What to do right now
- Copy the damaged workbook and work only on the copy.
- Try Excel's Open and Repair and a package rebuild first, because they can keep formulas and formatting.
- If the workbook still cannot be opened, choose salvage in Damaged file repair to get a values-only .xlsx plus a CSV for each sheet.
- Check row counts and totals in the result, then rebuild formulas and formatting where you need them.
Step by step
Copy the workbook
Copy the .xlsx or .xls file to another folder or disk and leave the original alone. A 0 KB file has nothing left to salvage; look for AutoRecover copies or earlier versions instead.
Try the gentler options first
In Excel, choose File, Open, Browse, select the copy, click the arrow next to Open and choose Open and Repair, then Repair or Extract Data. In FileFix Ultimate, a package rebuild in Damaged file repair is also worth trying for .xlsx, because both keep more than salvage does.
Choose salvage in Damaged file repair
Open Damaged file repair and select the workbook. When the file cannot be made openable, the app offers to salvage its contents. Choose it; the original is only read, and the results are written as new files.
Open the values-only workbook
The app writes a new file named after the original with .values.xlsx at the end. Open it in Excel and go through each sheet. Text, numbers, true or false values, error values and dates appear in their original rows and columns.
Use the CSV files when you need them
Each sheet is also saved as a separate CSV file in UTF-8 with a byte order mark, so accented letters and non-Latin text show correctly when Excel opens it. CSV is handy for importing into another program or comparing with a backup.
Check and rebuild
Compare totals, row counts and a few known values with what you expect. Then re-enter key formulas, apply number formats and recreate charts. Keep the damaged original in case a professional service or a later tool can do more.
What salvage mode reads in an XLSX workbook
An .xlsx file is a ZIP package with one XML part per worksheet plus shared parts such as the string table and styles. Salvage mode reads these parts as far as they can be decompressed, even when the workbook part, the relationships, the shared strings or the styles are broken. It takes shared strings, inline strings, numbers, booleans and error values for each cell.
For formula cells it keeps the result Excel last calculated and saved, not the formula itself. Cells with a date format are written as real dates in the new workbook and as an ISO date in the CSV, so you do not end up with bare serial numbers such as 45231.
Old XLS files from Excel 97 to 2003
Legacy .xls files use the binary BIFF8 format inside a compound file container. When the container is damaged, salvage mode searches the whole file for the start of the workbook stream and reads from there. It understands the common cell records: shared strings and labels, numbers, RK and multiple RK values, booleans and errors, and stored formula results, along with the date settings needed to show dates correctly.
Workbooks protected with a password to open are encrypted, and salvage mode does not read them. Excel's own repair is still worth trying first on any .xls, because it understands the old format natively.
What you lose and how to work with the result
Formulas, number formats, colours, merged cells, column widths, charts, pivot tables, images, comments and macros are not in the salvaged files. A sheet whose XML part was cut short may stop partway through, and the report notes when that happens. Text cells that begin with an equals, plus, minus or at sign are written to the CSV with a leading apostrophe so that a spreadsheet does not run them as formulas.
The quickest way back to a working file is often to copy the salvaged values into an older copy of the same workbook, or into a template, so the formulas and layout are already there.
When it won't work
- Workbooks encrypted with an open password cannot be salvaged without the password.
- A 0 KB file, or one filled with zeros, contains no cell data.
- Sheets whose XML part or BIFF records were overwritten return only the readable rows, or nothing.
- Formulas, formatting, charts, images and macros are never recovered by salvage mode, only values.
How FileFix Ultimate helps
- Salvages cell values from XLSX and legacy XLS workbooks that cannot be made openable.
- Writes a new values-only .xlsx and one UTF-8 CSV per sheet, keeping rows, columns and dates.
- Keeps the last calculated result of formula cells and reports what could not be read.
- Never changes the original and is free for personal use, with no file size limit and no upload.
FileFix Ultimate is free for personal use, works offline and never writes to the drive you are recovering from. Business use needs a one-year licence per PC. Check the signature before you run it.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my formulas gone in the salvaged file?
Salvage mode keeps the value each formula last produced, which is what Excel stores in the cell. The formula text depends on parts that are often damaged, so it is not carried over. Re-enter key formulas, or paste the values into an older copy that still has them.
The CSV shows strange characters in Excel. What should I do?
The CSV files are written in UTF-8 with a byte order mark, which current Excel versions detect. If an older program shows garbled text, import the file through its data import option and choose UTF-8 as the encoding.
Why do some text cells in the CSV start with an apostrophe?
Text that begins with =, +, - or @ could be run as a formula when the CSV is opened. The app adds an apostrophe to such text so it stays plain text. The values-only .xlsx keeps the text unchanged.
Should I use salvage mode or the normal repair first?
Use the normal repair first. A package rebuild can keep formulas, formatting and charts when those parts are intact. Salvage is the fallback when the workbook still cannot be opened.