Solving the Microsoft Excel Error Message, "The file is corrupt and cannot be opened"

I had to send my laptop back to the factory to get fixed recently. I included the password, and when the machine came back, the login password for my account had been disabled.

I keep a list of some website passwords in a Microsoft Excel file called WebPasswords.xls. I use one of Excel's built in encryption methods to protect the contents. Usually, when I double click on this file it opens in Excel, and I am prompted for a password. If the password is correct, the spreadsheet opens in Excel.

On this occassion after entering the password, Excel returned the message "The file is corrupt and cannot be opened."

I retrieved a backup of the file, but got the same message.

To solve this problem, I reconfigured my Windows Vista user account with my old password (the same password I had used before the Best Buy Geeks disabled the password on my account).

That did the trick, and now I am able to access my protected Excel spreadsheet. I hope this solution works for you, too.