# Miscellaneous > General Database Discussions >  Cannot open dbf file created in Visual Foxpro 7 or 9 in EXCEL 2010

## danielcouto

Before upgrading to EXCEL 2010, I am able to open dbf files created in Visual Foxpro 7 or 9 in Excel 2003.

I am not sure why after installing EXCEL 2010 I am no longer able to open the file.

I get the error message when I tried opening the dbf file in Excel 2010

"the file you are trying to open is in a different format than specified
 by the file extension"

I have tried opening the dbf file via the File Open method but it still cannot work.

If I copy the file to a lower dbf format (type fox2x) then I am able to open the file in Excel 2010

Does Excel 2010 support dbf files created by Visual Foxpro 7 or 9?

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## sagehickman

DBF File header file corruption can occur due to various reasons, like improper system shutdown, virus attack, modification in hex-editor, and application malfunction. When the DBF file header gets corrupted due to any of the above reasons, the file becomes unreadable or inaccessible. Moreover, a user encounters an error message while opening the file, which happens in your case. You can use following solutions to overcome DBF file header corruption,:
1) Restore the file from a valid backup copy.
2) In case of no backup, you needs to repair the corrupted DBF file by using following helpful threads...
http://www.idganswers.com/question/1...upport-library
http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarge...upt-dbf-files/

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