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After an excel crash, how can i get it to open ONLY the one file i am trying to open?

Tom Conlon 0 Reputation points
2025-12-12T20:01:24.8533333+00:00

Excel crashes. When i reopen Excel, and then open a file on the list presented of recent files, i select to open a particular file. But then Excel automatically opens another file that was also open at the time of the crash. But i don't want to open that file. I suspect it is corrupted and causing crashes. But Excel just won't forget that that other file was open at the time of the crash. Is there a way to open JUST THE FILE THAT I SPECIFICALLY CLICK ON TO OPEN and not the other file. Very frustrating.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows
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  1. Q&A Assist
    2025-12-12T20:01:36.57+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    To address the issue of Excel reopening a previously opened file after a crash, you can try the following steps:

    1. Disable Auto-recovery: This feature may be causing Excel to reopen the last files that were open during the crash. To disable it:
      • Open Excel.
      • Go to File > Options.
      • In the Save category, uncheck the option for Save AutoRecover information every X minutes.
    2. Open Excel in Safe Mode: This can help you open Excel without loading the last session files. To do this:
      • Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog.
      • Type excel /safe and press Enter. This will start Excel in Safe Mode, allowing you to open only the file you want.
    3. Clear the Recent Files List: If the problematic file is in your recent files list, you can clear it:
      • Go to File > Open > Recent.
      • At the bottom, click on Clear unpinned items to remove the recent files.
    4. Repair Office: If you suspect that the file causing the crash is corrupted, repairing Office might help:
      • Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.
      • Select Microsoft Office and click on Change. Choose Repair and follow the prompts.

    By following these steps, you should be able to open only the specific file you want without Excel automatically reopening the other file that was causing issues.

    References:

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  2. Marcelo Mendoza 6,415 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-12-12T20:48:47.2733333+00:00

    Hello Tom,

    Thank you for reaching out about this issue I understand how frustrating it can be when Excel reopens files you don’t want after a crash especially if one of them might be causing the problem. This usually happens because Excel tries to restore your previous session to prevent data loss but in cases like yours that can lead to repeated crashes.

    One way to resolve this is by clearing the startup behavior so Excel doesn’t automatically reopen the last session. You can do this by starting Excel without loading any previous files, to do that close Excel completely, then hold down Ctrl while launching Excel until you see a prompt asking if you want to start in Safe Mode. Click Yes and then open only the file you need. This prevents Excel from loading other files that were open during the crash. After that you can save and close the file normally and restart Excel in regular mode.

    I hope this answer is helpful if you have further questions feel free to reply back

    Regards,

    Marcelo

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