How to Recover Unsaved PowerPoint from Windows PC

Overview of PowerPoint files

The primary file extension for PowerPoint presentations is PPT, which is an abbreviation for the Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation binary format. The software is frequently employed to create presentations for educational and commercial purposes. Texts, images, videos, and slides are all preserved within the PowerPoint file.

Nevertheless, the default file format for Microsoft PowerPoint has been PPTX since 2007, and subsequent versions have since supplanted it. It compresses files by integrating both XML and ZIP formats. Slide presentations in the PPTX file format can only be viewed by users with older versions; they cannot be edited.

PowerPoint presentations are both efficient and beneficial. They provide visual support for discussions, lectures, and other events. The loss of critical information can result from the deletion or loss of these files. Numerous data recovery methods can be employed to address these circumstances.

5 ways to recover unsaved PowerPoint

In this part, we’ll help you retrieve unsaved PowerPoint files on your PC.

Way 1. Restore unsaved PPT/PPTX from Recent Files Folder

Step 1. Open the windows menu and type in File History. This will open up the control panel.

Step 2. Make sure you have turned on the File History option. If not, select an internal or external drive to which you want to back up your information, and turn it on.

Step 3. Now, click on the Restore personal files option.

Step 4. Go through available backups and locate the PPT or PPTX file you want to recover.

Step 5. Once you’ve found your file, click on the green recover button at the bottom. Your file will be restored to its original location.

Way 2. Recover PPT, PPTX Files using Windows File Recovery

You can get Windows File Recovery from the Microsoft Store for free. It is Microsoft's command-line recovery tool. Users must enter the appropriate command prompt to get back lost files because it doesn't have a graphical user interface. This tool helps you get back lost info and works with many file systems and types.

Step 1. Download Windows File Recovery from the Microsoft Store and Install it on your PC.

Step 2. Launch Windows File Recovery and click the Run as administrator option. Once the Command Prompt window opens, enter the command in the following format:

winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches]

You need to specify a mode in the format mentioned above, according to what’s suitable for your file system. You can use two basic modes to recover files – Regular and Extensive.

You can also mention any specific file extensions according to the files you wish to retrieve. For instance, enter a similar command to retrieve PPT, PPTX files:

winfr C: E: /extensive /n *.ppt /n *.pptx

Note that the source and destination drives must be different. After you’ve entered, Microsoft automatically creates a recovery folder on the destination drive.

Step 3. Now, enter Y to start the recovery operation. This may take some time, depending on the size of your source drive and your recovered files will be saved on the destination drive.

Way 3. Recover PPT, PPTX Files from Temp Folder

Another way to get back PPT and PPTX files that you haven't saved is to use the temporary files folder. This temporary area in Windows is where files from different programs can be saved.

Step 1. Press Win + R and type in %temp% in the Run prompt.

Step 2. Once you run the command, the folder window will open in File Explorer. To narrow down your search options, you can filter through the results by using the following extensions – *.pptx, *.ppt, ppt*.tmp.

Step 3. If the presentation is located within the temporary files folder, it should show up in the results and it’ll be possible to recover it.

Way 4. Recovering PPT, PPTX Files with Auto-Recovery

PowerPoint has tools that can help you get back files that you have lost or not saved yet. Since 2010, all versions have had both the Auto Recovery and Recover Unsaved Presentations options. The first one automatically saves the file you're working on at set times. Both of these tools help the user make sure they have a place where they can get back lost files.

When you work on a PPT or PPTX file and don't save it yet, PowerPoint makes a temporary folder to save it. Your file might be in the Auto-Recover File Location, which you can find. But make sure that the Auto-Recover information option is turned on before you can use this tool.

Step 1. To check AutoRecover on Windows: Open File > Options > Save > Save Presentations > Save Auto-Recover info.

Tip: If PowerPoint or your system crashes while you’re working or before you have the chance to check a saved version, you can go to: Open File > Info > Manage Versions > Recover Unsaved Presentations.

Way 5. Recover unsaved PowerPoint (PPT, PPTX) Files with data recovery tool

If you lose your unsaved PowerPoint files because of a system crash, PC problems, or a disk data wipe, you should use a data recovery tool as your first option. This is because you are likely to lose more files than just your PPT files in these situations. Yes, data recovery tools can get back your lost files as soon as possible. But if you do more work after the fact, you might overwrite some data, which will make recovery tools less useful.

AOMEI FastRecovery can get back PPT and PPTX files and other files in an easy-to-use interface without having to go through a lot of steps. It doesn't require you to find and restore the target files at the same time as the built-in tool does; it can quickly scan and find the files you want to restore.

It works with all versions of Windows and makes it easy to get back lost files from SSDs, HDDs, SD cards, USBs, and more.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI FastRecovery. Choose the exact partition or disk where your data lost and click Scan.

Step 2. Then, the recovery tool start to scan and search. lt will execute the “Quickly Scan" first for finding your deleted data fast, and then execute the “Deep Scan" for searching other lost data.

Step 3. Once the scan is completed, all deleted files, recycle bins and other missing files will be displayed. Please select the file you would like to recover and then click "Recover".

Step 4. Then, select a folder path to save your recovered files.

Step 5. Wait patiently for this process of recovering ends.

To sum up

To recover unsaved PowerPoint, we offer you 5 solutions that can help you save your lost data. We suggest you don't do other operations when you find your PPT document disappears but it's unsaved. Normally, Microsoft Office has automatic save when you're using it. So, you can try the PPT tool first. If it's not working, AOMEI FastRecovery will help you. This powerful tool can quickly retrieve lost files from hard disks and portable devices, you can trust this tool to avoid data loss in most spots.