Recover Unsaved Word Documents – Step-by-Step Guide

Losing unsaved Word documents can be incredibly frustrating. Fortunately, there are several ways to try and recover your lost work. Here is a comprehensive guide on how to recover unsaved Word documents.

Check AutoRecovery

Word’s AutoRecovery feature automatically saves versions of your documents while you work. AutoRecover can help you restore unsaved Word docs.

Steps:

1. Open Word and click File > Open.

2. Click Recover Unsaved Documents.

3. Select your unsaved document.

4. Click Open.

5. Save the recovered file immediately.

AutoRecovery saves Word documents every 10 minutes by default. If you did not close Word properly, AutoRecovery can restore your progress. This is the first thing to try when recovering unsaved docs.

Use AutoBackup

AutoBackup is another built-in Word feature that saves copies of your open documents.

To recover an unsaved doc with AutoBackup:

1. Go to File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Documents.

2. Choose AutoRecover files or AutoBackup files.

3. Pick your unsaved document and click Open.

4. Save the restored file right away.

AutoBackup saves your Word documents every hour while open. It can bring back unsaved changes if you forgot to save manually.

Check Temporary Files

Word stores temporary versions of open docs to help recover lost work.

To use Word temp files:

1. Open Word and go to File > Options > Save.

2. Locate the Save documents path.

3. Go to this folder on your PC and look for files like ~WRL****.tmp.

4. Open any promising temp files to check for your missing Word document.

Temporary files are saved in the folder path listed under Save > Save documents. Browse this location to uncover unsaved Word docs.

Use File Recovery Software

If the built-in Word recovery options fail, file recovery software can dig deeper.

Popular programs like Recuva and EaseUS scour your hard drive to find deleted files. Follow these general steps:

• Download and install file recovery software.
• Scan your PC for recoverable files.
• Preview and restore any discovered Word documents.

With powerful deep scan capabilities, data recovery software can retrieve unsaved Office files even if Word’s own tools come up empty.

Check OneDrive or Other Cloud Storage

If you save your Word docs to OneDrive or another cloud service, previous versions may be retrievable online.

To look for unsaved files on OneDrive:

• Open OneDrive and find your Word document.
• Right click and select Version History.
• Choose a previous autosaved version to restore.

If you have cloud backups enabled, you may be able to roll back to an unsaved iteration of your Word document from the web.

Use Word File Recovery Tools

As a last resort, you can use Word’s built-in Document Recovery tools.

To run the Word Document Recovery utility:

1. Close all Office apps.

2. Search for winword.exe /wdrecovery and open the desktop app.

3. Browse deleted files and try to open Word documents.

4. Save any recovered files you need.

The Document Recovery tool can salvage deleted Word docs, but only if the file was not overwritten. Use this if all else fails.

Prevent Future Unsaved Document Issues

To avoid this situation going forward:

• Enable AutoSave in Word to save every few minutes.
• Set reminders to prompt you to manually save.
• Back up Word docs with OneDrive or Dropbox.
• Close properly so AutoRecovery can save changes.

Making a few tweaks to your Word habits can ensure you do not lose work again. Saving frequently and closing properly are key to prevent unsaved document headaches.

With some persistence and these recovery techniques, you can likely resurrect that unsaved Word document and get back to work. Don’t give up hope! Many options exist to revive lost Office files.