Stellar is excellent at what it does: recovering data from genuinely corrupted files. But if your .xls or .mdb stopped working after a Windows upgrade, your files aren't corrupt — they're obsolete. That's a different problem requiring a different tool.
Before choosing a tool, you need to diagnose the actual problem. These two situations look similar on the surface but have completely different causes and solutions.
If your symptoms match obsolescence — and most do, after a Windows or Office upgrade — Stellar won't help. It's designed to rebuild damaged file structures, not convert between format versions. Running Stellar on a healthy .xls file won't produce a working .xlsx.
| Feature | LegacyLeaps | Stellar Data Recovery |
|---|---|---|
| Converts .xls to .xlsx | Yes — full format migration | No — repairs only, no format conversion |
| Converts .mdb to .accdb | Yes | Not supported |
| VBA macro preservation | Yes — all modules preserved | Not applicable (no conversion) |
| ActiveX control support | Yes | Not applicable |
| Access database support | Yes — full .mdb to .accdb migration | No |
| Pre-conversion scan report | Yes — free, shows all macros & dependencies | No |
| Works on healthy legacy files | Yes — designed for this | Partially — mainly targets damaged files |
| Fixes corruption | Not the primary use case | Yes — this is Stellar's core strength |
| Files stay on your machine | Yes — desktop app, no uploads | Yes |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days on tokens | Case-by-case |
Stellar Data Recovery works by reading the raw binary structure of a file and attempting to reconstruct missing or damaged sections. It's remarkably effective when a file has been partially overwritten, saved incorrectly, or recovered from a failing drive.
But your .xls file from 2008 isn't damaged. Its binary structure is perfectly intact. Excel 365 on Windows 11 can read the structure — it just no longer runs the legacy file format for anything more than basic compatibility. Attempting to "repair" a healthy file doesn't produce a newer-format file; it produces the same healthy .xls file you already had.
The same is true for Access .mdb files. The database isn't corrupt — it's written in a format (Jet 3.5 or Jet 4.0) that Access 2019 and later treats as unsupported. No repair tool will give you a .accdb. You need conversion.
Some users genuinely have both problems: a legacy .xls or .mdb that was also damaged. In these cases, you may need both tools — in order:
Trying to skip step 1 will leave LegacyLeaps unable to parse the damaged file. Trying to skip step 2 leaves you with a repaired file still stuck in a format that doesn't work on modern Office.
Stellar Data Recovery is genuinely one of the best tools available for file recovery. Use it when:
If any of those scenarios match your situation, Stellar is the right tool. LegacyLeaps is not a file repair utility — it assumes your source files are structurally intact.
Run LegacyLeaps's free scan on your .xls or .mdb files. It will tell you exactly what's in them, what format they're in, and whether migration is possible — before you spend anything.