Excel files will not stop opening upon login

Excel usually opens files at sign-in because those files are in an Excel startup folder or an alternate startup location is configured.

Try these steps on Windows:

1. Clear the alternate startup folder setting:
   • Open Excel.
   • Go to File > Options > Advanced.
   • Under General, clear At startup, open all files in:.
2. Check the Excel startup folders and remove the files causing auto-open:
   • Press Start > Run.
   • Open these locations one at a time:
     • C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\rootxx\XLSTART for Office 365 or Office 2019 32-bit
     • C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\rootxx\XLSTART for Office 365 or Office 2019 64-bit
     • %appdata%\Microsoft\excel\XLSTART
     • C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\excel\XLSTART
   • Delete the files in XLSTART, or move them to another folder.
   • Restart Excel.
3. If Excel keeps opening files and cannot be controlled normally, start Excel in safe mode temporarily:
   • Press Start > Run.
   • Type excel.exe /safe and select OK.
   • In safe mode, startup folders and add-ins do not load, which makes it easier to remove the files or clear the startup setting.
4. If Excel hangs or freezes during startup, startup files may be part of the problem:
   • Invalid workbooks in startup folders can cause Excel to stop responding.
   • Files on a slow network drive in a startup folder can also delay or block startup.

Safe mode is only a temporary workaround. The permanent fix is removing the files from the startup folders or clearing the alternate startup location.

References:

• How to prevent files from opening automatically in Excel
• Excel not responding, hangs, freezes or stops working