How to Recover Lost Word Document

Recovering lost Word documents can be done efficiently using different methods. In this guide, we will discuss four effective ways to retrieve lost Word documents: WinfrGUI, AutoRecover, temporary files, and Document Recovery. WinfrGUI is a file recovery tool that enables easy restoration of deleted Word files.

To recover lost Word documents using Microsoft Office Word, follow these steps:

• Click on the File tab in Microsoft Office Word.
• Select “Document Management” and then choose the “Recover Unsaved Documents” option. This will open a new window showing a list of unfinished Word documents.

These methods can be applied to various versions of Microsoft Office Word, such as 2020, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2003.

If you’ve accidentally closed your Word application without saving your document or experienced a program crash resulting in unsaved files, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. This article will provide you with the most useful techniques to recover your lost Word documents.

Sometimes, Word documents disappear due to accidental closure or program/system crashes. However, there are still ways to recover these lost files in Windows 10 or Windows 11. You can restore deleted files from the Recycle Bin or utilize reliable data recovery software.

4 Ways to Recover Lost Word Document

Solution 1: Recovering lost Word documents with software

WinfrGUI is a trustworthy data recovery software that specializes in recovering unsaved and deleted Word files on Windows computers. It offers a simple three-step process to efficiently recover your files:

• Launch WinfrGUI and select the disk where the unsaved files were located.
• Choose the “Type” and “Unsaved Files” options on the left side.
• Preview the target files and click “Recover” to restore them. Remember not to overwrite the original location to avoid data loss. You can also save the recovered files to cloud storage platforms like OneDrive or Google Drive.

WinfrGUI is an excellent tool for recovering deleted data or unsaved files. Don’t forget to share it with your friends who might find it helpful.

Solution 2: Restoring lost Word documents from AutoRecover

If your MS Word documents disappear unexpectedly, you can retrieve them from AutoRecover’s .asd documents. To recover unsaved documents, make sure AutoSave is enabled. Follow these steps:

• In MS Word, click the “File” tab.
• Select “Manage Document” and choose the “Recover Unsaved Documents” option from the drop-down list.
• Check if your missing file appears in the dialog box. If it’s recent, it should be there.
• Open the recovered Word document and click the “Save As” button to store it in a secure location.

For Word 2007, the process is slightly different:

• Click the Microsoft Office Button, then go to “Word Options” > “Save”.
• Note the AutoRecover file location and open the corresponding folder.
• Look for the .asd file (AutoRecover files) and open it to save your document immediately.

For Word 2003 and 2002, follow these steps:

• On the “Tools” menu, click “Options”.
• Go to the “File Locations” tab and double-click “AutoRecover files”.
• Note the file location and open the specified folder.
• Look for files with .asd extensions and open the Word document for immediate saving.

To avoid losing Word documents, it is recommended to enable AutoRecover. Follow these steps:

• Open Word and go to “File” > “Options” > “Save”.
• Enable the options “Save AutoRecover information every *” and “Keep the last autosaved version if I close without saving”.
• Click “OK” to save the changes.

Remember to check the file content and save it in a new Word file at a secure location.

Solution 3: Recovering not saved Word documents from temporary files

If you can’t find Word documents in AutoRecover files, another method is to retrieve them from the tmp folder. Here’s how:

• Press the Win + E keys to open File Explorer.
• Search for .tmp files.
• Select the tmp file from the search results and open it. Save the document immediately.

Solution 4: Restoring lost Word documents with Document Recovery

In most cases, when Word crashes or closes abruptly, it automatically restores unsaved documents. You can find these recoverable documents in the left panel under Document Recovery.

How to Recover Deleted Word Documents in 2 Ways

To recover permanently deleted Word documents, we provide two methods:

Method 1: Search for deleted Word documents in the Recycle Bin

If you haven’t emptied the Recycle Bin, you can easily undelete Word documents by following these steps:

• Open the Recycle Bin and check if the deleted Word file is still there. Look for file types such as DOC, DOCX, DOT, etc.
• Select the Word file and click “Restore” to recover the deleted document.

Method 2: Restore permanently deleted Word documents with data recovery software

If your Word document is permanently lost, the best option is to use data recovery software like WinfrGUI. It can recover permanently deleted files in various formats, including Word, Excel, PPT, email, photos, and videos.

• Choose the Word file location, whether it’s the drive or a specific folder.
• Click the “Search for Lost Data” button to initiate the scanning process.
• After the scan, select the “Documents” option in the left panel and choose the desired Word file from the results. Preview it before proceeding.
• Select the Word files you want to recover and click “Recover”. Save the recovered documents in a different location to avoid overwriting the original files. Saving them to cloud storage platforms like OneDrive or Dropbox is a great option.

If you found this article helpful, don’t hesitate to share it with your friends on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this tutorial provides five methods to restore lost Word documents on Windows devices. With the assistance of WinfrGUI, you can recover lost, unsaved, and deleted Word files without relying on Word backup files. Remember to create backup copies of your Word documents to prevent future data loss.

How to Recover Lost Word Document: FAQs

If you have further questions or encounter Word recovery problems, refer to the following FAQs:

Q: How do I recover a lost Word document from Windows 10?

A: Follow these steps: Click the “File” tab, choose “Info”, then select “Manage Documents”. Select “Recover Unsaved Documents” from the drop-down menu. Open the selected document and click “Save As” to save your Word document.

Q: How to retrieve lost Word documents from USB?

A: If you have unsaved changes to a Word document stored on a USB drive, you can recover your work in two ways. Firstly, try opening the document from the Recent Documents list in Microsoft Word. Alternatively, you can search for the Autosave folder on the USB drive. If you find the file, open it in Word to recover your work.

Q: How to retrieve a lost Word document in Word 2016?

A: Try the following methods to restore lost Word documents in Word 2019, 2016, 2013, or 2010: check your recently opened documents, try opening a temporary file, or use the AutoRecover tool.

Q: Where are lost Word files stored?

A: You can find these Word files by going to “File” > “Open” and clicking the “Recover Unsaved Documents” button at the bottom of the Recent File List.

>>Also Read: How to View Previous Versions of Word Document?