How to Retrieve an Unsaved Word Document

AutoSave and Recovery
1. Restart the computer and Word after the crash. When Word opens, it looks for ASD files and displays them in the Document Recovery Task Pane. To the right of the file name is a status indicator, such as 'Original,' indicating the file is the original based on the last save or 'Recovered' meaning the file is what was saved in the AutoSave or Recovery process.
2. Open the file by clicking its file name in the Document Recovery Task Pane. You can see what was saved. If the version is not what you hoped for, click on another file in the task pane. AutoRecovery is not perfect and you might not get back all the text you typed.
3. Opening several files in the Document Recovery Task Pane to find the file nearest to your last data entry. Save the file by clicking 'Microsoft Office,' then clicking 'Save.' Give the file a name and click 'Save' again in the dialog box.
AutoRecover File Location and Modification
4. Start Word, then click 'Microsoft Office.' Click 'Word Options' in the right corner of the menu.
5. Click 'Save' in the Word Options task panel. In the right task panel, under 'Save Documents,' look at where Word saves AutoRecovery documents by viewing the 'AutoRecover File Location' field. If the 'Save AutoRecover Information Every (X) Minutes' is not checked, your files are being saved to a temporary directory.
6. Change how often files are saved by clicking the up and down arrows in the 'Minutes' field. Click 'OK.'