Easily Remove “Excel Not Responding” Error

Last Updated: September 11th, 2023By Categories: Microsoft Office Recovery
Excel Not Responding Poster

“I’m having issues with my Excel app. Every time I try to save a file the “Excel not responding” error pops out. I really need to finalize my spreadsheet on time! Can you help me?”

The “Excel crashes when saving” issue is indeed agonizing. What makes this issue even worse is that the “Excel not responding” error appears during saving and users can’t properly save their work. And this wastes effort and time.

If you’re having the same issues with Excel, don’t worry. All the tips and tricks on how to fix the “Excel not responding” error are on this page! Check them out!

Excel Crashes When Saving, What Happened?

When we are trying to repair something, it’s best to know first the source and causes of the issue. This will easily help you figure out the fitting solution to use.

Excel Not Responding Error

And with that, here are some possible reasons why the “Excel not responding” error occurs.

  • Your Excel application could be out of date.
  • Excel might currently be processing/saving another project.
  • Pre-installed Add-ins are messing up with your Excel application. These add-ins make the application bulky making it more prone to error.
  • Your Excel app might be fine, but there’s a chance that the MS Office has some issues affecting all the office applications.

So now that we know the possible causes of the “Excel not responding” error, it’s now time to proceed to the solutions. Below, we have listed 4 methods to fix each cause mentioned above.

Method 1: Update Excel to Fix the “Excel not Responding” Error

The first thing you can do is to update your Excel app, this will help eliminate any bugs and boost the app system.

  1. Open Excel and access the Account tab.
  2. Click the Update Options button then hit Update Now.
Update Excel
  1. If you see an available update, click on it and update Excel. Follow the next instructions prompted.

Method 2: Close Other Tasks on Excel to Fix the “Excel not Responding” Error

If your Excel app is up to date, you can try to close your other Excel task. They might be disrupting your current task or Excel can’t process them all at one time. Try to open one document at a time and save it, after that you can then open another one.

Method 3: Run Excel In Safe Mode to Fix the “Excel not Responding” Error

To see if the Add-ins are the ones responsible for the “Excel not responding” error, you can try to run Excel in Safe Mode. This will temporarily disable all the Add-ins, you can then confirm if they are the cause of the error. Here’s how to do it.

  1. Continuously click the Excel app while pressing the CTRL key.
  2. Then a pop-out window will flash asking for confirmation to launch Excel on Safe mode. Hit Yes.
  3. After that, try to edit and save a document, if it works fine then the add-ins were really the culprit.

Here’s how to disable Add-ins;

  1. On Excel, hit File then choose Options.
  2. Next, select the Add-ins tab.
  3. On the Manage tab, select Disable Items and hit Go.

Method 4: Run Office Repair Feature to Fix the “Excel not Responding” Error

Another solution to try is the Office Repair feature. This one will not only repair Excel but will also repair any issues available on other MS Office apps.

  1. Access the Control Panel on your PC, then choose Programs.
  2. Select Programs and Features.
Choose Programs And Features
  1. Scroll down and locate MS Office. Right-click on your mouse and select Change.
Choose Change
  1. Select and click the repair option you want and follow the next prompted instructions.

After you run Office Repair, re-launch Excel and see if the issue still occurs.

Tip: Recover Unsaved Files on Excel with Stellar Data Recovery

Because of the “Excel not responding” error you might have some unsaved Excel files. The good news is, that we found the perfect tool to recover them. Yes! Stellar Data Recovery can retrieve your unsaved Excel files without hassle.

This tool has dedicated a special feature to recover your Excel files within seconds. So even if you are unable to save your Excel file or accidentally deleted it, Stellar can give them back to you! And rest assured that all data on your file will be intact!

Stellar Data Recovery Main Interface

With Stellar, rest assured that all the tabs, links, images, and all the formatting will be intact after the recovery. Yes! Not only will you recover the document itself, but you can also get back all of its data. This tool also supports the xls and xlsx which are commonly used for Excel documents. So there no need to worry if you are recovering spreadsheets in different formats, Stellar can handle them all.

Apart from Excel spreadsheets, Stellar can also recover Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and more! Now, your efforts won’t be wasted and you can use your beloved documents again.

Aside from documents, this tool can also recover files like photos, videos, and more! A repair option for your corrupted photos and videos is also available. How amazing is that!

With Stellar, all your deleted and lost files will be recovered with ease and convenience. Try it out!

Steps to Retrieve Unsaved Excel Files with Stellar Data Recovery

Step 1:

Download and install Stellar on your PC by clicking the button above.

Step 2:

Launch Stellar and on the main screen tick Office Documents then click Next.

Stellar Data Recovery Fix Office Documents

Step 3:

Next, select where you want to recover the Excel files from. Tick the Deep Scan option then hit Scan.

Step 4:

When the scanning is finished. Locate and mark your Excel file and when you’re done click Recover. You may then choose a destination for your recovered files.

Stellar Data Recovery Process Complete

Conclusion

If ever you lose something, take a deep breath and try to think of solutions to retrieve it instead of panicking. If ever you get stuck with the “Excel not responding” error, don’t hesitate to revisit this page and use the solutions again.

FAQs

Yes, you can edit your Numbers files to Excel and vice versa.

For Mac users, the Apple Numbers is the go-to app to create your spreadsheets. It has similar functions to Microsoft Excel.

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