Data Error

I put together a simple Excel spreadsheet. I have things for sale in a consignment shop. First column was a photo of the item. Next few columns were price paid, price sold for, and profit. Pretty simple spreadsheet. I have opened it and edited it several times with no problems. I even e-mailed it to someone and they were able to open and view it.

So, a few minutes ago, I open the file and get a popup that says "Data Error. Some Data May Have Been Lost." The spreadsheet opens, and all data is there except the photos. I thought "Whew, good thing I e-mailed it the other day as an attachment. I can just go back to that one." So, I open the attachment, and same message. And, no photos there.

What happened? And, do I have to start over and re-add all of the photos or is there a way to access an uncorrupted version. I found it odd that even the version that was e-mailed previously also had the photos disappear even though the person I e-mailed it to had no problems opening it and viewing the pics. I had them e-mail it back to me unedited, and guess what? Same thing - pics missing.

Really odd.

Thanks!

-----------------Edited to add.

I closed and reopened Excel. Didn't help. Rebooted the computer. Didn't help. The photos are still on the hard drive in their original location. <----------didn't know if any of that info would help or not.