When it comes to creating documents or files, we think of a word processor. By Word processor, I don’t mean a typewriter but a word processing software program. I think the first name that comes on everyone’s mind is Microsoft Word. Some of us are still unaware of this software. Microsoft Word or simply Word is the most popular word processing software program used for creating, storing, and printing typed documents. You can create multiple types of files such a word files (.doc & .docx), text files (.txt), rich text files (.rtf), HTML files (.htm & .HTML). Besides, have you ever lost your Word files accidentally and had no idea how to recover them? Well, you have come to the right place. In this article, you will find all the steps to recover your deleted Word files in Windows 10.
Now, there might be various reasons for losing your important Word files. Let’s discuss the solution for each reason as to why you lost your Word files.
Reason 1: Closing the Microsoft Word Without Saving the Document
Suppose you have worked on a very important document, and you closed the Word app without saving the document. Since this is a common reason, Word has created a built-in Windows tool that has made it easy for you to recover your unsaved Word documents.
- All you have to do is click on the File tab, which is located at the upper left.
- Under Manage Document, select Recover Unsaved Documents.
- Search for your missing file in the dialog box located at the upper right.
- Open the recovered Word file and click Save As.
Reason 2: Old Files May Get Lost After Upgrading PC
You have finally upgraded your PC to Windows 10, but you cannot locate your old files. Here are some of the steps to help you locate your lost files:
- Select the Start tab and then click on the Settings Now, press the Accounts option, and then select the Sync your settings option.
- If the app says that you are logged on with a temporary profile, then restart your PC and sign in again. This will remove your temporary account, and you will find your old files again.
- Restart your PC a few times if you cannot find your old files at the first try.
If you still do not find your old files after signing out from the temporary account, then the files might have been hidden from the view.
- In the Search box on the taskbar type File Explorer options.
- Then, select the View You will find Show hidden files, folders, and drives option under Show hidden files and folders.
- Click on that option and search for the old files in the dialogue box using (asterisk) *.doc.
Here is the next tip if you cannot find your files using the steps mentioned above. You will need to restore them from backup.
- Select Start and go to Settings.
- Click on the Update and Security option under which you will find the Backup Select Backup and Restore (Windows 7) after clicking the Backup.
- Select Restore my files option and follow the instructions to restore your files.
Word Hack for you: Create a new file with the same name and file type as your old file. Select Properties and then click on the Previous Versions tab. Then choose the file version to restore.
Also read: 8 Simple Ways to Reset Your Windows 10 Forgotten Password
Reason 3: Creating a New Microsoft Account After Upgrading
Did you create a new Microsoft account after upgrading to Windows 10 from Windows 7? If yes, then your files may have been located in a disabled administrator account. As a consequence of this, you will have to enable that account and sign in again.
- Type Computer Management in the search box then select the Computer Management
- Select Local Users and Groups menu then click on Users
- If you see a down arrow on the user named Administrator, then it has been disabled.
- Enable this account by double-clicking the Administration icon to open the Properties dialog box.
- Remove the check sign from the account is a disabled checkbox.
- Select the Apply option to enable the account.
- Lastly, sign out and sign in to the Administrator account again.
Reason 4: Typing Shift+Delete Unintentionally
Imagine a scenario of hitting Shift+Delete shortcut unintentionally. The file that you have worked day and night is *BOOM* gone! It sounds like a nightmare, doesn’t it? I hope it doesn’t happen to any of us but, in case it happens then here are the steps to recover your deleted file from three different ways:
Recover Your Files From the Backup Copy Option
If you have selected the Always create backup copy option beforehand, then Word will create backup files of your document automatically under .wbk file name extension. However, the .wbk backup file can be difficult to locate. Follow the steps below to locate the backup file in a snap.
- Click on the File tab and then select
- Press the Save You will find AutoRecover File location. Note the location of the autosave directory.
- You can head to the autosave directory and open the .wbk backup file.
Recover Your Files From Your OneDrive Account
If you are a user of OneDrive, then you can save files to your OneDrive account. You can select the AutoSave feature of the main Word window to save your files automatically, even if you make any changes. The good news is OneDrive has a Recycle Bin too. That means you can recover your deleted word files by following just a few steps:
- Sign in on your OneDrive account.
- Select the Recycle Bin option in the navigation panel on the left.
- Select the deleted file and select the Restore
- Recover your files from Recycle Bin
- Open the Recycle Bin on your desktop.
- Search for your deleted file.
- Note the original location of your deleted file.
- Restore the deleted document. You can find it in its original location.
- You can also select the Quick Access option to find your deleted file in the Recent Files.
Reason 5: Files Get Deleted After Microsoft Word Crashes
It may not always be your fault for losing files. Sometimes the files get deleted unexpectedly if your system goes down or Microsoft Word crashes. On the contrary, you can still recover your deleted word files in Windows 10 if you follow these steps. But, remember, you need to search the files immediately because the other files can take their disk space.
- Reopen Microsoft Word as soon as your system comes back online. The program might have already recovered your unsaved Word files.
- If not, then click on the File; Select Option and then go to Save option. Copy the AutoRecover File Location.
- Open the folder with your file’s name and copy the .asd file, which has the most recent modification time and date.
- Open the Microsoft Word again and click on the File Select the Open option under which you will find the Recover Unsaved Document option.
- Paste the copied file into the popped up folder. Open the file to recover it.
Conclusion
These are all the methods to recover your deleted files in Windows 10.
Tried all these methods and still couldn’t recover your deleted Word files in Windows 10? In this case, you will need the help of a professional. By professional, I mean to say the data recovery software. This can be your only hope. Data recovery software tools such as Acronis Revive, Disk Drill, Stellar Recovery, and Prosoft Engineering’s Data Recovery can help you get your deleted files back quickly. Just follow some easy steps, and yoo-hoo, your files are back!
Thanks for reading our article.
