Microsoft Word - HELP HELP! My fie is gone. 5 hours work, like it never existed!!

Asked By carolyn cummins on 17-Oct-09 09:55 PM
Hi,

I'm using Word 2007. Was working on a file, I had saved it along the way, I has several files open and i was going between them. Then it just disappeared!! Gone. I reset the machine, hoping that when it opened up again the autosaved file would be there. other files were there but not this one. The old version of the file was there - the one i had opened originally before i started working on it. I looked for the autosaved files, i found one, it wouldn't open it said it was corrupt. so then i tried to open it in open office because i read that that might work. It opened all right, but it was just one sentence related to the font format. I spent so so long on this document - really under pressure time wise to get this work done - (a thesis!!) (due on Monday!!)

Can anyone help? Have searched all the computer for it. no joy!!! I just don't understand where it is gone, and why it didn't autosave???


Recover or deleted files by

Venkat K replied to carolyn cummins on 18-Oct-09 01:23 AM

downloading the software GetDataBack:

Accidentally deleted your files? GetDataBack Data Recovery can track them down--for a price. It even works with corrupted drives and those not recognized by Windows. This version only recovers files from NTFS drives, but it does offer a search tool for quickly locating a file by its date, name, or size.

You can download the software from here:

http://download.cnet.com/GetDataBack-for-NTFS/3000-2242_4-10061737.html


Thanks,

Jonathan VH replied to carolyn cummins on 18-Oct-09 10:55 AM

This Microsoft KnowledgeBase article should be helpful:

How to recover a lost file in Word 2007 or in Word 2003

The AutoRecover information for word document is saved every 10 minutes by default.

[)ia6l0 iii replied to carolyn cummins on 18-Oct-09 11:16 AM
So unless you have reset your computer after the 10 minutes, you can't retrieve it. and if you happen to work for more than 10 minutes, then it would be auto-saved. 

However, to confirm what i mean, Click the "Office" button and choose "Word Options". and then from the list of options on the left side choose "Save". 

To your right, you can see the "Save AutoRecover Information every zz minutes".  And also you can see the location where the autorecover files are put. Check that location. 

And i am sure you can't just delete the file off the disk, unless you just hit the magical "Shift+ delete" keys looking upwards....

And if you happen to work on the file by opening it from another application like Outlook message, then go back to the message and open the document. It would retrieve the latest with changes. 

And also any other application would just save it to the Temp folder, if you just open it. 

And if you think you did so, scan you computer with small software like "Undelete". It is pretty fast and highly efficient and involves no installation. 
Auto save 2007
Sandra Jain replied to carolyn cummins on 19-Oct-09 03:49 AM
You can download a free utility from my website - http://cbsarge.com that will prompt the user to save their work every X minutes (they decide how often). It is actually part of a suite that includes one for Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

They use almost no system resources and couldn't be any easier to use.

Here are 6 methods that microsoft provides to recover lost files!! Go ahead and hunt your file.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827099/en-us