Search
  • For Individuals
      « Back
    • Windows Data Recovery

      Recovers lost or deleted Office documents, emails, presentations & multimedia files.

      Free Standard Professional Premium

    • Mac Data Recovery

      Recovers deleted files, photos, videos etc. on Mac.

      Free Standard Professional Premium

    • Photo Recovery

      Recover photos, videos, & audio files from all cameras and storage on Windows or Mac.

      Free Standard Professional Premium

    • Video Repair
    • Photo Repair
    • iPhone Data Recovery
  • For Business
      « Back
    • Email Repair & Converter

      Repair for Exchange Converter for EDB Converter for OST Converter for NSF Converter for OST MBOX Repair for Outlook

    • Database & File Repair

      Repair for MS SQL Repair for Access Repair for QuickBooks Software Repair for Excel Extractor for Windows Backup Repair for MySQL

    • Data Recovery & Erasure

      Data Recovery Professional Data Recovery Technician Mac Recovery for Technician Virtual Machine Recovery File Erasure Software Mobile Erasure Drive Erasure File Eraser Software File Eraser Software for Mac

    • Toolkit

      Exchange Toolkit Outlook Toolkit File Repair Toolkit MS SQL Toolkit Data Recovery Toolkit

    • Forensic

      Email Forensic Exchange Auditor Log Analyzer for MySQL Log Analyzer for MS SQL

  • Store
  • Partners
  • Services
  • Offers
  • Support

 

  • For Individuals
    DIY software for anyone who works with data.

    Windows Data Recovery Recovers lost or deleted Office documents, emails, presentations & multimedia files

    Free Standard Professional Premium

    Mac Data Recovery Especially for Mac users to recover deleted documents and multimedia files from macOS

    Free Standard Professional Premium

    Video Repair Windows Mac Repair multiple corrupt videos in one go. Supports MP4, MOV & other formats.

    StandardPremium

    Photo Recovery Windows Mac Recover photos, videos, & audio files from all cameras and storage on Windows or Mac.

    Standard Professional Premium

    iPhone Data Recovery Windows Mac Recover deleted photos, videos, contacts, messages etc. directly from iPhone & iPad

    Recover Erase Toolkit

    Photo Repair Windows Mac Repair multiple corrupt photos in one go. Supports JPEG & other formats.

    Standard Professional Premium


  • For Business
    • Email Repair
    • Email Converter
    • File Repair
    • Data Recovery & Erasure
    • Toolkit
    • Forensic

    Exchange Repair Repair corrupt EDB file & export mailboxes to Live Exchange or Office 365

    Outlook PST Repair Repair corrupt PST & recover all mailbox items including deleted emails & contacts

    OLM Repair Repair Outlook for Mac (OLM) 2011 & 2016 backup files & recover all mailbox items

    Exchange Toolkit Repair EDB & Exchange backup file to restore mailboxes, convert OST to PST, & convert EDB to PST

    Active Directory Repair Repair corrupt Active Directory database (Ntds.dit file) & extract all objects in original form

    EDB to PST Convert online & offline EDB file & extract all mailbox items including Public Folders in PST

    OST to PST Convert inaccessible OST file & extract all mailbox items including deleted emails in PST

    NSF to PST Convert IBM Notes NSF file & export all mailbox items including emails & attachments to PST

    MBOX to PST Convert MBOX file of Thunderbird, Entourage & other clients, & export mailbox data to PST

    OLM to PST Convert Outlook for Mac Data File (OLM) & export all mailbox data to PST in original form

    GroupWise to PST Convert GroupWise mail & export all mailbox items - emails, attachments, etc. - to PST

    EML to PST Convert Windows Live Mail (EML) file & export mailbox data - emails, attachments, etc. - to PST

    Office 365 to PST Connect to Office 365 account & export mailbox data to PST and various other formats

    DBX to PST Convert Outlook Express (DBX) file & export all mailbox data - emails, attachments, etc. - to PST

    SQL Repair Repair corrupt .mdf & .ndf files and recover all database components in original form

    Access Repair Repair corrupt .ACCDB and .MDB files & recover all records & objects in a new database

    QuickBooks Repair Repair corrupt QuickBooks® data file & recover all file components in original form

    MySQL Repair Repair MyISAM & InnoDB tables and recover all objects - keys, views, tables, triggers, etc.

    Excel Repair Repair corrupt Excel (.XLS & .XLSX) files and recover tables, charts, chart sheet, etc.

    BKF Repair Repair corrupt backup (BKF, ZIP, VHDX and .FD) files and restore complete data

    Database Converter Interconvert MS SQL, MySQL, SQLite, and SQL Anywhere database files

    PowerPoint Repair Repair corrupt PPT files and restore tables, header, footer, & charts, etc. like new

    File Repair Toolkit Repair corrupt Excel, PowerPoint, Word & PDF files & restore data to original form

    Data Recovery Windows Mac Recover lost or deleted data from HDD, SSD, external USB drive, RAID & more.

    Technician Toolkit

    Tape Data Recovery Retrives data from all types and capacities of tape drives including LTO 1, LTO 2, LTO 3, & others.

    Virtual Machine Recovery Recover documents, multimedia files, and database files from any virtual machine

    File Erasure Permanently wipe files and folders, and erase traces of apps and Internet activity.

    Standard Corporate

    Mobile Erasure Certified and permanent data erasure software for iPhones, iPads, & Android devices

    Drive Erasure Certified and permanent data erasure software for HDD, SSD, & other storage media Windows Mac

    Exchange Toolkit 5-in-1 software toolkit to recover Exchange database, convert EDB to PST, convert OST to PST, restore Exchange backup, and reset Windows Server password.

    Outlook Toolkit Comprehensive software suite to repair PST files, merge PST files, eliminate duplicate emails, compact PST files, and recover lost or forgotten Outlook passwords.

    File Repair Toolkit Powerful file repair utility to fix corrupt Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents created in Microsoft Office. It also repairs corrupt PDF files and recovers all objects.

    MS SQL Toolkit 5-in-1 software toolkit to repair corrupt SQL database, restore database from corrupt backup, reset database password, analyze SQL logs, & interconvert databases.

    Data Recovery Toolkit Software helps to recovers deleted data from Windows, Mac and Linux storage devices. Also supports recovery from RAIDs & Virtual Drives.

    Email Forensic Advanced email forensic solution for cyber experts to audit, analyze, or investigate emails & gather evidences.

    Exchange Auditor Exchange Server monitoring solution to automate audits, scans and generate reports ìn real-time.

    Log Analyzer for MySQL Analyze forensic details of MySQL server database log files such as Redo, General Query, and Binary Log.

    Log Analyzer for MS SQL Track & analyze MS SQL Server database transactions log files.

    Email Forensic
    STELLAR EMAIL FORENSIC

    Advanced email forensic tool to analyze and collect the mailbox data of email clients

    Learn More arrow


    All Products arrow

    All Products arrow

    All Products arrow

    All Products arrow

  • Our Partners
  • Lab Services
  • microphone-icon-android

    Trending Searches

    Data Recovery

    Photo Recovery

    Video Repair

    iPhone Data Recovery

    File Erasure Software

    Exchange Repair

    OST to PST

    PST Repair

    Raid Recovery

    MS SQL Repair

  • English Deutsch Français Nederlands Italiano Español 日本語 简体中文
  • Support
Free File Recovery Software 7 minute read

How To Recover Deleted Excel Files for Free?

Updated on May 4th, 2022
Isha Rikhi
Written By
Isha Rikhi
Rohit Arora
Approved By
Rohit Arora

Summary: Want to recover accidentally deleted or unsaved Excel file? Read this guide to learn how to recover excel file on your Windows PC. You may also try Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition to retrieve Excel documents quickly. Download now!

How To Recover Deleted Excel Files for Free?

There are times when your Microsoft Excel files get deleted either accidentally or unknowingly. Losing critical Excel files you have spent hours on is a painful experience. Fortunately, you may use a few methods for Excel document recovery. However, before you learn how to recover Excel file, let us understand what happens when an Excel document gets deleted.

What happens when you delete an Excel document?

When an Excel file gets deleted accidentally, it generally goes to the Recycle Bin. However, if they don’t show up in the Recycle Bin, they might be lost permanently.

So, where do the permanently deleted Excel spreadsheets go?

Permanently lost files stay in the folder or directory from where they got deleted, but become inaccessible to the user. The space from where the files got deleted is marked as free space by Windows, which means the Excel data still exists and can be recovered. 

However, you can add new data to that free space. 

 If you keep adding data to it, the new data will overwrite the space, and you will not be able to perform Excel file recovery, even with data recovery tools. 

Therefore, you must immediately stop using the location or drive from where you have lost your Excel files.

5 methods to recover deleted excel files for free | Infographic | Image

Contents

  • How to Recover Deleted or Unsaved Excel Files in Windows for Free?
  • Recover Excel File with Data Recovery Software

How to Recover Deleted or Unsaved Excel Files in Windows for Free?

In this blog, you will learn how to recover unsaved Excel files using different methods based on how you lost the files, where they exist, and the chances of deleted Excel document recovery.

1. Restore from Recycle Bin

Recycle Bin is the first place where you should look for the files when they get deleted. Recycle Bin in Windows acts as a container that holds all the recyclable items before getting lost permanently, i.e., after 30 days from the storage date. 

If you have used the Del key to delete the files, you can recover deleted Excel documents from the Microsoft Windows Recycle Bin.

  1. Open Recycle Bin and locate the Excel app files you want to retrieve (See Image 1). 
Open Recycle Bin and locate the MS Excel app files you want to retrieve. 
Image 1: Select files you want to restore

2. Select the files, right-click on them, and click Restore to recover deleted files in Excel. (See Image 2)

Select the files, right-click on them, and click Restore to recover deleted MS Excel files from Recycle Bin.
Image 2: Restore Files from Recycle Bin

3. The deleted Excel files get saved to the folder from where they got deleted.
4. You may also drag and drop the recovered Excel files to the desired location.

Important Note:
Using the Shift + Del key to remove the files or emptying the Recycle bin will lead to permanent data loss. To recover permanently deleted Excel files, you will need a backup of the lost Excel files or reliable data recovery software. You must learn how to automatically backup an Excel file so that you can recover it when and if required.

2. Restore From Backup

If you have a Microsoft Excel backup file, you can use it to retrieve the lost data. Try out the following methods to recover unsaved Excel file:

[Note: Always use a different Windows partition or external storage media drives, such as HDD, SSD, etc., to save Excel recovered files from an existing backup file and prevent data overwriting.]

1. Use Windows Backup & Restore (Windows 7)

Windows 7 has a built-in backup utility called Backup and Restore (Windows 7). It lets you create a backup of the system files and folders daily, weekly, or monthly. If you have a backup Excel recovery file, you can restore the previous version of the Excel file from the backup. 

How to recover a deleted excel file from a backup copy:

  1. Connect an external storage media (HDD, SSD, USB, etc.) to your PC.
  2. Go to Control Panel > System and Security.
  3. Navigate to Backup and Restore (Windows 7) or directly go to Restore files from backup option. (See Image 3)
Restore Excel files from backup
Image 3: Open Backup and Restore (Windows 7)

4. Next, click Restore my files or Restore all users’ files. (See Image 4)

Restore All User Files in Microsoft Windows Excel Document Recovery
Image 4: Choose Restore Users’ file/Restore my files

5. Select a file you want to auto recover in Excel. (See Image 5)

select files to recover from Windows backup
Image 5: Select files from the window

6. Now, choose to Browse for files or a Folder. Click Next. (See Image 6)

How to recover unsaved Excel file using WIndows backup
Image 6: Browse for Files/Browse for folders Window

7. Finally, select the folder where you want to recover unsaved Excel files.

2. How to Recover an Unsaved Excel File with File History

File History is a backup utility by Microsoft Windows to help recover Excel file not saved or deleted from your system. It backs up the files stored in Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos, and Desktop folders, and the OneDrive files saved offline on your system. 

You may also set up a drive for File History. If you have saved your essential excel files to these folders and kept File History ON, you can restore Excel file not saved or deleted from your drive.

How to Recover an Excel File that was Not Saved:

  1. Open Control Panel and navigate to File History option. (See Image 7)
recover excel files with file history
Image 7: Open File History

2. Click Restore Personal Files, and you will see the files as per the backup time. (See Image 8)

restore personal files in Windows
Image 8: Restore Personal Files Screen

3. Now, choose the Excel files to recover and click Restore. (See Image 9)

restore files in MS Excel using Windows file history feature
Image 9: Select the files to Restore

4. Select the location where you want to save lost Excel files.

3. How to Recover Previous Version of Excel File

You can also recover previous versions of excel files with the help of the Previous Version utility. The Previous Versions can are the copies of the files and folders saved by Windows automatically as part of a restore point. You can also refer to the Previous Version as the copies of files created by Windows backup. You can recover files using the Previous Versions that were accidentally deleted or modified.

Note: This unsaved Excel file recovery utility will keep your files but delete the applications and drivers installed after upgrading to the latest version and reset any changes you made.

3. How to Recover Excel File with Google Drive Backup

If you have backed up your files on Google Drive, you can also use Google Drive backup to recover deleted excel files or unsaved workbooks.

How to recover an Excel file using Google Drive Backup:

  1. Log into your Google Account.
  2. You will be able to see all the files on the available on your account. (See Image 10)
Excel file recovery from Google Drive Backup
Image 10: Google Drive Screen

3. Choose Excel files to retrieve, right-click on them, and select Download. (See Image 11)

How to recover excel files from Google Drive backup
Image 11: Download the files and store them

4. Save the recovered Excel files at a different location or use an external storage media drive.

Recover Excel File with Data Recovery Software

If you do not have a backup of the deleted file and have permanently lost it, you can use data recovery software such as Stellar Data Recovery – Free Edition. This DIY software can extract files, folders, documents, emails, photos, videos, audio files, etc. It supports recovery from Windows PCs, laptops, HDDs, SSDs, USB, SD, etc. 

The software can recover data in case of accidental deletion, formatting, corruption, or malware infection. Follow the below-said steps to recover permanently deleted excel files in windows 10.

How to Recover Deleted or Unsaved Excel Files With Stellar Data Recovery – Free Edition

  1. Download, install and run Stellar Data Recovery – Free Edition on your system.
Stellar

2. The Home Screen of Stellar unsaved Excel file recovery software helps you Select What to Recover.

3. You may select whatever you want to recover, such as Office documents, Folders, etc.

4. Click Next to recover unsaved or permanently deleted Excel files. (See Image 12)

how to recover unsaved Excel files with free software too;
Image 12: Select What to Recover Screen

5. Select the folder from where you lost Excel files on the Recover From screen and click Scan.

how to recover Excel file for free
Image 13: Scan drive

6. Let the scanning process complete; the deleted files will appear on the screen.
7. Select the Excel files to retrieve. You can also preview them and click Recover. (See Image 14)

free unsaved excel document file recovery software
Image 14: Select the documents to recover

8. Now, click Browse to choose a location where you want to store the recovered Excel file.

9. Finally, click Start Saving to save the recovered excel files. (See Image 15)

How to recover deleted Excel file with free Excel file recovery software
Save recovered documents

Note: Do not save the recovered Excel file in the same drive/location to prevent overwriting the data.

Tips to Avoid File Deletion in Future

You may end up deleting files under any circumstances. However, you may use the methods explained in this blog to learn how to recover excel files that are accidentally deleted, crashed, or left unsaved. However, there is no point in overstating how better it is to safeguard the data and have a backup to avoid file deletion in the future. Here are some tips that may help you avoid file deletion:

  • Stop using the device or drive from which you lost Excel files avoid data overwriting.
  • Do not perform any hit-and-trial method to clean junk or unnecessarily delete files from your system.
  • Take caution and be more attentive while using the Clean Disk utility or emptying the Recycle Bin.
  • Keep the Antivirus program updated to prevent virus attacks on your system that may make Excel file recovery difficult.
  • Avoid transferring data while your laptop is running short on battery.
  • Always keep user-friendly data recovery software handy to recover lost Excel files.

Closing Thoughts

The process to recover unsaved Excel files may be quite tricky but isn’t impossible. First, look if you can find the files in the Recycle Bin. If the files are there, select them, and restore them to the original location. Recycle Bin doesn’t show deleted items? Use your data backup to retrieve deleted excel files.

However, if you have lost files permanently and run out of backup, use Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition to recover Excel files for free! The software can extract all types of data lost due to deletion, formatting, corruption, or malware attack.

About The Author

isha

Isha is a technical blogger and data recovery expert. She has experience in Windows data recovery. She writes about technical tips and tutorials.

Best Selling Products

Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows

Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows

Stellar Data Recovery has the right Windows Recovery tool for all your data recovery

Read More
Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac

Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac

Stellar Data Recovery for Mac program performs safe..

 

Read More
Stellar Photo Recovery

Stellar Photo Recovery

A comprehensive photo recovery software to restore photos, music & video files

 

Read More
Stellar Repair for Video

Stellar Repair for Video

Powerful video repair tool for repairing corrupt or damaged MOV and other video files

 

Read More

8 comments

  1. Slavomir says:
    February 11, 2022 at 11:14 am

    Hi, I tried using your software to recover my excel files. It worked fine. I got all the excel files back. Thanks again

    Reply
  2. Calvin Moore says:
    March 25, 2019 at 12:23 pm

    How can I trust that a third party software can do this miracle? Please help me to explore all things.

    Reply
    1. Eric Simson says:
      March 26, 2019 at 6:09 am

      Try the demo for depth analysis of the software.

      Reply
  3. Naveah says:
    August 13, 2018 at 10:09 am

    One of our organization employees has deleted Excel file on our Server from his workstation. I tried many methods to recover this file but no one works. I don’t have another copy or backup of Excel file.

    How can I recover this file?

    Reply
    1. Eric Simson says:
      August 14, 2018 at 4:33 am

      If excel file is deleted, then you can recover only using any data recovery software. You can download our free software from here: https://www.stellarinfo.com/free-data-recovery.php

      Reply
  4. Zoey Carter says:
    August 10, 2018 at 10:07 am

    During working on Excel, I accidentally deleted the sheet of an Excel file and saved the file. It contains lots of information and it will take lots of time to recreate it.

    Is there any way to recover deleted excel file?

    Reply
  5. Jake Holmes says:
    May 24, 2018 at 11:12 am

    Thanks for this wizard software I manage to retrieve my excel files which I unfortunately lost after sudden power failure.

    Reply
    1. Isha Rikhi says:
      May 25, 2018 at 2:25 am

      Hello Jake,

      Thanks for using Stellar software.

      Reply

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

2  +    =  10

Table of Contents    arrow

  1. How to Recover Deleted or Unsaved Excel Files in Windows for Free?
  2. Recover Excel File with Data Recovery Software

Categories

offer banner

Related Posts

related post
Free File Recovery Software

How to Recover Unsaved Excel File on Windows?

Stellar Author Mansi Verma January 21, 2022 Read More
related post
Free File Recovery Software

Lost Files after Upgrading to Windows 11? Learn How to Recover Them

Stellar Author Mansi Verma November 22, 2021 Read More
related post
Free File Recovery Software

How to Recover Lost Files after System Restore in Windows 11?

Stellar Author Mansi Verma November 22, 2021 Read More

Stellar Official Website

Stellar Data Recovery Inc.
48 Bridge Street Metuchen,
New Jersey 08840,
United States

ALSO AVAILABLE AT

Partner Logo

About

  • About us
  • Career
  • ISMS Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • License Policy
  • Refund Policy
  • End User License Agreement

RESOURCES

  • Blog
  • Articles
  • Product Videos
  • Knowledge Base
  • Case Studies
  • Whitepapers
  • Software Catalog

NEWS & EVENTS

  • News
  • Events

PARTNERS

  • Affiliates
  • Resellers
  • Distributors

Useful Links

  • Contact Us
  • Support
  • Special Offers
  • Student Discounts
  • Awards & Reviews
  • Downloads
  • Store
  • Sitemap
Follow Us

tw in yt

Stellar & Stellar Data Recovery are Registered Trademarks of Stellar Information Technology Pvt. Ltd. © Copyright 2022 Stellar Information Technology Pvt. Ltd. All Trademarks Acknowledged.

Hippa Logo tuv footer partner logo DMCA.com Protection Status
We use cookies on this website. By using this site, you agree that we may store and access cookies on your device Read More Got it!