Applies to Windows 8, Windows 8.1

Run the Windows Firewall Service

• Open Services (services.msc) from Control Panel – Administrative Tools – Services
• Locate the Windows Firewall Service
• Double-click the Windows Firewall Service and from the General Tab change the Startup Type selection to Automatic
• Restart the System
• Upon restart check the status of the Windows Firewall Service. If it is in running mode, you may try opening the excel file
• If the Windows Firewall is still not in running mode; you will need to make changes to the registry

Changes to Registry

• Open Registry Editor (regedit)
• Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control
• With the control folder selected, right click in the pane on the right and select new DWORD Value
• Name the new DWORD -ServicesPipeTimeout
• Right-click ServicesPipeTimeout, and then click Modify
• Click Decimal, type ‘180000’, and then click OK
• Restart the computer and check the Windows Firewall Service once again
• If the service has started; you may open the excel files without any error

If the Windows Firewall service has still not started working after the above instructions, I would advice looking for further assistance. But we do have a temporary workaround to enable opening of individual excel files

Temporary Workaround

• Right-Click the specific Excel File and click Properties
• In the General Click Unblock under Security
• The file should now open without any error