Member Avatar for rehmanqasim

Hello all members

i forget the password of my excel file which have very imp data. i must have to recover the file. kindly help me out to do so.

PLEASE NOTE THAT!

The password i usually use is up to 12 characters which includes * and capitalization of characters.

your help will be blessing for me.

Bye

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Reverend Jim

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A short, practical addendum to the replies already here (, , , ): the single most important thing is to identify what kind of protection the workbook has and to work only with legitimate recovery options. If the file was protected using Excel’s “Encrypt with Password” (File → Info → Protect Workbook → Encrypt with Password), that is full document encryption — Microsoft cannot recover or reset a lost password for an encrypted Office file. (support.microsoft.com)

Encryption used by modern Office builds is deliberately strong (AES with password key‑derivation and iteration), so a random or complex 12‑character password is effectively infeasible to brute‑force; older .xls formats used much weaker protection, but that only helps if the workbook really is an old binary file. Use the file type and the Excel version that created the file to judge which case applies. (learn.microsoft.com)

Practical, allowed steps to try now:

  • Check backups and version history first — OneDrive/SharePoint and Windows File History/Previous Versions often contain older copies you can restore without cracking a password. (support.microsoft.com)
  • Search other machines, email inbox/sent items, USB drives, or password managers for the likely password or a copy of the file. Try systematic, manual variations only if you can reasonably limit them (capitalization positions, leet substitutions, known suffixes/prefixes).
  • Confirm whether the protection is “password to open” (encryption) or only a sheet/workbook protection; the latter is not the same as encryption and can be removed with standard unprotect methods (macros or owner action). (lifewire.com)

If none of the above works, recovery options are limited: restoring from backups or getting a copy from whoever originally created/shared the file are the safest paths. Commercial recovery services exist but require sending the file offsite, cost money, and are not guaranteed — and Microsoft will not perform recovery for you.

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Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Hi,
While I am sure that you are the legitimate owner of the file you need to access, but, if we give you information on how to access it, we also pass that information on to anyone else that reads this thread. Therefore Daniweb's rules are never to assist in bypassing passwords. Sorry, we can not assist.

Member Avatar for abc2004

Based on my rough estimation, it will take me at least 2485 years to decrypt it. The reason it takes so long is your password is 12 characters long, with capitals and also have special characters.

If your password "word" can be looked up in dictionary, then it might take much less time.

I want to help you as i feel your pain. But that's the best i can do.

Edited by abc2004 because: n/a
Member Avatar for rehmanqasim

what if i know the password somewhat but not 1 or 2 letters . i think i m confused with capitalization either its at start or its at an end. Now something can happen. please please please i need it badly. it have all my imp data.

and bob i m not asking to do anything illegal the forums is to solve problems if you think anyone can do it on other ways you can email me the stuff. at least the person who needs help should be provided. i hope you can understand.

Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

We appreciate your willingness to contribute but please check the dates on posts before you respond to them This thread is more than two years old and it is likely that the original poster (OP) no longer needs help with this issue. Reviving this thread pushes more recent threads further down the list. If you continue to revive old threads you may be hit with an infraction.

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