How Can I Recover Microsoft Word Documents That Were Not Backed up?

Recovering a Word Document Automatically
1. Launch Microsoft Word if you have just restarted the computer after a crash. Word will look for any unsaved documents that can be recovered automatically. These files will be shown in the 'Document Recovery' pane on the left side of the screen when Word detects unsaved work in the AutoRecover folder.
2. Double-click the document that you would like to recover. The saved document will appear in the main area of the Word window. If this is the only document listed in the Document Recovery pane, click the 'Close' button.
3. Save the document immediately to avoid losing further work.
Recovering a Word Document Manually
4. Open Microsoft Word, and click the Office logo in the upper-left corner of the screen. Click the 'Word Options' button.
5. Click the 'Save' link on the left side of the window. Confirm that the box labeled 'Save AutoRecover information' has a check in it; Word does not save your progress automatically unless this box is checked.
6. Use the mouse pointer to highlight all of the text in the 'AutoRecover file location' box, e.g. 'C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\.' Right-click the highlighted text and click 'Copy.' This folder is the location where Microsoft Word saves the AutoRecover files for the documents that are in progress.
7. Press the Windows logo and 'R' keys simultaneously to display the 'Run' dialog box. Right click inside the box and click 'Paste,' then press 'Enter.' Note that if you were using Microsoft Word under a different Windows user name, you should substitute that user name for the one currently listed (such as 'Administrator' in the previous example' before pressing 'Enter.' This opens a Windows Explorer window in the folder where the Word AutoRecover files are stored.
8. Look for a file with a name similar to 'AutoRecovery save of Document1.' If you find one, return to the open Word window, then click the Office logo and 'Open.'
9. Use the folder tree to browse to the same folder as in the open Windows Explorer window, then click the drop-down menu on the right side of the window and change the file type from 'All Word Documents' to 'Recover Text from Any File.'
10. Click the AutoRecover file, then click the down-facing arrow next to the 'Open' button and select 'Open and Repair.' All of the text that Word can recover will be displayed in the main Word window.