How to Recover Unsaved Word Documents After Computer Restarts?

Is it possible to recover an unsaved Word document after a restart?

Imagine your computer crashes suddenly while you're editing a Word document. After the restart, everything seems fine—except your document is gone because you didn’t save it. Sounds terrible, right? No worries! This post will show you how to recover unsaved Word documents after computer restarts. Keep reading to discover the best recovery solutions.

How to recover an unsaved Word document after a computer restarts?

This section offers two effective solutions to recover unsaved Word documents after a restart. Scroll down to know more details.

Solution 1. Restore unsaved Word documents using AutoRecover

After the computer restarts, all running applications and programs are closed, including Microsoft Word. Fortunately, MS Word includes the AutoRecover feature to recover unsaved contents. It automatically saves a temporary copy of your file at regular intervals while you’re working. In other words, even if you haven't manually saved them, you might recover unsaved files.

After restarting your computer, open MS Word and check if the Document Recovery pane appears on the left side. If so, choose the file you want to restore and open it. If not, follow these steps to manually recover unsaved Word documents after a restart:

Step 1: Click the File tab.

Step 2: Click Manage Document and select Recover Unsaved Documents at the interface bottom.

Step 3: Locate the Word document you lost.

Step 4: Open the document and save it to the specified location.

How to set AutoRecover in Microsoft Word: •  Go to File > Options > Save in turn. •  Make sure the Save AutoRecover information every x minutes and Keep the last AutoRecovered version if I close without saving boxes are selected. •  Set the time intervals according to your needs.

Solution 2. Restore unsaved Word documents from temporary files

In addition to using MS Word’s built-in feature, recovering unsaved files from temporary files is a good option. When MS Word works, it generates multiple temporary files. These files are typically stored on the C: drive with a .tmp extension. If AutoRecover files don’t contain your missing Word document, go to check the temp folder. Here’s how to recover unsaved Word documents after a restart:

Step 1: Navigate to the temporary file location using this path: C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Temp.

Step 2: Find the document you want to restore and change its extension to .docx or .doc. It might be time-consuming to locate the desired files since the filenames may not bear any discernible connection. But you can narrow down the search scope according to their modified dates.

Step 3: Open the file and save it properly to the specified location.

Bonus Tips: 3 effective ways to recover lost Word documents

Now that you know how to recover unsaved Word documents after computer restarts, it’s time to discuss how to restore deleted or lost Word documents after a restart. If your files have been saved before losing them, they can be easily restored using the methods below.

Solution 1. Check the Recycle Bin

The easiest way to recover files is from the Recycle Bin. By default, you can find the deleted files in this folder and restore them with a few clicks. Follow the steps below to recover files from the Recycle Bin:

Step 1: Open the Recycle Bin folder.

Step 2: Find the file that you want to restore.

Step 3: Right-click on it and select the Restore option. Then navigate to its original location to find the file.

Solution 2. Restore Word documents from backups

If your files have been permanently deleted, check whether any backups are available for recovery. Both local backups and cloud backups can help you retrieve accidentally lost data.

For example, Windows' Backup and Restore feature allows you to back up personal files or even the entire system. If you’ve enabled this feature, follow these steps to recover your Word document:

Step 1: Open the Control Panel.

Step 2: Select System and Security > Backup and Restore.

Step 3: Click Restore my files to recover files.

Step 4: Click Browse for files to find the files you want to restore, then click Next.

Step 5: Choose a location to save the recovered files and click Restore to start the process.

Solution 3. Restore lost Word documents using third-party software

What if there are no backups? Let’s move to the last solution—using professional data recovery software. It's frustrating to lose Word documents by accident, especially when hours of work are involved.

No worries. AOMEI FastRecovery provides a solution. It is a user-friendly yet powerful tool that recovers lost or deleted files by using its advanced scanning and recovery technology. Whether your files are lost due to computer crashes, drive formatting, or accidentally deletion, you can restore them with ease.

Simplifies the recovery process with its user-friendly design, making it accessible even for users with minimal experience.

Provides two scan modes to search for files thoroughly.

Supports various file formats, ensuring all your important data can be restored.

Allows you to preview files before recovery, ensuring they are what you want to restore.

Compatible with almost all Windows versions, including Windows 11/10/8/7 and Windows Server.  

Let’s use AOMEI FastRecovery to recover lost Word documents:

Step 1: Install AOMEI FastRecovery and launch it; then select the exact partition or disk where your documents are stored.

Step 2: Scan the specified drive to find the lost documents. 

Step 3: Once the scanning is complete, choose the document you want to restore and click Recover. 

Step 4: Specify a saving path for the file and wait for the process to finish.

FAQs on Word Document Recovery

Q1: Can I retrieve an unsaved Word document if AutoRecover is disabled?

Yes! Recovering an unsaved Word document without enabling AutoRecover is still possible. You can check the temporary files on the C drive and change the file’s extension to .docx or .doc.

Q2: Is it possible to recover a Word document deleted from the AutoRecover folder?

Sure! In such cases, it is advised to recover your document from backups. If no backups are available, consider using professional data recovery tools to do that.

Q3: Can I recover a previous version of a Word document that was overwritten?

Yes, you can recover a previous version of a Word document if it was saved to OneDrive. Go to check the Version History and restore the version you need.

Final Words

Long story short, sudden crashes may force you to restart your computer, causing you to lose your unsaved Word documents. Don’t worry! This post shows you how to recover unsaved Word documents after computer restarts.

If your documents have been saved before losing them, proceed to the next section to learn three ways to recover them. Among them, AOMEI FastRecovery would provide you with a more advanced recovery experience. Hope you can restore your work successfully!