Fix: How to Recover an Unsaved Word Document

Recovering Lost Documents

Whether you closed without saving or Word crashed, there are several ways to get your work back.

Étape par étape

Method 1: Document Recovery Pane

1. Reopen Word after a crash
2. The Document Recovery pane should appear on the left
3. Click the document you want to recover
4. Save it immediately with Ctrl+S

Method 2: Recover Unsaved Documents

1. Open Word
2. Go to File > Info > Manage Document
3. Click Recover Unsaved Documents
4. A folder opens showing AutoRecover files (.asd files)
5. Open the one with the most recent timestamp
6. Save it as a .docx immediately

Method 3: Check AutoRecover Location Manually

1. Press Windows + R
2. Type %appdata%\Microsoft\Word and press Enter
3. Look for files starting with ~ or ending in .asd
4. Also check: %localappdata%\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles
5. Open any recovery files found and save them

Method 4: Check Temporary Files

1. Press Windows + R
2. Type %temp% and press Enter
3. Sort by date modified and look for .docx or .tmp files from when you were working
4. Try opening them in Word

Method 5: Check File History (Windows)

1. Open File Explorer to the folder where you normally save
2. Right-click in the folder > Properties > Previous Versions
3. If File History is enabled, previous versions may be available

Method 6: OneDrive Version History

If you were saving to OneDrive:

1. Go to OneDrive.com
2. Right-click the file > Version history
3. Browse and restore a previous version

Prévention Setup

1. Go to File > Options > Save
2. Set AutoRecover interval to 5 minutes
3. Check Keep the last AutoRecovered version if I close without saving
4. Enable AutoSave for OneDrive/SharePoint files