Need to recover unsaved Word document in Windows 10

As one of the office productivity applications included in Microsoft Office, Microsoft Word (or simply Word) is a word processor published by Microsoft. Nowadays, Word is closely related to our daily life. Usually you can use it to create a variety of documents like meeting minutes, diaries, letters, and reports, etc.

Everything went fine until you accidentally closed or deleted a Word document without saving its content. Or your computer was accidentally shut down when you were editing documents. Another risk is that the Word or system crashed unexpectedly. All your efforts were in vain as you had no time to save these documents.

If you have already backed up Word documents, you can restore them in time. However, many users didn’t perform backups for various reasons. So, how to recover unsaved Word document in Windows 10? The answers are in the below.

Top 3 ways to recover unsaved Word document

This section focuses on how to recover unsaved Word document in Windows 7/8/10. Take a close look at these methods and then choose the one that works best for you. Do not write any new data on the hard drive once the document is lost because this may greatly reduce your chances to recover the document.

Solution 1. Recover unsaved Word document from recent changes

Word will create backup copies or auto-save files when you are editing a document. Thus, you can try opening the document again. Then a list of Available Files will be shown in the Document Recovery pane. You can choose the unsaved file from the list and then recover it.

Solution 2. Retrieve unsaved Word document from AutoRecover files

If you can’t open the document or you don’t see any recoverable file when you open it, please try the second method.

For Word 2019, 2016 & 2013 users

Step 1. Go to the File menu. Click Open and Recent Documents subsequently.

Step 2. Scroll down to the end to click Recover Unsaved Documents.

Step 3. Choose the one you are looking for. Double-click it to open and Save it.

For Word 2010 users

Step 1.Go to File menu and then click Recent.

Step 2. Scroll down to choose Recover Unsaved Documents.

Step 3. Select the unsaved document from the list. Double-click it to open and Save it.

For Word 2007 users

Step 1. Click the Microsoft Office button to go to the Word Options.

Step 2. Click Save in the Navigation Pane.

Step 3. Note the path in the AutoRecover file location box. Click Cancel and then close Word.

Step 4. Open the folder that you have noted earlier and look for the documents end with .asd.

Step 5. Find the document you need. Double-click it to open and Save it.

For Word 2003 & 2002 users

Step 1. Go to Tools menu and then click Options.

Step 2. Choose File Locations. Double-click AutoRecover files. Note the path. Click Cancel and then close it.

Step 3. Locate the AutoRecover File Location and look for the documents end with .asd.

Step 4. Once you find the unsaved document, double-click it to open and Save it.

Solution 3. Restore unsaved Word document via Recoverit Pro

If the previous solutions don’t work, you may need a data recovery tool. To perform an unsaved Word document recovery easily, Recoverit Pro is highly recommended. It enables users to recover lost files from all data loss scenarios in Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP. All file types can be retrieved including documents, photos, videos and other files. Let’s see how it works.

Step 1. Install and open Recoverit Pro. Select Deleted Files Recovery from the list.

Step 2. Select the location where your unsaved document lost for scanning. Then click Start.

Step 3. Now, the program will start a quick scan. If you can’t find the unsaved document after it completed, click All-Around Recovery to get a deep scan.

Step 4. Simply select the Word document you want to restore and then click Recover.

Tips: You could find the unsaved document easily by the classification selection: File modified date.

Develop a good habit of backing up

Backing up documents regularly is a good habit to prevent data loss. Many users fail to do so because they lack the technical expertise or utility to backup documents properly. Luckily! AOMEI Backupper Standard, the best free backup utility, comes to help.

This freeware enables you to create image backups for the system, disk, partition or even selective files. By using it, you can backup documents to external/internal hard drives, network, NAS devices and cloud drives. To save disk space, this utility offers you incremental and differential backup. Besides, you are allowed to set up an auto backup based on daily, weekly or monthly.

This freeware works well when you need to restore backup images. Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP are supported. Best of all, the user-friendly interface and simple steps make your operations effortlessly. Why not download it and give it a try?

Verdict

How to recover unsaved Word document in Windows 10? Three practical solutions are described here. With a document backup at hand, you won’t worry about data loss anymore! It is recommended to backup your documents with AOMEI Backupper Standard. Its Professional edition allows you to create a Windows 7 backup encryption. You can upgrade to the advanced version, if the need arises.