A family of Microsoft spreadsheet software with tools for analyzing, charting, and communicating data
Hello Relvyn,
Thank you for contacting the Microsoft Community.
I understand that you are unable to open your existing Excel worksheets and Word documents on your PC, and that you need to access your previously saved files.
Since both Excel and Word are affected, let's first determine whether the issue is with the Office applications or the documents themselves.
1/ Check whether Word and Excel open independently
- Press the Windows key and search for Excel.
- Try launching Excel directly from the Start menu without opening an existing workbook.
- Repeat the same test with Word.
2/ Test the files using Office for the web
To check whether your documents can open outside the desktop applications, follow these steps:
- Open Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.
- Go to https://www.microsoft365.com/.
- Select Sign in and enter the Microsoft 365 work account associated with your Office subscription.
- Once signed in, select OneDrive from the left navigation pane.
- Locate the folder containing your previously saved Word documents or Excel worksheets.
- Select one affected document to open it in Word for the web or Excel for the web.
3/ Please clarify the following
To help us identify the cause, could you confirm:
- Do you receive an error message or error code? If so, please share the exact wording or a screenshot.
- Can you open the Excel and Word applications independently, or do they also fail to launch?
- Are all your previously saved Word and Excel files affected, or only specific files?
Once we have these details, we can narrow down the cause and recommend the appropriate steps to restore access to your documents without risking your existing files.
I look forward to your response.