How to Retrieve an Unsaved Word Document

Have you ever experienced the frustration of closing a Word document without saving it? Don't worry, there are ways to recover those lost files. This guide will walk you through several methods to help you get back an unsaved Word document.

Understanding the Issue

Word documents are held in memory while they are being edited. Once the document is closed, the memory is cleared, making the unsaved content difficult to retrieve from memory. However, Microsoft Word has a backup feature that creates a copy of the file at regular intervals before the save option is used. Additionally, there are temporal files and Windows backup files that you can use to try and recover the lost document.

Options for Recovery

1. Find and Recover the Backup File

Word typically creates backup files with a .wbk extension. If you have the option to always create a backup copy enabled in Word, you can find this file and open it in Word to recover your unsaved document. Here’s how:

Open the folder where you suspect the document is missing and look for files with a .wbk extension. If you can't find it in this folder, search the entire computer by typing .wbk in the Windows Search box.

After finding the desired backup file, open Microsoft Word and go to File rarr; Open. From the browse dialogue, select All Files.

Browse to the location where the backup file is stored and open it.

To enable the backup feature, go to File rarr; Options rarr; Advanced, then scroll down to the Save section and check the box for Always create backup copy.

2. Use Third-Party Data Recovery Tools

If the native backup file method does not work, you can use a third-party data recovery tool. These tools can help recover deleted or corrupted files from storage devices. Here’s a quick guide using Tenorshare 4DDiG as an example:

Install and open Tenorshare 4DDiG. Select the drive where the lost files were. Click on Scan to start the scan process. Tenorshare 4DDiG will analyze the drive to find deleted files. Preview the files to find your unsaved Word document. If found, click on Recover and select the file. Choose a different location to save the recovered file to avoid overwriting the original file and losing it permanently.

3. Alternative Data Recovery Software

For a more straightforward solution, you can use software like Bitware Data Recovery Software. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Launch Bitware Data Recovery Software and select the disk where the Word files are located. Choose the scan mode and select the target file format. Select the file path or time range on the left panel to preview the Word documents. Select the Word document files you want to recover and click on Recover. Save the recovered files to a different location to prevent overwriting the original file.

Note: It's important to avoid making any changes to the storage medium until the files are successfully recovered.

Conclusion

Recovering an unsaved Word document can be challenging, but with the right tools and methods, it is possible. Whether you use the built-in backup feature in Word or rely on third-party data recovery software, you can recover your lost work. Make sure to use these tools carefully to avoid overwriting the files and lose them permanently.