It happens to almost everyone: you’ve spent days working on a Word document and suddenly your computer shuts down, Word closes on its own, or everything crashes before you can save.
If the data cannot be lost, talk to people who do this every day: see how Bot’s lab data recovery works.
For a moment it may feel like all is lost, but here at Bot, as data recovery specialists, we have some tips that could solve your problem.
Word has several features that automatically save copies of your documents, so your work isn’t completely lost when something unexpected happens, such as:
- a power cut;
- an unexpected error;
- an unexpected restart;
- and so on.
These Word features help you recover documents that were never saved or that have become corrupted. The good news is that most Word recovery options can be carried out in Word itself or with tools built into Windows.
You can also use dedicated programs to recover documents that were deleted by accident or by malware. With that in mind, we’ve put together 7 ways to recover a Word document, so you can choose the one that best fits your situation.
1. How do I recover an unsaved Word document?
Step 1: open Microsoft Word and click “Blank document”.
Step 2: click “File” at the top left.
Step 3: in the sidebar that opens, click “Open”.
Step 4: at the bottom of the list of recent documents, click “Recover Unsaved Documents”.
Step 5: find the file you want, select it and click “Open”.
Step 6: that’s it! The file will open and you can work on it again. But note that it is an .asd file, not a standard Word document, so use “Save As” to save it in .docx format.
Extra tips: go back to “File”, click “Save As” and give the document a new name, making a note of where you save it. Finally, turn on the “AutoSave” switch in the top left corner of Word (available for files stored in OneDrive or SharePoint). This will help prevent the problem from happening again.
2. Use the Recycle Bin to recover files
This is one of the simplest and best-known recovery methods. If you’re lucky, your file will be sitting intact in your computer’s Recycle Bin. Here’s how to get it back:
Step 1: open the Recycle Bin.
Step 2: check whether your file is there. If you don’t remember the document’s name, look for files with the .doc, .docx or .dot extension, or sort by “Date Deleted”.
Step 3: select the Word document you want to recover and click “Restore”.
Job done! The Word document is back in its original folder. Before restoring it, make a note of its name and the “Original Location” column, so you can find it easily afterwards.
3. How to recover a deleted document using Word Backup
Word backup files have the .wbk extension. So if the “Always create backup copy” option is enabled in Word, there may be a backup of your file. To check:
Step 1: click “Start”, type “.wbk” in the search box and press Enter.
Step 2: look for files named “Backup of” followed by the name of the missing document, and double-click the one you want to open it. Found it!
Extra tip: to turn on this backup feature, open Word, click “File”, then “Options” at the bottom left, choose “Advanced”, scroll down to the “Save” section and tick “Always create backup copy”.
4. How do I recover a Word document using the AutoRecover tool?
Word has an AutoRecover feature, and it’s easy to use. Here’s how:
Step 1: open Word, click “File” and then “Options” at the bottom left of the screen.
Step 2: select “Save” and, in the “Save documents” section, find “AutoRecover file location”.
Step 3: copy the folder path shown in the “AutoRecover file location” box.
Step 4: open File Explorer and paste the path into the address bar. You’ll see a list of files with the .asd extension.
Step 5: find the file that matches your document, with the most recent date and time.
Step 6: in Word, go to “File” > “Open” > “Browse”, change the file type to “All Files”, select the .asd file and click “Open”.
Step 7: now just click “File”, then “Save As”, and save the Word document wherever you like.
5. How do I recover a Word document using temporary files?
Another way to try to get your document back is through Word’s temporary files. Word creates them automatically while you work, and they can be left behind if the program closes without saving. They have the .tmp extension and their names usually start with “~”. Here’s how to find them:
Step 1: open File Explorer and select “This PC”.
Step 2: type “.tmp” or “~” in the search box and check the modification dates to find the unsaved document.
Step 3: once you’ve found the file, try opening it in Word (“File” > “Open” > “Browse”, with the file type set to “All Files”). If that doesn’t work, right-click it, choose “Open with” and select “Notepad”, which may show at least part of the text.
Step 4: copy the content you recover and paste it into a new Word document.
6. How do I recover a deleted Word document using recovery software?
In some cases, the steps above won’t solve the problem and you’ll need recovery software — for example, when documents have been deleted from their folder and the Recycle Bin has been emptied. Stop using the drive as soon as possible and install the program on a different drive, so new data doesn’t overwrite the deleted file.
One program you can use to try to recover your file is Wondershare Recoverit. Its free version lets you scan for deleted documents and preview them, within certain limits.
However, to actually restore the file as a Word document on your computer, you need a paid plan.
To find out more about the program, click here.
7. How do I recover a deleted Word document if nothing worked?
If none of the above has worked, don’t worry. There’s one last option: ask our team for help.
At Bot, we receive the device where your lost files were stored, identify the problem and determine the best procedure for recovering files that were deleted by accident or lost.
We work efficiently and precisely, from the initial analysis to the delivery of your documents, and we take our deadlines very seriously.
What’s more, the entire process is carried out securely, following strict data protection procedures.
We also offer a free standard diagnosis and free collection of your device (islands not included).
Request your free diagnosis here.
Whichever method you choose, we hope you manage to recover your Word document and access your file again.
And if you need help from a qualified team, just get in touch. We’ll be happy to help!
