Lost Files? Here’s How to Find Recovered Documents in Word

Can Microsoft Word recover lost documents?

Have you ever lost Word documents unexpectedly? File loss can occur inevitably during daily work, often leaving us frustrated, especially after investing much effort into my projects. You may lose an important Word document on account of sudden closure of software, accidental system crashes, or other common reasons.

Fortunately, Microsoft Word offers several built-in features to help you recover lost documents. Its AutoRecover feature automatically creates backups of your documents, which can be vital in retrieving unsaved work. Additionally, if you’ve saved your document to OneDrive or SharePoint, you can also restore it to an earlier draft using the Version History feature.

This post demonstrates the detailed steps of each method and shows you how to find recovered documents in Word. You can choose the one that best suits your needs. 

How to find recovered documents in Word?

“How can I recover lost files, and where can I find recovered Word documents?” In this section, three practical recovery solutions will be presented. No matter whether you saved the document before the unexpected interruption, you can recover it using the following methods.

Recover Unsaved Word Documents

Microsoft Word provides a built-in feature called AutoRecover, which supports automatically saving temporary copies of your Word documents at regular intervals. When you encounter a software crash or accidental closure, you can easily recover unsaved documents.

By default, AutoRecover backs up your document every 10 minutes, provided you have enabled it beforehand. However, you can adjust the interval settings to back up your documents more frequently if needed.

Here’ how to set AutoRecover in Microsoft Word:

Step 1: Open Microsoft Word and navigate to File > Options > Save in turn.

Step 2: Make sure the Save AutoRecover information every x minutes and Keep the last AutoRecovered version if I close without saving boxes are both selected.

Step 3: Set the time intervals according to your needs.

By following these steps, you can ensure that your documents are backed up regularly. How to find recovered documents in Word? If you experience an unexpected crash or closure while editing, first try to restart Microsoft Word. Typically, the Document Recovery pane will appear on the left side, allowing you to choose the desired document to recover. If the pane doesn’t appear, you can still find these unsaved documents manually.

Follow these steps to find recovered Word documents manually:

Step 1: Open Microsoft Word, and click File > Open > Recent in turn.

Step 2: Select Recover Unsaved Documents at the interface bottom. You will see a list of recently backed-up files that were automatically.

Step 3: Locate the Word document you lost, open it, and click the Save As button to store it to the desired destination. Please remember the saving path so as to find recovered Word documents easily.

Recover Documents to Previous Versions

Additionally, Microsoft Word also supports recovering your document to an earlier version, provided it has been saved to your OneDrive or SharePonint. Every time you save a document, MS Word automatically tracks and saves its versions, allowing you to effortlessly revert it to a previous version if necessary.

Here’s how to recover documents to an earlier version:

Step 1: Open Microsoft Word, and click File > Info > Version History. Here you can see a list of different versions of your document.

Step 2: Choose the version you want to recover and open it.

Step 3: Click the Restore option on the top bar to recover your document to this version. If you want to compare differences between two versions, please click the Compare option.

Recover Corrupted Word Documents

In some cases, essential data cannot be accessed because the document has been corrupted. In this situation, you can use the built-in repair feature in MS Word to recover it. While it may not always repair all file corruptions, this tool can help you reduce data loss.  

Follow these steps to recover corrupted Word documents:

Step 1: Open Microsoft Word, and click File > Open > Browse in turn.

Step 2: Navigate to the location of your corrupted file and select the desired file, but do not double-click it.

Step 3: Expand the Open option and choose Open and Repair. After repairing, you can find recovered Word documents from the original locations.

Alternative Ways to Recover Word Documents  

By now, you should know how to find recovered documents in Word. In this section, we will explore some alternative ways to recover Word documents, enabling you to restore lost documents, even if they have been deleted.

Recover Word Documents Using Software

One of the easiest and most efficient ways is to recover lost Word documents using third-party software. AOMEI FastRecovery, a robust yet user-friendly data recovery tool, is designed to assist users in retrieving various file formats from different devices without any data loss. Whether the file loss is caused by system crashes, unexpected formatting, or virus attacks, AOMEI FastRecovery can handle it with ease.

Using Tips:
◆ User-Friendly: The easy-to-use interface guides you through a smooth recovery process.
◆ Fast and Efficient: You are able to locate and recover missing files within the shortest time.
◆ High Success Rate: Supports effectively recovering various files on multiple devices with a high success rate.
◆ Secure and Reliable: A professional data recovery expert ensures that your data is 100% safe.

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Here’s how to recover lost Word documents using AOMEI FastRecovery:

Step 1: Download and install AOMEI FastRecovery first, and then choose the exact partition or disk where your documents are located.

Step 2: Scan your disk comprehensively to find the deleted documents .

Step 3: Upon scanning completion, all missing files will be displayed. Kindly choose the desired file and then click Recover.

Step 4: Specify a path for the file and wait until the procedure is complete.

Restore Word Documents via File History

Using Windows’s File History feature to recover them is another reliable recovery option. It is a built-in feature available in Windows 8 and later versions, allowing you to store multiple versions of files and offering a flexible recovery option when needed.

When you have mistakenly deleted or overwritten a file, consider using File History to restore its previous versions. Keep in mind that this feature must be enabled prior to any data loss for it to work.

The specific recovery steps are as follows:

Step 1: Go to the Control Panel, and select System and Security > File History in turn.

Step 2: Click Restore personal files.

Step 3: Choose the files you want to recover, and then click the Recover button.

Common Issues in File Recovery

Recovering a Word document can sometimes be challenging due to various issues. Here are some common ones you may encounter during regular tasks.

► Lost Unsaved Documents: You may encounter a software glitch or system crash when handling your documents, causing them to lose without saving properly. In such a case, consider recovering unsaved documents by using AutoRecover or Document Recovery in MS Word.

► Document Corruption: A document can become inaccessible if it has been damaged for some reasons. You can try to repair it with the built-in feature in Microsoft Word or extract important data from it.

► Permanent Deletion: Files are permanently deleted if you press the Shift + Delete keys or select permanent deletion while handling it. These files cannot be restored from the the Recycle Bin, but you can retrieve them through backups. If no backups are available, using third-party software is a great option for you.

Summary

Word documents are widely used in word processing and office applications but are also susceptible to data loss, especially when system crashes or software bugs unexpectedly. This post covers details of several recovery solutions and shows you how to find recovered documents in Word. 

However, Microsoft Word cannot address all file loss scenarios, such as when your documents are deleted. Don’t worry! There are two additional recovery methods available for most file loss situations, which can help you minimize the risk of file loss and ensure further data integrity.