Summary: The blog outlines some quick tips to fix ‘We found a problem with some content’ error in Microsoft Excel 2013/2016. It explains manual procedure to resolve the error and also suggests an automated tool to perform the repair process to retrieve all possible data from a corrupt workbook.
Sometimes, when opening MS Excel file, you may receive an error message that reads:
“We found a problem with some content in ‘filename.xlsx’. Do you want us to try to recover as much as we can? If you trust the source of this workbook, click Yes.“
Figure 1 – Excel ‘found a problem with some content’ Error Message
| Quick Fix: Try Stellar Repair for Excel software to fix all common Excel file corruption errors and restore the file data to its original, intact state. The software supports all MS Excel versions: 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003 & 2000. |
Contents
There is no clear answer as to what results in Excel error – ‘We found problem with some content in <filename.xlsx>’. However, based on some user experiences, it appears that the error occurs due to corruption in an Excel workbook. It may turn corrupt when:
Follow these tips to fix the Excel error:
| IMPORTANT! Before you follow the tips to resolve the Excel error, keep these points in mind: Make sure you have closed all of the opened Excel workbooks. Try restoring Excel file data from the most recent backup copy. If you don’t have a backup copy, make a copy of the corrupt Excel file and perform repair and recovery procedures on that backup copy. |
File Recovery mode is a native Excel recovery utility that automatically opens whenever any inconsistencies are found in the worksheet. If Microsoft doesn’t detect any issue or fails to open the File Recovery mode, you can start it manually to recover the corrupt Excel file. To do so, follow the steps below:
Figure 2 – Open and Repair Feature in Excel
If repairing the corrupt Excel file doesn’t work, you can try an Excel file repair tool to fix corruption errors. You can also try to recover data from the corrupt file manually by following the next tips.
Read this: What to do when Open and Repair doesn’t work?
To make the file accessible, try setting the calculation option in Excel from automatic to manual. As a result, the workbook will not be recalculated and may open in Excel. For this, perform the following:
Figure 3 – Select Manual in Calculation options
When the workbook opens, check if it contains all the data. If not, proceed to the next tip.
Several users have reported that they were able to fix ‘We found a problem with some content in <filename>’ error message by copying contents from the corrupt workbook to a separate workbook. Detailed steps are as follows:
Use external references to link to the corrupted workbook. By implementing this fix, data contents can be retrieved. However, it is not feasible to recover formulas or calculated values using this solution.
Follow the steps below:
This will remove the link to the corrupt workbook and will retrieve data. But, keep in mind, the recovered data will no longer contain formulas or calculated values.
If the above manual methods fail to fix the ‘we found problem with some content in excel error’, try using the Stellar Repair for Excel software to resolve this error. The software helps repair and recover corrupt Excel files in just a few clicks. It can be used on a Windows 10/ 8/ 7/ Vista/ XP/NT machine to repair corrupted workbook, and recover every single bit of data from all the versions of Excel workbook.
Read this: How to repair corrupt Excel file using Stellar Repair for Excel?
In this blog, we discussed some possible reasons behind Microsoft Excel 2013/2016 ‘We found a problem with some content’ error. The error may occur when an Excel file becomes corrupt.
You may try repairing the corrupted Excel file manually by using the built-in ‘Open and Repair’ feature. Or, try the manual workarounds to extract data from the corrupt file discussed in this post.
If the manual solutions don’t work for you, using the Excel repair tool can come in handy in repairing the corrupt Excel (.xls/.xlsx) file and recover the complete file data. You can download the free trial version of the software to preview the recoverable Excel data before deciding to activate the licensed version of the software.
Charanjeet is a Technical Content Writer at Stellar®who specializes in writing about databases, e-mail recovery, and e-mail migration solutions. She loves researching and developing content that helps database administrators, organizations and novices to fix multiple problems related to MS SQL and MySQL databases and Microsoft Exchange.
How long does it take the Stellar program to repair a file after the repair process has begun?
Hi Sam, It depends entirely on the level of corruption in the Excel file and the file size.
Great!!!
Have been struggling with this Excel 2013 content bug for 5 days. Finally fixed. Thank you
Great!
You can share your review on social channels.
Problem Fixed! but how do I stop the re-occurrence of error again?
You can try mentioned-below tips:
1. Stop power outrage
2. Close application in a proper way
3. Maintain a virus/bug free PC
Hello Jyoti,
Solution 4 worked for me. 🙂
Hello Aksel,
Glad to know that solution 4 worked for you.
Problem fixed. Thank you so much
Tried all options including the suggested software but not fixed the issue.
Hello john,
In this case, you can directly contact our support team at support[at]Stellarinfo[dot]com.
Hello Jyoti,
I also tried open and repair option before reading this article. The manual option in the calculation was new for me, and it fixed my problem. The small change saved my time and data.
Hey,
I read the complete blog follow some steps to repair my file, and it worked for me.