How to Recover an Unsaved Word Document

How to Recover an Unsaved Word Document

Word crashed, the laptop died, or you clicked Don't Save by mistake - and hours of work seem gone. Don't give up yet. Word keeps temporary copies in several places, and Microsoft's own recovery steps often bring the document back. Work through these in order, and don't create lots of new files or run cleanup tools until you're done, because they can overwrite what you're looking for.

The steps are for Word for Microsoft 365 and recent versions of Word on Windows. Menu names may differ slightly between versions.

Step 1: Reopen Word and Check Document Recovery

If Word or Windows crashed, open Word again first. When Word finds AutoRecover copies, it shows a Document Recovery pane on the left, listing the files it saved. Open each one, check it's the latest, and save it straight away with File > Save As under a new name.

Step 2: Use Recover Unsaved Documents

This is Microsoft's main recovery step for documents that were never saved or were closed without saving:

1. Open Word and go to File > Info.
2. Select Manage Document (it may be called Manage Versions in some versions).
3. Choose Recover Unsaved Documents.
4. A folder of unsaved files opens. Select your document and choose Open.
5. Word shows a bar at the top: select Save As and save it to a safe place.

You can also reach the same list from File > Open: at the bottom of the Recent list, select Recover Unsaved Documents.

Step 3: Search for AutoRecover Files (.asd)

Word's AutoRecover copies end in .asd.

1. Select Start, type .asd and press Enter (or search for it in File Explorer on your C: drive).
2. If you find a file with a name that looks like your document, open Word and go to File > Open > Browse.
3. In the file type box, choose All Files, find the .asd file, right-click it (or select it) and Open.

To see exactly where Word keeps these files on your PC, open File > Options > Save and look at AutoRecover file location. Copy that path into File Explorer's address bar.

Step 4: Look for Backup Copies (.wbk)

If Always create backup copy was turned on in Word's options, Word keeps a backup named "Backup of ..." with the extension .wbk. Select Start, type .wbk and press Enter, then open any file named "Backup of" plus your document's name.

Step 5: Check Version History (OneDrive and SharePoint)

If the document was saved to OneDrive or SharePoint, AutoSave has been saving your changes as you typed.

1. Open the document.
2. Select File > Info > Version History (or select the file name at the top of the window and choose Version History).
3. Open an earlier version and save it as a copy.

This also rescues documents you saved over by mistake.

Step 6: Check the Recycle Bin and Temporary Files

• If you deleted the file, open the Recycle Bin, right-click it and choose Restore.
• Word also creates temporary files that start with ~ (for example ~WRL0001.tmp) in the document's folder or the temp folder. Search for the document's name or ~wr and try opening likely files in Word with All Files selected. This is less reliable, but worth a look if nothing else works.

For deleted files more generally, see a complete guide to recover deleted files in Windows.

Stop It Happening Again

1. Turn on AutoSave by saving your documents to OneDrive or SharePoint. The AutoSave switch at the top left of Word then saves every few seconds.
2. Check AutoRecover: open File > Options > Save and make sure Save AutoRecover information every is ticked (5 minutes or less), and so is Keep the last AutoRecovered version if I close without saving.
3. Press Ctrl + S often. It's still the simplest protection.
4. Back up your PC so that even a dead drive doesn't cost you your documents - see how to back up your Windows 11 PC.

If Word Keeps Crashing

Frequent crashes need fixing too. Install Office updates (File > Account > Update Options > Update Now), and try starting Word in safe mode: hold Ctrl while opening Word, then select Yes. If Word is stable in safe mode, an add-in is the likely cause - turn add-ins off in File > Options > Add-ins.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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See Also:word autorecover recover files