We found a problem with some content in xlsx error in Excel

As you know, a file with .xlsx extension is an open XML Format Spreadsheet file. It is commonly used to store financial data and to create mathematical models. Sometimes, it throws an unusual error. When you try to open it, it shows We found a problem with some content in filename.xlsx message. By following a few steps, you can override this problem. See how!

We found a problem with some content in filename xlsx

The content error is faced when the Excel file gets corrupted. So, to fix it, you’ll need to –

Configure Calculation option to Manual
Copy XLS to Remove Unreadable Content Error
Switching to File Recovery mode

1] Configure the Calculation option to Manual

If the calculation option has been set to automatic, change it to manual. Doing so will also prevent the workbook from recalculating the values and this can make file accessible. For this,

Click on ‘File’ menu of Excel ribbon bar and choose ‘New’ option from the left-sidebar menu.

Select ‘Blank’ workbook. When the new Excel Workbook opens, again choose the ‘File’ menu, and this time, select ‘Options’.

Here, under ‘Formulas’ category, select ‘Manual’ in Calculation options and click on OK.

Close the ‘Options’ screen, return to the Excel file, click on File menu again and choose ‘Open’.

Thereafter, navigate to the corrupt workbook and then double-click to open.

2] Copy XLS to Remove Unreadable Content Error

When you get “We found a problem with some content in <filename>” error message, you also see another prompt seeking your permission to try and recover as much as possible. If you trust the source of the workbook, you can proceed further by clicking ‘Yes’ button.

Then, while trying to open an Excel workbook, try to make it ‘read only’ to recover its entire content.

Follow the steps-

Open the Excel workbook in ‘read-only’ mode > try copying its entire contents.
Once done, create a new workbook and paste the entire contents from the corrupted file you just copied to the new file.

In most cases, this trick works!

If the above methods fail to yield the desired results, you can switch to File Recovery Mode as your last resort.

3] Switching to File Recovery Mode

Click File menu > Open.

Browse to the location where the corrupted or damaged file is saved. Click it.

When the dialog box appears, hit the drop-down arrow adjacent to ‘Open’ option.

Here, select ‘Open and Repair’ option.

Also, if you want to recover data from the workbook > choose Extract Data. This will extract the entire possible formula and values from the workbook.