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Original poster

Can anyone help lost word document?

30 replies

eosmum · 25/02/2019 17:00

Dd has an important assignment due tonight she was working on it and took a break. It’s gone, not in her recent docs not in recover unsaved docs. She’s been working on it for days and saved it loads of times but it’s just gone. Advanced search brings up nothing. Any ideas?

OP posts:
TwoIsQuiteEnoughThankYou · 25/02/2019 17:04

Was it accidentally being saved on a USB drive which has been removed?

Original poster
eosmum · 25/02/2019 17:22

No it hasn’t unfortunately. I’m sick of telling the to put everything on a stick but they never do😡

OP posts:
Crinkle77 · 25/02/2019 17:24

It can't have just gone. Was she working from an e-mail attachment? Sometimes if you open an e-mail attachment and don't save it locally first then any changes won't be saved. Have you tried going in to File, Open and then at the bottom 'recover unsaved documents'? Is there a temporary folder anywhere like a C Drive or scratch drive as it is sometimes known?Have you done a search of the files?

Crinkle77 · 25/02/2019 17:24

Sorry just seen you have tried recover unsaved docs.

LIZS · 25/02/2019 17:24

Does it back up to onedrive or similar?

TheWildRumpyPumpus · 25/02/2019 17:29

Was she logged on as someone else and it’s been saved to their personal folder space? Or vice versa - she’s not logged on as her right now?

Is it the only file that seems to have gone missing?

Or she hasn’t been working on it at all for the last few days and this is a ploy to get out of the homework? (Not that I’d have tried that in my dim and distant youth at all)

HollowTalk · 25/02/2019 17:30

Hold on, I will screenshot something...

HollowTalk · 25/02/2019 17:32

Go to FILE and OPEN and at the bottom of the page it will say RECOVER UNSAVED DOCUMENTS.

HollowTalk · 25/02/2019 17:32

Oh sorry, missed you'd tried that.

HollowTalk · 25/02/2019 17:33

Was it a downloaded document?

Original poster
eosmum · 25/02/2019 17:34

It’s her own laptop so only logged in as her. She is the most reliable girl going so definitely not a ploy😂. I’ll ask her about one drive. It happened her sister earlier in the year and was a precursor to the blue screen of death. Some other bits are gone also but are already submitted.

OP posts:
ApolloandDaphne · 25/02/2019 17:35

Is it sitting open behind something? I often 'lose' word documents that way.

Original poster
eosmum · 25/02/2019 17:35

It was a doc she started from scratch herself. Both Lenovo laptops if that means anything.

OP posts:
Original poster
eosmum · 25/02/2019 17:36

Apollo I’ll ask her. She’s currently sobbing in a corner of the library in college.

OP posts:
ApolloandDaphne · 25/02/2019 17:37

Has she ever actually closed the document rather than just save it? Maybe given it a weird name? Has she tried opening all her documents to see if one of them is the document she needs?

Original poster
eosmum · 25/02/2019 17:38

HollowTalk it was downloaded to start, a template, but then she saved it to her c drive and has been working on it from the c drive she renamed it as well so no confusion with the downloaded template.

OP posts:
ApolloandDaphne · 25/02/2019 17:38

I am actually feeling sick on her behalf. I am currently working on a uni essay and it has prompted me to go and check i have saved the work i have done so far!

Disfordarkchocolate · 25/02/2019 17:40

Is there any distinctive text in the document you can search for?

Original poster
eosmum · 25/02/2019 17:42

Apollo email it to yourself also. She was saving all along and has auto save on as well.

OP posts:
Original poster
eosmum · 25/02/2019 17:43

Chocolate she tried that. No luck unfortunately.

OP posts:
fishonabicycle · 25/02/2019 17:46

Has she done a search of the whole laptop for the 'name.docx'? It is pretty easy to accidentally drag and drop without realising (it's happened at work with various file and directories over the years)

Original poster
eosmum · 25/02/2019 18:07

She’s search for the name on its own and with .doc I’ll ask her to do it .docx

OP posts:
ThunderStorms · 25/02/2019 18:10

Double check trash folder (and restore)

Try 'restore previous versions'

Look in recent documents in case of an accidental name change/ folder move

Look for auto-saved versions

Highfever · 25/02/2019 18:13

Open recent places on the folders screen?

Disfordarkchocolate · 25/02/2019 18:13

I also email myself drafts as I go along now, I once lost a very long report and never found it, it made me cry.