can be considered for advanced data recovery. Especially so when data integrity is crucial.

4. Is there a way to recover unsaved changes when encountering the File Error: Data may have been lost message in Excel?

You can use Excel’s AutoSave and Auto Recover features to recover unsaved changes when encountering the issue.

Step 1: Go to ‘File’ > ‘Info’ 

Step 2: Look for the option to recover unsaved workbooks. 

Additionally, regularly save your work to minimize potential data loss.

Also Read: ‘File Could Not Be Found’ Error in Excel: How To Fix?

5. Can Stellar Repair for Excel handle password-protected Excel files, and are there specific steps for recovering data from such files?

Yes, Stellar Repair for Excel supports password-protected files. When recovering data from password-protected files, ensure that you provide the correct password during the repair process for seamless recovery.

Also Read: How to fix ‘Unexpected Error: Changes to Data Can’t Be Saved” in Windows 11?