[GER1, GER2]Since the end of 2024, users of Microsoft Excel 2016 have been running into a strange issue. Excel files that have been password protected cannot be opened multiple times. It seems to be a problem caused by Windows 11 24H2. I now have solutions from readers to fix the problem, in the hope that Microsoft will come up with a fix at some point.
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Excel 2016 file with password cannot be opened multiple times
The problem: People affected work uses Microsoft Office 2016 at Windows 11 24H2. When trying to open an Excel workbook with password protection, this works only the first time. On the second attempt to open this document file again, the process fails. Microsoft Excel 2016 then hangs at the "… Start …" loading screen. The user can then only force quit Microsoft Excel via the Task Manager in order to continue using the application.
It's not Excel 2016, it's Windows 11 24H2
I became aware of the issue through this German comment from blog reader DaHerb and already discussed the issue in December 2024 in the blog post Windows 11 24H2: Datei mit Passwortschutz lässt sich in Excel 2016 nicht mehrfach öffnen.
The affected reader then tested and found out, that Microsoft Excel 2016 and the November 2024 updates are not the the root cause for this issue. After many tests, during which updates for Microsoft Excel 2016 (MSI installer version) were removed and added, the blog reader was able to narrow down the root cause. The hang when loading password-protected documents in Microsoft Excel 2016 only occurs under Windows 11 version 24H2 (Windows 11 23H2 is not affected).
The behavior also occurs with a freshly installed Office 2016 without any installed updates under the mentioned operating system variant. While writing this blog post, I found other people affected in the Microsoft Answers forum. Blog reader DaHerb points to this reddit.com thread, where the error is also described.
Temporary workaround: Activate add-ins
Since the publication of my German blog post from Dec. 2024, users have developed solutions as a workaround.
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A solution in Excel 2016
On X.com, someone wrote that after uninstalling the pre-installed Microsoft 365 on Windows 11 and adding Excel add-ins (in his case Solver and VBA), Excel 2016 worked again. In this reddit.com thread, user libervati picked up on this finding and describes his workaround to fix the problem.
According to the screenshot above, this user has activated the Excel add-ins Solver and VBA Analysis Tools via the File – Options – Add-ins commands. Another user confirms this and writes that he only had to activate the "Analysis ToolPak – VBA" add-in under File – Options – Add-Ins in the relevant dialog box.
Registry entry as a fix
In this reddit.com thread, another user then published two .reg files that can be imported to activate the add-in.
Excel 2013 32-bit: Excel_2013_x86_Analysis_ToolPak_VBA.reg
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Excel\Options] "OPEN"="/R \"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Office\\Office15\\Library\\Analysis\\ATPVBAEN.XLAM\""
Excel 2016 32-bit: Excel_2016_x86_Analysis_ToolPak_VBA.reg
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Options] "OPEN"="/R \"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Office\\Office16\\Library\\Analysis\\ATPVBAEN.XLAM\""
So it also seems to affect Microsoft Excel 2013. In the German comment here in my German blog, reader Zanza confirms that the reddit.com workaround helpes. It helps both with Excel files with shortcuts (I described this in the blog post) and with Excel files with password protection.
Solution via GPO
In this reddit.com thread, someone described how to set the above registry entry via GPO.
A further description
A German reader then contacted me by email the other day and wrote, that from his experience, the issue does not only affect Excel files with incorporated links, but generally files that trigger a message when Excel is started, e.g. even if the file is locked by another user on the network. The solution of activating the Excel add-in "Analysis ToolPak – VBA" has worked perfectly for him. He simply distributed the above registry fix to all PCs via GPO. So far there have been no side effects. The add-in is also activated for Office 365, for example, via the same GPO, but doesn't cause any problems here either.
His hope is, that Microsoft will ship a fix for Excel 2016 (although EOL is in Oct. 2025). In the German blog post Excel 2016 Probleme unter Windows 11 24H2 – Lösungen & Workarounds a Microsoft employee is quoted, that it's planned to ship a fix "later".
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Excel 2016 can no longer load add-ins after Nov. 2024 update KB5002653
Update KB4484305: Fix for Excel 2016 add-in loading bug
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