What should I do? Word does not open the saved file. Recovering a damaged Word file. Manually restoring a file backup via the autosave folder

The lights were turned off, the cord got caught, the computer suddenly rebooted, or maybe even completely... the entire system crashed... And you still haven’t saved the document you worked on for half a day? Don't despair in advance. You can restore the file. Especially if the loss is caused by a minor accident, and the computer continues to work as before.

It's better to start with the simplest. It is often possible to recover data quickly and completely using only the built-in Word resources. Looking ahead, let's say that even when none of them worked, and the data could not be recovered, the probability of restoring a document using third-party programs still remains high.

Automatic recovery

So, what can you do to get back the contents of an unsaved file using Word alone?

Firstly, this text editor has the function automatic recovery document. After any system failure or, say, a power outage, after which Windows boots from scratch, the Word program itself offers to return unsaved data and save the documents that it managed to recover. It might look like this:

Important to remember that the user has the opportunity to take advantage of the results of automatic file recovery only the first time the text editor is launched after a forced reboot. If you do not immediately save the necessary documents, close and open the program again, you will not be offered to save the automatically created backup copies again. Therefore, it is better to decide the first time exactly what recovered documents you need and not miss the chance to return them.

Note that the AutoSave feature in Word is always turned on by default. Backups when working in the editor occur every 10 minutes. Sometimes it is advisable to reduce the interval between backups. To do this, if you are working in Word 2003, use the "Options" item in the "Tools" menu. In the window that opens, go to the “Saving” tab and change the value to the one you need. This will not affect the speed of the computer in any way.

When working in Word 2007, the autosave frequency changes as follows: click on the colored round icon with the editor’s logo, select “Save As” in the list that opens, then at the very bottom of the window that appears, click on “Save a copy of the document.” Now click “Options” and on the “Save” tab change the frequency of backups. Click “OK” and you’re done!

In Word 2010, this parameter can be changed through the “File” - “Options” menu. In the window that opens, click on “Save” and in the next window we directly change the interval to the required one. And again - “OK”!

If you just didn't save Word document Before closing it, you can try to force it open again. The main thing is to take into account an important feature of this recovery method: it will not work if you create new file, add text to it and save the document. The algorithm must be strictly as follows:

• Create a new file and open a blank sheet
• In the “File” menu, select “Open”
• In the pop-up window, select the “Open and Repair” command.

Let us immediately warn you that the effectiveness this method is extremely low, and in most cases nothing happens to a blank page of a new document. However, trying is not torture...

Find source file

Even though you didn't save the document, the original doc or docx file may still remain on the system. You can find it using the following step-by-step instructions. First you should run a search on the file. If you're on Windows 10, do this using the Start panel. In Windows 2008, just press WIN+W.

IN search bar Enter the title of the document under which, most likely, it could be saved automatically.

Windows will present you with a list of files with matching keywords In the title. If you find the document you need among them, open and view the contents of the file.

Of course, this is a simple, but not at all ideal way to get data back. Chances that the original file will remain on the system after critical error, not big...

Restoring from a backup folder

As we already mentioned, Word automatically backs up your documents. If you have not changed the settings, when working with text document this happens every 10 minutes. All copies are temporarily placed in a special backup folder. The folder is hidden, and its contents can only be checked manually.

So, go to the menu “File” - “Options”.

In the window that opens, look for the “Save” item and then – the line “Directory with auto-saves” (backup copies of documents are stored in it). Now you need to copy the directory path and go to the folder using it. Here you can find latest version unsaved file.

In Word 2010, this folder might look something like this:

You can also try an alternative method from the same series. We use the menu “File” - “Information”.

If Version Control shows "No previous versions document", click on the "Version Control" icon, and then - "Recover Unsaved Documents".

After which you should see a folder containing a list of documents available for opening in a text editor. This method is very relevant for those who, for some reason, had autosave disabled earlier (have you corrected this mistake now?). We also note that in this way you can restore a document that you have already worked with for at least some time. And one more thing: unsaved files can remain on the system in .asd format, and only Word 2010 sees it and does not see earlier versions of the editor.

Recovering a document using third-party programs

Specialized programs help to recover lost, including unsaved, files from any device, even in the most difficult situations: after accidentally deleting a file without using the recycle bin, after files have been damaged by a virus, formatted, etc.

As practice shows, damaged images in standard .jpeg and .png formats are the most difficult to recover, but .doc and .docx files are restored successfully in most cases.

• Before starting the recovery process, it is prohibited to copy any new data to the disk. It is best not to perform any actions on the media at all until all necessary information has been recovered from it.
• Do not format (even if Windows system insists).
• It is not recommended to restore documents to their previous storage location, since the new file may overwrite unrecovered documents.

When recovering MS Office documents that you did not have time to save, we recommend using programs that support the most powerful modern data recovery algorithms, such as RS Partition Recovery or RS Office Recovery.

Install the selected program and start scanning the disk. All files available for recovery will be displayed in a separate window. On the drive where Windows is installed (usually the C:\ drive), find the “Temp” folder - in this folder the system stores all the temporary files it creates. This is where the file that you worked with but did not have time to save should be located. You can view the contents of each file and save the necessary documents.

Read how to recover a “.doc” or “.docx” document if it does not open, is deleted, or was closed without saving. Let's look at both the tools built into Word and third party programs for data recovery. Have you encountered an error opening DOC or DOCX Word files? Or even the complete loss of an entire document after a huge amount of work done on its creation?

We've all experienced this in the past, if you haven't learned this hard lesson yet, back up your computer files regularly. There are many free or inexpensive solutions that will protect you from similar problems in the future. Do yourself a favor and set up a backup immediately after restoring your documents.

At the moment, we have several ways to return a lost or damaged file.

Recovering text from a damaged Word document

If your document is damaged, you may receive an error message:

“Word has an error when trying to open the file.
Try the following:
* Check document and disk access permissions.
* Check if there is enough memory and disk space.
*Open the file using a backup converter."

If you have access rights to the file, free enough random access memory and the computer's processor is not fully loaded, you can use Word's built-in recovery function and get part of the document text back.

Open Word, then click File – Open.

Click Review to continue.

Navigate to the damaged file and select it. From the file type drop-down list, select "Recover text from any file".

Click Open and, with luck, Word will restore your text.

In this case, nothing can be guaranteed. In some cases, the file may be damaged beyond repair, or even if the text is repaired, you will lose formatting.

Forced repair of a damaged file in Microsoft Word

If the previous method doesn't work, Word can try to force a fix for the file. Click on menu File, then click Open.

In the dialog box Opening a file highlight your damaged file.

Click on the arrow on the button Open, then specify Open and fix.

Recovering a lost Word document

If you can't even find the file, backing up the files that Word saves may help. Here we will demonstrate how to find backup files in Microsoft Word 2016. For instructions for earlier versions of Word, see your Microsoft documentation.

After launch Word 2016 click File – Open.

Click Review to continue.

Then go to the folder where you last saved the missing file. In the drop-down list of file types, specify All files. Backup names usually start with "Backup copy", followed by the name of the lost file. Select the backup file and click Open.

If you are unable to find a backup copy of the file using the described method, search for the extension WBK (Word Backup files).

The file name may not be familiar to you because it was automatically generated by Word. Therefore, open all found wbk files one by one until you find the desired document. Save the document after detection in DOCX format, as the temporary file may be deleted by the system.

Search and restore temporary autosave files

If you haven't found backup copy in the document folder, you can check the files automatic saving, which are created every 10 minutes while working with any Word document. They can be located in different places, depending on the version operating system and Microsoft Office.

1. Before Windows Vista:
   “C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Microsoft\Word”
   “C:\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Temp”
2. On Windows 7 and Vista the files are located:
   “C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Word”
   “C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Temp”
3. On Windows 10 I found the files here:
   “C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word”

In the examples below, the characters “xxxx” replace numbers:

• The Word document will look like this:
• The temporary document will look like this: ~wrfxxxx.tmp
• The automatic recovery file will look like wraxxxx.tmp or will it have a name "Automatic saving" with ASD extension.
• The backup copy of the saved file has the extension WBK.

If you cannot find the folders in which temporary files, automatic save files, or the document itself are stored, use Windows Search. You can also use our programs to search and recover documents deleted by mistake after Windows reinstallation, disk formatting. If you cannot restore a file to its storage location, analyze the entire disk and check the folders in which temporary backup files and automatic save files are stored.

Instructions

Find backups of files that may have been created by Word. Click the Start button on your desktop, then select Search. Type *.WBK in the search field, press Enter and view the results of the found files.

Use the AutoSave feature in Word. Open the "File" menu and select the "Open" function. Find the file you want to restore in the folder that appears, and if you succeed, click on the “Open and Restore” button.

Try looking for files that may have been left on your hard drive during autosave in a different location or in a different format. Click the Start button on your desktop and select Search. Type *.ASD in the search bar, press Enter and scroll down the list of results found.

Find files that may have been saved as temporary. Through the Start menu and using the Search function, look for documents with the *.TMP mask. This is a temporary file format that can be opened using an appropriate text editor program.

Go to the Trash and see if there are any files there that can be deleted by the system. To do this, click on the “Trash” icon on your desktop. Select View and Arrange Icons. Select the By Date option to quickly find any files that may have been posted here over the next few days.

Helpful advice

IN Microsoft application In Word, make sure that AutoSave is turned on and working properly to prevent documents from being lost if the program closes unexpectedly. To do this, go to “Options” and select the “Save” tab. Specify the time intervals at which documents will be automatically saved. You can also select the default folder where archived copies will be sent.

Often, when a document has already been signed, it is necessary to correct an annoying typo or add a missing letter. This must be done in order not to spoil the image of yourself for those to whom a scanned copy of the document is sent. If the document must be sent in printed form, corrections are not possible, but if you have to send a scanned copy of it, you can always correct errors in the text.

Instructions

Open the sheet you want to fix in the Paint editor. If the paper turns out not white but slightly dark, use Microsoft editor in order to highlight the background, then open it in Paint.

Locate the location of the typo or missing character. Use an eraser to erase the unnecessary letter. Make sure that the white mark that remains after the eraser does not stand out against the general background.

Use the copy tool. Using this tool, circle the letter that needs to be replaced in place of the erased one. Copy it and carefully paste it into the place you cleaned with the eraser. Make sure that the height of the letter is at the same level as the height of nearby ones, and the distance to other letters is equal.

Repeat the previous step until you have completely corrected the desired piece of text. After that, check that the color of the letters you inserted matches the color of the others that you did not touch. If you scanned in good resolution, there shouldn't be any problems with this. Reduce the document size by two to three times and save it as a .jpg file.

In order to hide the traces of adjustment as much as possible, use JPGtoPDF converter. Convert the image to a pdf file and send it to the sender.

In the process of transferring data from media to media, long-term storage on a hard drive, or sending files over the Internet, there are frequent cases of loss of information integrity. Archives damaged in this way cannot be opened. in a standard way, and their content becomes unavailable even for viewing.

You will need

• - computer;
• - Internet;
• - Recovery program Toolbox for RAR.

Instructions

Recovery utility Toolbox for RAR was created specifically to solve such problems. Download the distribution from the Internet and install the Recovery Toolbox for RAR application. Launch the program by double-clicking on the Recovery Toolbox shortcut. Don't forget that something like this software must be installed to the system local disk hard drive.

Follow the instructions of the Archive Recovery Wizard. First of all, tell the program the file you want to restore. Click the Next button and the program will begin checking the damaged archive. This procedure can take quite a long time, which depends on the size of the information being restored and the speed of the computer itself.

After analysis, the program will display a list of files that were found in the archive. The presentation is very similar to Explorer and you can easily figure it out. In addition, each file is marked with a special colored icon, indicating with what degree of probability it will be possible to recover the damaged file. You can sort all lists in the program to make it easier to view information.

Check the boxes indicating the files you want to restore. Specify a folder to store files after the recovery procedure and click Next. Wait for the program to report on the completion of the task. The utility is equally effective for archive files of any compression level, as well as for password-protected archives. The utility can also work with files over the network and successfully restores the contents of archives of any size. In general, we can say that installing damaged files on a computer is not so difficult; the main thing is to know the algorithms for performing a particular operation.

Often the user personal computer facing problems with unreadable files. This may be due to incorrect completion or saving of documents, violation file system hard drive, etc. It is quite difficult to restore such files, but there is always a chance of a successful outcome in the current situation.

Let's look at 11 ways to recover an unsaved Word document, because not saving a document is perhaps the most annoying mistake when working. Time spent creating and writing, but the document is lost.

Read the article to the end and find out what you need to do and in what cases you can restore a Word document.

An unsaved document, which can be more offensive after several hours of work. Thinks you are the one who is insured because you constantly use “Ctrl + S”?

By the way, every Word user should know how to return an unsaved document. This can happen for several reasons:

• power surge or power outage;
• accidental closing of a document without saving (the “no” button was pressed when the program asked to save);
• Word malfunctions and various messages appear about the impossibility of saving the document;
• The folder to save the document does not appear;
• presence of viruses in the system;
• process blocking Word works antivirus program.

Don't panic and make unnecessary mistakes. There are several ways to correct the situation.

Automatic file recovery

All MS Office packages provide an automatic file recovery function when the program is closed unexpectedly, which is designed specifically for cases when unsaved Word documents need to be resuscitated.

When you reopen the document, the program will offer to restore open files at the time of its emergency closure. The documents will be located in a list on the left side of the screen in the “Document Recovery” panel.

In addition to the title, the version of the document is indicated. To restore a document, you need:

• open the latest autosaved version from the “Available Files” list with a mouse click;
• After opening the file, you can continue working or save the file in the usual way.

The Document Recovery window opens only once after a failure. It is not recommended to close this panel without viewing the list of documents located there.

Open earlier versions open document can be done as follows:

• select the “File” section in the menu ribbon;
• open the “Information” item;
• in the window that opens, select the desired action in the “Versions” or “Document Management” sections.

How to recover an unsaved Word document

There are cases when, after working on a document, the user did not save the data before closing the document, or a failure occurred and the document was closed without saving.

In this case, you can use the built-in Word function, automatic saving of a document and, at the same time, let’s see how to find unsaved documents in Word.

The settings for the AutoSave function are located:

• open the “Saving Documents” window by performing the following chain of actions “File” → “Options” → “Save”;
• check the presence of a daw in the “Auto-save” item (there should be);
• set the autosave interval value - the lower the value, the more often the program will automatically save the document.

If you work on a document for 15 minutes, and the autosave option is set to 10 minutes, then the actions performed by the user in the last 5 minutes will not be saved.

Unsaved documents are stored in a special folder, the path to which is indicated in the line “Data directory for autorecovery”.

Let's look at 2 ways to return unsaved text in Word from the Data Catalog for autorecovery, which is suitable for all versions of Word (2003, 2007, 2010, 2016):

The first way to open an unsaved document is:

• click the “Browse” button next to the line “Data directory for autorecovery”;

The second way to open an unsaved document:

• Use your mouse to select the entire line of the “Data directory for autorecovery” window;
• right-click and select “Copy”;
• open the “Explorer” window (hover the cursor over the “Start” button in the lower left corner of the screen, right-click and select the line “Open Explorer” or “Explorer”);
• clear the address bar (if full)
• paste the copied folder address into the address bar;
• in the window that opens, select the desired file from the list of documents with the .asd extension;
• open the document by double clicking the mouse.

You can read more about the AutoSave function in the article.

The procedure for restoring an unsaved document consists of several simple steps:

1. Open the latest version of the unsaved file in the Word text editor from the “AutoRecovery Data Directory” folder (see procedure above).
2. Save it using the “Save As” function (File → Save As → Enter a document name → Select folder → OK).

How to recover damaged documents

There are several ways to recover damaged Word documents. Depending on whether it is possible to open the document or not, apply different methods file recovery.

Recovering an unsaved file using the command line

The method in question opens documents with damaged add-ins. Recovery algorithm damaged file next:

1. Close the Word test editor;
2. Open the “Run a program” window (Start → Run);
3. Enter the command winword.exe /a;

After starting Word, open the damaged file via (File → Open → selecting a file from the list → Open).

Recover a document by copying text

In this case, let's look at how to restore text in Word by copying from one file to another.

1. Create a blank Word document.
2. Copy all intact parts of the original document.
3. Paste the copied text into a new document.

Copying should be done in parts from one break to another, without including them in a new document. Also exclude the last characters of the paragraph.

Forced file recovery

If the damaged file cannot be opened in the usual way, you can resort to forcibly restoring the Word document.

Perform the following algorithm of actions:

1. Open Word program;
2. Click the “Browse” button and find the damaged file;
3. Click on the found file with the mouse;
4. Click on the arrow on the right side of the “Open” button;
5. From the list that opens, select the line “Open and restore”.

Recovering a damaged document using a converter

When you can't open an unsaved document, you need to use Word's built-in "Recover Text from Any File" feature.

When restoring files in this way, only text without formatting will be restored. Unfortunately, all other objects (tables, graphs, images and other data) will also not be restored.

Opening algorithm Word file via convector:

1. following the chain File → Open, open the “Open Document” window;
2. in the file type field, select the “Recover text from any file” function;
3. select the damaged file to open;
4. Click the “OK” button.

Word saves the last file type used, so you need to change the file type to .docx after opening damaged files.

How to Recover Deleted Word Documents

After accidentally deleting files previously saved on your computer, you need to look in the Recycle Bin to restore them:

1. Open the “Trash” shortcut by double-clicking.
2. From the list, select the deleted file to recover and right-click on it;
3. Select the line “Restore”.
4. The deleted file will be restored to its original location where it was originally saved.

If the cart has been emptied, deleted files It won’t be possible to restore using this method, but there is still a solution.

How to recover a deleted document in Word? You can resort to autosave files, which were discussed above.

How to recover files using special programs

Recovery various types files not found in the Recycle Bin or AutoSave Folder exist special programs for file recovery, for example, Hetman Office Recovery.

The programs have a wide range of capabilities for recovering deleted and damaged files after program failures, disk formatting, and virus attacks.

In addition to paid products, it is possible to download a trial or free version programs with limited functions.

After installing the program on your computer, the algorithm for recovering deleted or damaged documents is performed according to step by step instructions programs.

Along with installed programs, you can use the online service on the website.

Recovering from a Word Backup

Before starting work, you need to make sure that the “always create a backup copy” option is enabled on your computer. For this:

• following the chain File → Options, open the “Word Options” window;
• select “Advanced”;
• Check the box “Always create a backup copy”.

Backups are usually saved in the same folders and have a .wdk extension.

If the document is not found in the previous folder, you need to enable the search for the file through the “Start” command and enter “.wdk” in the “Find” line. Then open all the found documents one by one.

The methods described in the article should, with a 95% guarantee, solve your problem and answer the question of how to open an unsaved Word document. In most cases, if the program's AutoSave Text function is correctly configured, it is very easy to recover most of the text.

Surely many users Microsoft Word faced the following problem: you are typing a calm text, editing it, formatting it, carrying out a number of necessary manipulations, when suddenly the program gives an error, the computer freezes, reboots, or the light simply turns off. What to do if you forgot to save the file in a timely manner, how to recover a Word document if you did not save it?

There are at least two ways in which you can recover an unsaved Word document. They both come down to standard features the program itself and the Windows OS as a whole. However, it is much better to prevent such unpleasant situations than to deal with their consequences, and for this you need to configure the autosave function in the program for a minimum period of time.

So, if you are the victim of a system crash, a program error, or a sudden shutdown of your work machine, don't panic. Microsoft Word is a smart enough program that it automatically creates backup copies of the document you are working on. The time interval at which this happens depends on the autosave parameters set in the program.

In any case, for whatever reason Word shuts down, when you reopen it, the text editor will offer to restore the last backup copy of the document from a folder on the system drive.

1. Launch Microsoft Word.

2. A window will appear on the left "Document recovery", in which one or more backup copies of “emergency” closed documents will be presented.

3. Based on the date and time indicated in the bottom line (below the file name), select the most recent version of the document you need to recover.

4. The document you selected will open in a new window, save it again to a convenient location on your hard drive to continue working. Window "Document recovery" V this file It will be closed.

Note: It is likely that the document will not be completely restored. As mentioned above, the frequency of creating a backup copy depends on the autosave settings. If the time period is minimal (1 minute) - great, it means you will lose nothing or practically nothing. If it takes 10 minutes or even more, plus you also type quickly, you will have to retype a certain part of the text. But this is much better than nothing, wouldn’t you agree?

After you save a backup copy of your document, the file you opened first can be closed.

Manually restoring a file backup via the autosave folder

As mentioned above, smart Microsoft Word automatically creates backup copies of documents after a certain period of time. The default is 10 minutes, but you can change this setting to reduce the interval to one minute.

In some cases, Word does not offer to restore a backup copy of an unsaved document when you reopen the program. The only solution in this situation is to independently find the folder in which the document is backed up. Read below for information on how to find this folder.

1. Open MS Word and go to menu "File".

2. Select a section "Options", and then point "Preservation".

3. Here you can view all autosave parameters, including not only the time interval for creating and updating a backup copy, but also the path to the folder in which this copy is saved ( "Data directory for autorecovery")

4. Remember, or better yet, copy this path, open the system "Conductor" and paste it into the address bar. Click "ENTER".

5. A folder will open, which may contain quite a lot of files, so it is better to organize them by date, from newest to oldest.

Note: A backup copy of the file can be stored at the specified path in a separate folder named the same as the file itself, but with characters instead of spaces.

6. Open a file that matches the name, date and time, select in the window "Document recovery" the last saved version of the required document and save it again.

The methods described above are applicable for unsaved documents, which were closed along with the program for a number of not very pleasant reasons. If the program simply freezes, does not respond to any of your actions, and you need to save this document, use our instructions.

That's all, now you know how to recover a lost Word document. We wish you productive and trouble-free work in this text editor.