Many Excel users have reported encountering the error “We found a problem with some content” on different forums. Here are some scenarios of this error reported by users:
Scenario 1:
When I put the workbook on the network drive and tried to open it to edit it, I got the dreaded message, “We found a problem with some content in ‘2022-05-17 MSTU Data.xlsx’. Do you want us to try to recover as much as we can? If you trust the source of this workbook, click Yes.”
Scenario 2:
I encountered the “We found a problem with some content <nnnn>.xlsx. Do you want us to try and recover as much as we can?” error. When I clicked Yes, I got another error message, “The file is corrupt and cannot be opened.”
From the above user scenarios, it looks like the error occurred when trying to open the Excel file saved on a network-shared drive or when opening the Excel file after modifying. There could be various reasons behind this error, such as:
- Protected View setting is enabled.
- The Excel file is corrupted.
- Errors in formulas or references used in the Excel file.
- The file is not compatible with the Excel version.
Methods to Fix “We found a problem with some content” Error in Excel
Here are some effective methods to resolve the Excel error – “We found a problem with some content.”
Method 1 – Change the Excel File Format
The “We found a problem with some content” in Excel can occur if you try to access the file with an incompatible extension. You can change the Excel file format to fix the issue. Here are the steps:
- In Excel, click the File option and then select Save As.
- Select Browse, click on the affected file, and then select Save as Type.
- Click on the required Excel file format.
- Click Save.
Method 2 – Copy and Paste Excel File Contents to a New File
As a workaround, you can simply copy the contents from the problematic workbook to a blank workbook. Here’s how to do so:
- First, open the affected Excel file (if it is opening).
- Select all the content and press Ctrl+C.
- Next, go to File and select New to create a new Excel file.
- Paste the copied content and save the file with a new name.
Method 3 – Switch to Manual Calculation Mode
You may encounter the Excel error “We found a problem with some content” when working with a large Excel file having too many formulas. In Excel, there are two modes of calculation: Automatic and Manual. By default, Excel is set to automatic calculation mode. Every formula in the file is recalculated automatically in a worksheet, even if you make minor changes. You can try switching from automatic to manual mode. Follow the below steps:
- Open Excel, click New, and then click Blank Workbook.
- In blank workbook, click Formulas and then click Calculation Options.
- Select the Manual option.
- Again, click on the File option and then click Open.
- Select the affected workbook and double-click on it.
- Now, check if you can open the file without the error. If not, then try the next solution.
Method 4 – Unselect Protected View Settings
Protected View is a security feature in Microsoft Excel that prevents opening the file if it is from an untrusted source. You can uncheck the Protected View feature to see if it resolves the error. Here are the steps:
- In Excel, navigate to the File option and then click Options.
- In Excel Options, select Trust Center and then click the Trust Center Settings option.
- Under the Trust Center window, select Protected View, and then unselect the below options:
- Enable Protected View for files originating from the internet.
- Enable Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations.
- Enable protected view for Outlook Attachments.
Note: Unselecting these options will disable the Protected View settings. So be careful while opening the file. It may contain viruses.
- After doing the changes, click OK.
Method 5 – Repair the Excel File using the Open and Repair Tool
Corruption in Excel file can also cause the “We found a problem with some content” error. You can use the Microsoft inbuilt utility – Open and Repair to repair the corrupt file. To run this utility, follow the below steps:
- In your Excel application, go to File and then click Open.
- In the Open dialog box, select the affected Excel file and click on the arrow next to the Open option.
- From the dropdown menu, select the Open and Repair option.
- When a prompt asks you to repair the file or extract maximum data from it, click the Repair button.
A Reliable and Optimal Solution
If none of the above-discussed solutions worked for you, the best option is to use a powerful Excel repair tool, like Stellar Repair for Excel to repair Excel file and recover the data. This tool can repair highly corrupted XLS/XLSX Excel files and recover all the objects, including formulas, cells, macros, etc. without changing the original formatting. The tool is compatible with MS Excel 2021, 2019, 2016, and earlier versions.
Conclusion
This article outlines the causes and some effective methods to fix the “We found a problem with some content” error in Excel. If the Excel file is severely corrupted, you can use an Excel repair tool, such as Stellar Repair for Excel. It’s an advanced tool to repair highly corrupted Excel files. You can use it to fix corruption-related errors in Excel quickly. You can free download the trial version of Stellar Repair for Excel to scan the corrupt file and preview its data.
