Losing a Word document is one of those scariest experiences that we confront in almost every age-group. The high-schoolers get nightmares in the name of losing a Word Document where they crafted their entire assignment. Similarly, the office goers and Ph.D. students also get affected the same way when they lose their data-records or thesis, which was almost a step away from being completed. And writing the entire assignment or thesis or your office reports is an extremely brainstorming tiring job. In that scenario, how to recover unsaved/deleted word document could be the only question roaming in their mind. As you’ve already landed here for the solutions, let’s move ahead with the issue and find out what to do next.
Maybe you closed the Word hurriedly or accidentally, or maybe the system if the program crashed due to some reason which may unintentionally lead you to massive data loss. Fortunately, there are reliable ways of recovering Word documents efficiently and quickly. Whether your document was lost in a Microsoft Word crash, or you hurriedly deleted it or may have just disappeared on its own, I’m here to guide you along with a few potential steps to recover the file in the soonest possible ways.
What Could Be The Reason for The Word Document Deletion?
Before going into the solutions for how to recover unsaved/deleted Word document, let’s dive into its reasons first. I understand that data loss can result in a massacre that takes enough of your time to settle down. However, you can certainly avoid such scenarios if you understand the potential causes of it.
Accidental Deletion
Whenever we’re in a hurry to finish something or get rid of something, we take some unnecessary steps by mistake. Your Word file deletion can be a result of it, as you might have deleted it accidentally and now can find a way to retrieve it.
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Deletion Due to System Update
On updating the system, there is a huge risk of losing several files and folders. That might be the reason that experts always suggest keeping a backup before updating your system. So this is probably the case you’re undergoing.
Microsoft Word Crashing
In case your Microsoft Word software version isn’t compatible with your system, it might crash down and result in several file deletions. If this is the scenario with your system, it might affect your other existing Word files as well.
Unsaved Word Document
Despite being prepared with the entire slot of data, we often forget to tap on the Save button. This is the most common reason that we often tend to experience huge important data loss. So you better keep a habit of saving all your documents instantly.
Now that you’ve gone through all the possible causes that might lead you to search for ‘how to recover unsaved/deleted Word document’, you can tactfully avoid such circumstances by taking precautions beforehand. However, now that you’re already worried about your lost data, let’s find out how you can retrieve it fast.
How to Recover Unsaved/Deleted Word Document?
In order to fix the trouble, try out these following fixes in an orderly manner as presents. Here is more than one solution to your ‘how to recover unsaved/deleted Word document’ issue. If you’re not satisfied with one, you can straightaway move to the next.
Method 1: Look for the Original Document
Searching for the original Word document should be your first step to recover unsaved/deleted Word document. In order to do this, follow the step-by-step method.
Windows 7 and Windows 10
Step 1: First, go to the Cortana Search bar and type the name of the document (.docx or .doc)
Step 2: Now, hit ‘Enter’ on the keyboard
Step 3: In case the document is listed under the File-list, double-click on it and open it in MS Word.
If you didn’t find the Word file listed on the file-list, move to Method 2.
Method 2: Explore The Word Backup Files
All the files that move into the Word backup folder end with ‘.wbk’ extension. In case you have already enabled the ‘Always Create Backup Copy’ in your Microsoft Word Software, you’ll surely be able to recover unsaved/deleted Word document here.
Note: In order to enable ‘Always create backup copy’ option, select ‘File’ from the top-left corner, choose ‘Options’ and click ‘Advanced’. Scroll down and navigate to ‘Save selection’ and enable ‘Always create backup copy’.
For Windows 10 Users
Step 1: First, open your MS word then Choose File
Step 2: Now, select Word Options
Step 3: Navigate to Advanced, click on it and scroll down
Step 4: Under the Save tab, tick the box at left side of ‘Always create backup copy’ option
In order to locate the backup file, go through the steps following:
Step 5: Open the folder where your unsaved/deleted Word document was saved.
Step 6: Explore the file names ending with .wbk extension.
Step 7: If no .wbk file is found under the original folder, switch to the next following steps as per your system guidelines.
For Windows 7 and Windows 10
Step 1: Choose Start and navigate to the Search box. Type .wbk and hit ‘Enter’.
Step 2: In case you find the backup files listing under the File-list, look for the files ending with the .wbk extension and open the lost file backup copy if found.
Step 3: If the file doesn’t list under the folder, move to Method 3.
For Office 365, Word 2013, Word 2016 and Word 2019
- Select Open from the File menu and then Browse.
- Select All files in the Files of type list.
- Navigate to the backup file lost and click Open.
For Word 2010
- Click Open from the File menu.
- Choose All Files in the Files of type list.
- Select the unsaved/deleted Word document and click Open.
Method 3: Look for AutoRecover Files
The names of all the AutoRecover files end with .asd extension. As per the default settings of Microsoft Word, it looks for the AutoRecover files each time you open it and shows you the entire list it finds in the Document Recovery task pane.
Step 1: In order to automatically find the AutoRecover files, you just have to use a word.
- Click Open Task Manager after you search for it in the Search bar
- Under the tab named ‘Processes’, choose any instance of Microsoft Word or Winword.exe and hit End Process or End Task. Repeat the process until you exit all the instances of Word or Winword.exe.
- Start Word after you exit the Windows Task Manager dialogue box.
- Ensure to save the Document you’ve recovered and change its extension to .docx by renaming it.
Step 2: If you’re unable to open the Recovery pane, search for the AutoRecover files manually.
For Word for Office 365, Word 2013, Word 2016 and Word 2019
- Choose Open under the File menu and click Browse.
- Select Recover Unsaved Documents if the unsaved/deleted Word document isn’t listed.
For Word 2010
- Click Recent under the File menu.
- Select Recover Unsaved Documents if the unsaved/deleted Word document isn’t listed.
Step 3: In case you still couldn’t navigate to the AutoRecover file, explore your entire drive for the .asd files.
For Windows 7 and Windows 10
Step 4: Hit Start to open the Search box. Type .asd and hit Enter.
Step 5: If you still couldn’t find the AutoRecover files, turn to Method 4.
For Word 2019, Word 2016, or Word 2013
- Choose Open from the File menu and hit Browse.
- Select All files in the Files of type list.
- Navigate to the .asd file you lost, Select and Open it.
For Word 2010
- Choose Open from the File menu.
- Select All files in the Files of type list.
- Navigate to the .asd file you lost, Select and Open it.
Method 4: Explore the Temporary Files
All the temporary file names end with ‘.tmp’ extension. In order to look for these files, go through the following process:
For Windows 7 and Windows 10
Step 1: Type .tmp in the Search box after clicking the Start button and hit Enter.
Step 2: Click Other reflecting on the Show only toolbar.
Step 3: Remember the date and time you last edited the document and scroll through the relative files and recover unsaved/deleted Word document.
Method 5: Search for The “~” Files
Some of the temporary files start with “~”. Go through the following steps to find out these documents.
For Windows 7 and Windows 10
Step 1: Click Start and open the Search box. Type ~ and hit Enter.
Step 2: Remember the date and time you last edited the document and scroll through the relative files and recover unsaved/deleted Word document.
Conclusion:
In Microsoft Word, the AutoRecover feature acts as an emergency backup for opening documents during an error occurrence. Hope, you’ve found all the answers to your ‘how to recover unsaved/deleted Word document?’ query. Some errors might interfere with the functionality, and the feature isn’t necessarily a substitute for your file saving. Remember, you might not retrieve the changes you last made on the unsaved/deleted Word document even if you have saved your document. Also, you must know that you can’t recover all the lost documents with these methods. Go further query? Drop us a comment in the below box. We will be there to help you out. Bid adieu!
