Removed Part: /xl/pivotTables/pivotTable1.xml part with XML error / Removed Part: /xl/pivotCache/pivotCacheDefinition1.xml — PivotTables stripped after Excel repairs the file

What's actually wrong

The XML that defines your PivotTable or its cached data snapshot is malformed, so Excel's repair deletes the pivot to open the rest of the workbook. The good news: in most reported cases the underlying source data sheet survives intact — you lose the pivot layout, not the numbers. Common triggers are round-tripping the file between Excel versions (including Windows↔Mac), building a pivot on a whole-sheet 'Format as Table' range with thousands of empty columns, and crashes or sync interruptions mid-save. Excel has no built-in way to repair a pivot; it can only remove it.

Free fixes — try these first

1. Accept the repair, then check your source data. If the raw data sheet is intact, rebuild the pivot in a few minutes: select the exact data range → Insert → PivotTable. Save under a new name so the original stays untouched.
2. Restore a previous version first. OneDrive/SharePoint: right-click the file online → Version history → open the newest version that predates the corruption. This preserves the pivot layout and any calculated fields you'd otherwise rebuild by hand.
3. Try Excel for the web or a newer desktop version — they tolerate some pivot XML that older builds reject, letting you open the file un-repaired and re-save it cleanly.
4. Surgical removal: copy the file, rename to .zip, delete the xl/pivotTables and xl/pivotCache folders, rename back to .xlsx and open — Excel repairs only the missing references and everything else opens without the scary dialog.
5. Prevent recurrence: base pivots on an exact range or a properly-sized Table (not entire columns/sheets), and don't keep the workbook open through an OneDrive sync of the same file — both are documented causes on Microsoft Answers.

If the free fixes fail

If the repair also mangled the source-data sheet — or the workbook now refuses to open at all — the corruption extends beyond the pivot parts. Our analyzer extracts cell data straight from the damaged XML, including sheets Excel discarded, and reports honestly what fraction of the workbook (data, not pivot layouts) is recoverable.