"Cannot find the file" error message when you try to open a workbook by double-clicking the .xls file

When you double-click an Excel workbook (.xls) file to open it, you may receive the following error message:Note In this example, path is the location of the workbook file.

Excel starts, but it does not open the workbook that you double-clicked. Instead, it opens a blank workbook.

You can open the workbook if you click Open on the File menu.

This problem may occur if registry entries for earlier versions of Excel conflict with registry entries for your current version. This condition can exist if you had an earlier version of Excel previously installed on your computer.

To resolve this problem, remove the registry entries for earlier versions of Excel. Registry entries for Excel are found in subkeys that correspond with the version, as shown in the following table:

Determine which version of Excel that you are currently running, and then rename the subkeys from earlier versions, as shown in the following procedure. For example, if you are currently running Excel 2002, rename any Excel subkeys that appear in the 8.0 and 9.0 subkeys. If you are currently running Excel 2000, rename only the Excel subkeys that appear in the 8.0 subkey. These subkeys may not appear on all systems.

To remove the conflicting registry entries, follow these steps:

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. In Registry Editor, locate the following subkey in the registry:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office
4. Expand the subkey that corresponds to the earlier version of Excel, and then click the Excel subkey.
5. Right-click the Excel subkey, and then click Rename.
6. Type OldExcel, and then press ENTER.
7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 for any other subkeys for earlier versions of Excel.
8. Locate the following subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office
9. Expand the subkey that corresponds to the earlier version of Excel, and then click the Excel subkey.
10. Right-click the Excel subkey, and then click Rename.
11. Type OldExcel, and then press ENTER.
12. Repeat steps 9 through 11 for any other subkeys for earlier versions of Excel.
13. Quit Registry Editor.
14. Start Excel. (This makes sure that the appropriate registry entries are created.)
15. Quit Excel.
16. Double-click an .xls file to start Excel and open the workbook.

For additional information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: