There have been reports submitted by users that put light on various issues with their Microsoft Excel 2016. These reports reported an issue where a saved workbook would appear as blank. According to the reports, users would save a spreadsheet and then exit the file. However, to their surprise, the next time they would try to open the file, it would appear as blank and they were all prompted with a grey screen.

Fix: Microsoft Excel Opens Blank on Windows - 1

Microsoft Excel 2016 Opens Blank

This issue can be caused by several factors which include the corrupt installation of Microsoft Excel, Excel startup preferences, etc. Though the issue sounds critical, it really is not. The issue can be easily resolved by implementing some easy fixes that are mentioned in the article down below. However, before we get into that, let us have a look at what potentially causes the issue.

What causes Microsoft Excel 2016 to open Blank on Windows 10?

Well, the issue can be caused by several things. In the list below, we have pointed out the ones that are most often responsible for generating the issue.

  • Corrupt installation of Microsoft Excel: In most of the cases, the issue is caused by a corrupt installation of Microsoft Excel. In such scenarios, you can easily get over the issue by repairing your installation.
  • Startup preferences: Another thing that could potentially be the cause of the issue would be your Microsoft Excel startup preferences. The folder where your startup preferences are stored often causes such issues.
  • Microsoft Excel settings: The last thing would be your Microsoft Excel settings. This includes DDE, hardware acceleration, etc. Such options usually cause issues, however, they can be easily dealt with.

Now that you have the basic insight of the potential factors that cause the issue, we can proceed to solve the issue. To solve the issue, please follow the solutions provided down below in the same order as given so that you get a hasty resolution.

Solution 1: Disable Hardware Acceleration

In some cases, the excel file appears blank because Microsoft Excel is not able to load the data of the file due to hardware acceleration for the graphics card. In such cases, you can fix the issue by disabling hardware acceleration. Here’s how:

  1. Open up Microsoft Excel .
  2. Click on File and then select Options .
  3. Navigate to the Advanced tab and scroll down to Display pane.
  4. Make sure ‘ Disable hardware acceleration ’ is checked and then click OK . Disabling Hardware Acceleration
  5. Try opening the file again.

Solution 2: Disable ‘Ignore DDE’ Option

  1. Open up Microsoft Excel and then click on File .
  2. Select Options and then switch to the Advanced tab.
  3. Scroll down and locate the General pane.
  4. Make sure the ‘ Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) ’ option is unchecked. Unchecking Ignore DDE Option
  5. Click OK and see if it fixes the issue.

Solution 3: Emptying XLSTART Folder

As we have mentioned above, your Microsoft Excel startup preferences can sometimes be the cause of the issue. Your startup preferences are stored in the XLSTART folder. Emptying this folder will reset the preferences and potentially fix your issue. Here’s how to locate the folder:

  1. Open up the Windows Explorer .
  2. Afterward, paste the following in the address bar : %appdata%\Microsoft\
  3. Locate the Excel folder and tap into it. Excel Folder Roaming
  4. There, navigate to the XLSTART folder and move all the files from it to another location, for example, your desktop.
  5. Once done, try to open the excel file again and see if it resolves the issue.

Solution 4: Repairing Microsoft Excel

If the above-mentioned solutions don’t fix your issue, then this means you have a corrupt Microsoft Excel installation. In such a case, you will have to repair the installation . This can be easily done by following the steps given down below:

  1. Press Windows Key + X and select Apps and Features from the list.
  2. In the Apps & features page, search for Microsoft Excel . If you are using Microsoft Office , search for that instead.
  3. Highlight it and then select Modify .
  4. Perform a Quick Repair and see if it resolves the issue. Repairing Office
  5. If it doesn’t, go for the Online Repair option which should fix the issue.

If none of the above methods work, make sure that you check that the document you are trying to open is indeed valid and readily available. If the document is moved or deleted, it will not accessible.

How to Fix “Printer is in an error state” Issue?

The error “ WinRAR Error: Next Volume Is Required ” usually appears when you’re extracting a multi-part RAR archive and WinRAR can’t find (or can’t correctly identify) the next file in the sequence . This often happens when a volume is missing , stored in a different folder , or renamed in a way that breaks the archive’s expected order .

Fix: Microsoft Excel Opens Blank on Windows - 2

In this guide, we’ll go over the most reliable fixes confirmed by affected users, along with what each method is doing behind the scenes so you can choose the right one for your situation.

Important: To extract multi-volume archives, you should always start extraction from the first file in the set. This is usually file.part1.rar , or (in older sets) the main .rar file that comes before .r01 , .r02 , and so on.

1. Download and Place the Missing RAR File

WinRAR needs all parts of a multi-volume archive to complete extraction. This error usually appears when one of the volumes in a set like .part2.rar , .r01 , .r02 , .001 , and similar naming formats is missing . Downloading the missing volume and placing it in the same folder as the other parts allows WinRAR to continue extracting normally .

  1. Look at the error message or review the list of archive parts in the folder.
  2. Identify which volume is missing (for example, part2.rar , .r02 , .001 , etc.).
  3. Go back to the website or source where you downloaded the archive.
  4. Locate and download the exact missing file using the same naming format as the others.
  5. Make sure the new file name matches the pattern of the rest. Example: If you have file.part1.rar and file.part3.rar , the missing one must be file.part2.rar .
  6. Move the downloaded missing volume into the same folder as the other archive parts.
  7. Confirm that all parts are in a single folder before extracting.
  8. Right-click the first file in the series (usually part1 or the main .rar file) and select Extract Here or Extract to Folder .
  9. WinRAR should now detect all volumes and continue extraction normally .

2. Manually Browse & Select the Next Volume

Use this method only if the next volume already exists , but WinRAR is failing to detect it automatically. This can happen due to incorrect naming , the file being in a different location , or a temporary file access issue. Manually browsing helps WinRAR locate the correct volume and resume extraction without interruption .

  1. Right-click the first file in the series (usually .rar or part1.rar ) and select Extract Here or Extract to Folder .
  2. When WinRAR cannot find the next volume, it will show the “ Next Volume Is Required ” message.
  3. A small window will appear, allowing you to manually select the next volume .
  4. Use the file explorer window to locate the folder where the other archive parts are saved.
  5. Select the next part based on the naming order (example: select file.part2.rar after file.part1.rar ).
  6. Make sure the selected file matches the naming format of the archive (no extra characters like (1) and no mismatched numbering).
  7. WinRAR will resume extraction using the selected volume .
  8. If additional volumes are missing or stored separately, WinRAR may prompt you again. Repeat the same process until extraction completes.

3. Rename the RAR files in Order

WinRAR relies on a proper naming sequence (such as file.part1.rar , file.part2.rar , file.part3.rar ) to extract multi-volume archives. If a file is named incorrectly, contains extra characters, or is out of order, WinRAR may fail to locate the next volume and show this error. Renaming the files correctly helps WinRAR follow the sequence and extract the archive without interruptions .

Note: Renaming only changes the file name , not the file contents. The goal is to restore the correct sequence so WinRAR can detect the next volume.

  1. Go to the folder where all the RAR files are saved.
  2. Make sure all parts of the archive are present and stored in the same folder .
  3. Check how the parts are currently named . Common patterns include:
file.part1.rar, file.part2.rar, file.part3.rar
file.rar, file.r01, file.r02, file.r03
  1. Look for files that don’t match the expected numbering pattern (for example, file.part01.rar , file.part1(1).rar , or unrelated names).
  2. Rename each file so it follows the same order without extra characters or mismatched numbering. Example:
Incorrect: file.part1.rar, file.part3.rar, file.part2(1).rar
Correct: file.part1.rar, file.part2.rar, file.part3.rar
  1. Make sure the text before the number is exactly the same for all files.
  2. Only the last part number should change.
  3. Right-click the first file in the series (usually part1.rar or the main .rar file) and select Extract Here .
  4. WinRAR should now recognize the sequence and continue extraction normally .

If you still get the same prompt: the archive set is likely incomplete (a part was never downloaded or was removed), or one of the volumes is corrupt and must be re-downloaded from the original source.