Excel Keeps Crashing in Windows 10 | Why & How to Fix

Why is my Excel constantly crashing?

Microsoft Excel is one of the best and most popular spreadsheet apps, helping users to calculate, analyze, and manage their data. With a great load of useful features, Excel wins reputation and users’ thumbs.

Yet, it cannot avoid errors and issues. Plenty of users have encountered various problems when using Excel. For example, some users have reported that they have saved Excel file but can’t find it.

Some others have complained that their Excel keeps crashing in Windows 10, which is pretty annoying.

Specifically speaking, you may receive these warnings and messages when Excel crashes.

• “Microsoft Excel has stopped working. Windows is checking for a solution to the problem…”

• “Microsoft Excel is not responding. If you restart or close the program, it will try to recover your information.”

This issue seems to appear in various situations. Let’s check the possible causes and situations. Thus, you can assess how severe the problem is.

Possible causes of Excel constantly crashing

A bunch of factors lead to excel crashes computer in Windows 10.

Insufficient resources. Apps running consume the CPU and memory; if too many running programs and background processes exist, Excel is prone to crash. Also, too many animations and graphics in sheets cause this. 

Conflicts caused by add-ins. Though add-ins are to improve your experience, it sometimes causes interference and conflicts. 

Faulty updates. Windows OS and software updates bring improvements as well as some bugs occasionally. This is not rare. Some users have reported that the computer won’t start after Windows update. 

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With the symptoms & reasons learned, we can solve the problem better. Check the solution part. Moreover, if you have lost Excel files, part 2 provides the content you seek.

Part 1. How to fix Excel keeps crashing in Windows 10?

We can start with the causes to figure out how to fix it if Excel crashes when opening files or editing sheets.

Fix 1. Try closing other processes & disable start-up processes

As mentioned above, insufficient resources can lead to this issue. Sometimes, it causes severer problems like computer crashes. Thus, the first course of action would be to close other apps.

>> Directly close some unwanted apps (Don’t forget to save your data before closing). Or, right-click the taskbar > Task Manager > choose some apps to close, especially those consuming a large proportion of CPU or memory.

Fix 2. Remove Rules/formatting

Rules, graphics, formatting, and animations can also use up the CPU, causing high memory usage in Windows 10 and even crashes.

If the Excel crashes not too frequently and can leave you some time and a chance to make some editing and changes, you could try removing some rules/formats/animations. E.g., clear the Rules:

>> Select the whole sheet or a range > click Conditional Formatting > Clear Rules > choose to Clear Rules from Selected Cells or Clear Rules from Entire sheet.

Fix 3. Start Excel in Safe mode

Running Excel in Safe mode can help bypass add-ins, resource-consuming features, settings, etc. Microsoft Excel allows users to enable a Safe mode manually.

>> Press the Win+R key > input Excel /safe > OK.

If the start-up in Safe mode fails, move on to Method 4 and install new updates.

Fix 4. Disable/remove add-ins

Add-ins, like Excel add-ins, COM add-ins, etc., are meant to offer you a better user experience, but from time to time, it also brings problems.

You can now enable the add-ins one by one to find out which one causes the Excel keeps crashing in Windows 10 issue.

Step 1. File > Options > Add-ins > select COM Add-ins under Manage > click Go.

Step 2. Clear all checkboxes > OK > restart Excel normally and see Excel crashes > repeat the process until you find the one that causes the problem.

Step 3. Disable it > close Excel and restart > check if Excel can work in good condition now.

This can also help you when computer won’t open Excel file.

Fix 5. Use MS Office Repair

Microsoft also offers inbuilt tool for MS Office. When you meet issues like Office apps starting error, crashing problems, etc., the tools will be of some help.

Step 1. Start Control Panel > Programs.

Step 2. Locate Microsoft Office app > right-click on it > Change.

Step 3. Choose Quick Repair > Repair.

Fix 6. Install new updates/uninstall faulty updates

Windows updates and Microsoft Office updates can both bring problems. If you can recall when the issue started (after which update), you could locate and uninstall that update file to fix it.

>> To uninstall Microsoft Office updates:

Step 1. Start Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > View installed updates.

Step 2. Find the faulty Microsoft Office update > Uninstall.

>> To uninstall Windows updates:

Locate the malfunctioned update file under Microsoft Windows > right-click it > Uninstall.

Thus you could delete Windows update files in Windows 10 and fix the issue that Excel keeps crashing in Windows 10.

Part 2. How to recover data from Excel?

What is more annoying than Excel crashes when opening files and editing sheets? Undoubtedly, it is Excel file loss.

When the program crashes, it leaves no time for you to save your work. And then your Excel sheets are lost. Moreover, Excel file deletion is also an upsetting thing occurring frequently.

But don’t worry; this part aims to teach you how to recover unsaved Excel files and also recover deleted Excel files.

Method 1. Recover Excel files after crash using AutoRecover

Excel saves your content every 10 minutes (by default). If the Excel file you edited has been created longer than 10 minutes, you could follow this method to get it back.

Step 1. Start Excel > click File in the top left corner.

Step 2. Click Open > click the Recover Unsaved Workbooks button.

Step 3. Then locate the unsaved files you need to recover > Open.

Don’t forget to save the Excel file in a safe place.

Method 2. Recover deleted/lost Excel files using MyRecover

File deletion is one of the biggest reasons for Excel file loss. Many users accidentally delete the Excel files that they have spent hours and days of work. And they don’t know how to recover them.

In this case, using a professional Windows Excel file recovery software will be the easiest and most efficient way.

MyRecover will be your firm helper. With advanced tech and support from a sophisticated team, it facilitates users to scan and search for deleted and lost files from internal & external devices in a breeze.

Support 10+ formats of Excel files: xlsx/xls/xlsb/xlsm/xlt/xltx/csv/dbf, etc. 

Scan and recover deleted and lost Excel files from HDD/SSD/USB/SD card, etc. 

Get back deleted Excel files and keep the original format/contents/filename/path intact. 

Besides, it restores the most frequently used file formats, like png/jpg/avi/mp4/mp3/pdf/doc/ppt/zip/html, etc. 

Available in major Windows OS: Windows 11/10/8/7 SP1. 

Compatible with File Systems: NTFS/FAT32/exFAT/ReFS, etc.

• Currently, it offers a free version allowing users to select 30 MB of files to restore for free at a time; for unlimited data recovery, you could upgrade it and subscribe to Monthly/Yearly/Lifetime plans as you like.

Step 1. Install and run the software > hover the mouse over the affected drive/partition where you have stored the Excel files > click Scan.

Step 2. It will automatically scan your hard drive for deleted and missing files. Preview/sort/search files by Date modified, Size, Type, Path, etc. E.g., you could input “xlsx” in the search box to locate the Excel files you deleted.

Step 3. Go to Deleted files > navigate to the original path > select the files you need > click Recover x files to recover deleted Excel files in a breeze.

For example, locate the desktop folder and go to the exact folder where the Excel files were saved previously, then you can recover permanently deleted Excel files from desktop.

Wrapping up

Users who have met Excel keeps crashing in Windows 10 could refer to this guide and get some help.

Insufficient resources, faulty updates, add-ins, etc., can cause this issue. Users could start with these factors and check if the solutions fit their situation.

Also, this post teaches how to recover unsaved Excel files and recover deleted Excel files using the AutoRecover feature and a reliable data recovery app for Windows – MyRecover.