# Excel help please, prompt at startup

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-help-please-prompt-at-startup/382213>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 29, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-help-please-prompt-at-startup/382213 "2006-11-29T17:23:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-help-please-prompt-at-startup/382213/1 "2006-11-29T17:23:58Z")

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Whenever I open Excel, whether it’s by double-clicking an xls file or just opening excel to put some data in myself, I get the following message:

> [@](#):
>
> ‘C:\Program.xls’ could not be found. Check the spelling of the file name, and verify that the file location is correct.
> 
> If you are trying to open the file from your recently used file list, make sure you’re not a dumbass who moved it or renamed it and then tried to open the old file name

I did a cursory check, and while I make some silly mistakes, I’m not a dumbass, and I wasn’t trying to access this file from the recent file list. I can’t find a reference to this file anywhere on my hard drive, or in the registry, or in the tools/options menu.

I did use the settings transfer wizard to transfer files and settings to this computer from my old computer, and that’s when the trouble started, but I can’t very well undo it, because someone else has the old computer now and has likely re-imaged it.

Any advice?

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**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-help-please-prompt-at-startup/382213/2 "2006-11-29T17:27:35Z")

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Wow, talk about providence…I had done google searches on my problem before, but was always including the filename. I didn’t, and the second hit indicated that it could be an add-in problem. I cehcked the add-ins, and sure enough, there was one that was not installed properly, and so I deleted it. Problem solved! Woot!

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**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excel-help-please-prompt-at-startup/382213/3 "2006-11-29T17:33:43Z")

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[QUOTE=crazyjoe]  
I cehcked the add-ins, and sure enough, there was one that was not installed properly, and so I deleted it. Problem solved! Woot!  
[/QUOTE]  
Please tell us which add-in calls the user a dumbass. I hope you said, “And a double dumbass on you!”