I updated an Excel 2003 spreadsheet with new data and saved it to a CD about
3 weeks ago. At that time, I checked the CD to make sure the file was saved
properly. I was able to open the spreadsheet from the CD after I saved it
without any problems. However, I just tried opening the saved file with
Excel 2003 and I got this message: "This file is not in a recognizable
format." I have updated this same spreadsheet countless times in the past
and saved it to a CD and never had a problem reopening the file later. I
don't know if this matters, but the last time I updated this file prior to 3
wks ago was back in January. In January, I had an older pc with Windows XP.
A few months ago, I got a new pc with Windows Vista Home Basic. When I
opened the Excel file 3 wks ago, it opened just fine like it always does.
Also, this might be important, about a week ago, I had to reformat my hard
drive and reinstall Vista, my apps and drivers, because my pc kept freezing
up. It hasn't frozen up since I reformatted it. I did try to use the "Open
and repair" option available in Excel 2003 when I couldn't open the file
normally. This didn't help as I got the same message about the
unrecognizable file format. When I look at the contents of the CD in Windows
Explorer, it shows the type as "Microsoft Excel Worksheet." The file is 47
kb and it's the only thing on the CD. Unfortunately I don't have a backup of
the CD (broke the cardinal rule). I'm not real computer savvy, so I'm not
sure what to do next. However, I desperately need to get the info from this
file. Please let me know if there's a way to retrieve the data from the
spreadsheet on the CD. Thank you.