Sos - Last Resort

[Sheryl]

Word 2003

Created doc today, saved it only once then did hours of extensive work and then in my fatiugued state hit the "no" rather than the "yes" button and the save option. Auto recovery option was on, as was automatic backup but the latter I think no use since it comes into play only when changes are saved which is exactly what I didn't do.

Already searched for *.asd, zilch. Search for *.tmp finds ~(docname).tmp but with only 1 kb in it and I'm unable to open it.

I much fear I'm totally screwed here but posting in case there is something more that can be done

Computer hasn't been shut down since this occurred. i did exit and then reopen Word (advice from Microsoft site), hope that didn't cost me anything..

Help!

[rakman]

If you hadn't closed the file, you'd find (from MicroSoft Office Word 2007) ~$<filename>.docx as the backup file.

In your Win Explorer (my computer) Tools --> Folder options... Turn on show hidden and system files, then look for your file.

Sounds like you "properly" closed the file, in which case, the system did what you wanted. When you closed the file, the backup goes away/

With Autosave turned on, it does save periodically. You might try an undelete utility to see if you can find the backup file.

[Sheryl]

If you hadn't closed the file, you'd find (from MicroSoft Office Word 2007) ~$<filename>.docx as the backup file.

In your Win Explorer (my computer) Tools --> Folder options... Turn on show hidden and system files, then look for your file.

Sounds like you "properly" closed the file, in which case, the system did what you wanted. When you closed the file, the backup goes away/

With Autosave turned on, it does save periodically. You might try an undelete utility to see if you can find the backup file.

Yes, id didn't save it and "properly" (but inadvertently) closed it.

I've looked in the file location where autorecover files are stored and also done a search for *.asd with no success. What I am not clear on is:

(1) Are autorecover files deleted once the file is closed by the user 9as opposed to due to a system malfunction)?

(2) Are backup files created in situations other than when yo usave changes to a previously created file? My understanding is not, their purpose is to retain a copy of the unmodifed prior version. So having only once saved the file and never saved any changes to itr theer wouldn't be a backup file, although while the file was still open there would of course have been an autorecover file (which leads me back to Q. 1) ???

I have my folder options set to view hidden files already.

[Sheryl]

While it seems unlikely to me that the ~(docname).tmp file holds much promise given its size (1 kb) i have tried to open it. Get the error message

"Word cannot start the converter mswrd632.wpc"

Tried going to tools and clicking on confirm convertor on, then tried deleting a registry entry that apparently came from a Microsoft update (recommended on a geek site) and then clicking tools --> general -->confirm converter open, still can't open it.

Don't know if it is wirth further pursuing this when it's showing only 1 kb??

[chinook]

try looking on cnet downloads......lots of file recovery software....free as well !!

[steve187]

it seems that on starting word it , Renames each .asd file to <document name>.wbk. In Word 7.0 SR-2 or later, the extension is .wbk. see here - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/107686

another help page is here - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827099

here is a good easy to use recovery program - http://datarecovery.en.softonic.com/, run from a usb stick, and recover to a different harddrive, from the one that may contain the lost file usually 'c'drive

good luck

Edited February 11, 2012 by steve187

[Sheryl]

Thanks but this, like all the other recover utilities I have investiagted, only recovers files deleted by mistake or corruptyed due to system dusruption of some sort.

verified that the autorecover function in Word only works for systemndisruptions. Useless in a situation such as this where the user closed the file in a normal manner.

I've given up and started to redo the work. If I die in the next week it will be from exhaustion

Thanks anyhow to all

[bendejo]

Sorry about this problem.

I've found Word files on my system that begin with a ~ but the rest of the file name does not resemble whatever I named it.

Try searching for files that begin with it, and as as someone said above be sure your ability to view hidden files is active.

Might want to try a file browser/search program other than the one that comes with Windows. My personal fave is freecommander

http://www.freecommander.com/fc_downl_en.htm

Great multi-disk search facility.

[PattayaParent]

It sounds like you do a lot of typing so get into the habit of hitting Ctrl+s as part of your typing at the end of paragraphs.

[Sheryl]

Bottom line:

There is NO auto recover when you do this. Auto recover is of help only for losses related to system disruptions and does not work if the user "properly" closed the file. Could easily enough be made to do so and why they don't think of this -- since the autor ecover file is already in RAM before you close -- is beyond me. As is why the same people who feel a need to ask me if I am sure I want to delete things in the recycle bin -- things I already chose to throw away once -- do not see any need to ask me if I am sure I meant to say no to saving extensive and lengthy modifications to a file.....

And backup files are created/updated only when a modified version of an existing file is created i.e. saved, in which case the backup preserves the most recent prior version. So of no use in a "hit no but meant yes to save" situation.

And all the recovery utilities I could find, recover only deleted docs or docs lost to some sort of system disruption, virus or malware.

Yeah I know I should save often and usually I do. But I was exhausted and forgot to do so and paid dearly for it. Had to do it all over again on even LESS sleep.

[rakman]

Bottom line:

There is NO auto recover when you do this. Auto recover is of help only for losses related to system disruptions and does not work if the user "properly" closed the file. Could easily enough be made to do so and why they don't think of this -- since the autor ecover file is already in RAM before you close -- is beyond me. As is why the same people who feel a need to ask me if I am sure I want to delete things in the recycle bin -- things I already chose to throw away once -- do not see any need to ask me if I am sure I meant to say no to saving extensive and lengthy modifications to a file.....

And backup files are created/updated only when a modified version of an existing file is created i.e. saved, in which case the backup preserves the most recent prior version. So of no use in a "hit no but meant yes to save" situation.

And all the recovery utilities I could find, recover only deleted docs or docs lost to some sort of system disruption, virus or malware.

Yeah I know I should save often and usually I do. But I was exhausted and forgot to do so and paid dearly for it. Had to do it all over again on even LESS sleep.

Hopefully you didn't exactly do it all over again.. (Groundhog Day movie reference.. )

Any file that is created, then deleted by the user or system could be recovered by a file recovery program (assuming you don't save something over it's entry in the MFT (where windows saves files). The file data isn't deleted, only the entry in the directory, so recovery is possible. Usually the less full the hard drive, the more likely you can recover the file, as the system tends to write to new areas rather than overwrite old areas. NTFS is more difficult to manually recover files than a dos partition due to the method of how NTFS saves files versus the dos method.

If the user deletes a file from WinExplorer, it can be found in the recycle bin, but a program (like word) doesn't put deleted files there.

[Sheryl]

Hopefully you didn't exactly do it all over again.. (Groundhog Day movie reference.. )

Any file that is created, then deleted by the user or system could be recovered by a file recovery program (assuming you don't save something over it's entry in the MFT (where windows saves files). The file data isn't deleted, only the entry in the directory, so recovery is possible. Usually the less full the hard drive, the more likely you can recover the file, as the system tends to write to new areas rather than overwrite old areas. NTFS is more difficult to manually recover files than a dos partition due to the method of how NTFS saves files versus the dos method.

If the user deletes a file from WinExplorer, it can be found in the recycle bin, but a program (like word) doesn't put deleted files there.

Yes of course, but this wasn't at all the problem here. It wasn't a matter of a file having been deleted.