If Microsoft Excel crashes when saving a file, the solutions provided in this article will help. This issue occurs due to several causes, such as a conflict with add-ins, an antivirus or antimalware conflict, or corrupted Office files.
Fix Excel crashes when saving a file
Use the following suggestions if Excel crashes when saving a file on your Windows 11/10 computer.
- Save the file to another location
- Disable or remove Add-ins
- Disable your antivirus
- Update or roll back Office to the previous version
- Repair Office
- Uninstall and reinstall Office
All these fixes are explained in detail below:
1] Save the file to another location
Try saving the file to another location. If Excel crashes when saving a file to a mapped network drive, try disconnecting and reconnecting the drive.
2] Disable or remove Add-ins
In some cases, installed add-ins in Microsoft Office applications cause issues. This can be the case with you. Disable all add-ins in Excel and check if you can save the file. If Excel does not crash this time, one of the add-ins is causing this problem. To identify the problematic add-ins, start enabling the add-ins one by one and save the file every time you enable an add-in. When the problem reappears, the add-in you have just enabled is the culprit.
3] Disable your antivirus
One possible cause of this problem is antivirus conflict. This might be the case with you. To check this, disable your antivirus or antimalware software temporarily and check if the issue occurs. If this fixes your problem, you may have to add Excel to the exception list of your antivirus or antimalware.
The exe file of Excel is located at the following location on the C drive:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16
4] Update or roll back Office to the previous version
Check for Office updates manually and install the same (if available). Open Excel and go to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now. Microsoft Office will check for updates and install them if available.
If an update is not available, you can try to roll back Office to the previous version. However, only Microsoft Office Click-to-run applications can be rolled back to the previous version. You can view the Office update history on Microsoft’s official website.
After rolling back Microsoft Office to the previous version, do not forget to disable the automatic updates. By default, Office checks for updates automatically. If you do not do this, Office will automatically update to the latest version.
5] Repair Office
One possible cause of this problem is the corrupted Office files which can be fixed by running an Online Repair. Run an online repair.
6] Uninstall and reinstall Office
The last resort is to uninstall and reinstall Office. Use the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) tool to completely remove Office from your system. Now, restart your system, and reinstall Office.
You can download Office by signing into your Microsoft account. Products that we purchase from Microsoft are added to our Microsoft account. Login to your Microsoft account and select the Subscriptions category from the left side. Click Install on the Office application to download it.
Read next: Excel freezing, crashing, or not responding on Windows.
Why does Excel keep failing to save?
There can be various reasons why Excel is failing to save your file. Sometimes, a user does not have permission to save a file to a particular location. In some cases, an antivirus conflict causes this issue. The problem may also occur due to a conflicting add-in installed in Excel.
How do I repair an Excel file?
You can repair a corrupted Excel file without opening it. Open Microsoft Excel and click Open or press the Ctrl + O keys. Now, click Browse and select the file that you want to repair. Now, click on the drop-down arrow on the Open button and select Open and Repair.
