Cannot Shut Down Excel

Summary: Sometimes Excel can generate error messages that are downright confusing. This tip discusses one particular error message that stops the Excel program from quitting. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 2000, Excel 2002, and Excel 2003.)

Salman Kidwai described a problem in which he cannot shut down Excel. This occurs only sometimes when using Excel 2002; when he tries to shut down, he gets a message that says "Cannot Quit Excel." Once the message is displayed, his only recourse is to reboot the machine.

This does not seem to be an error message inherent to Excel, which means that the problem could be related to some macro that automatically runs when you try to shut down the program. If you see the error again, reboot and reload the same workbook. Then check the macros (in the VBA Editor) to see if you can determine what is causing the program.

The problem is also obliquely described in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. There it says that the problem only occurs when an Excel workbook is opened in Internet Explorer and not closed properly. The article, written specifically for Excel 2000, is found here:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=235520

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2985) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 2000 | 2002 | 2003

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Cannot Shut Down Excel