PowerPoint File Recovery: How To Recover Unsaved or Deleted PowerPoint Files

Since its release in 1987, PowerPoint has been a go-to platform for creating presentations that support speeches with graphical data. The app first used the PPT format, which was replaced by PPTX in 2007 and brought numerous improvements.

However, neither the PPTX format nor the PowerPoint app are perfect. The files are prone to corruption and viruses, and forgetting to save your work or experiencing a system crash when working with PowerPoint can lead to data loss.

Fortunately, Microsoft has fixed most issues with AutoSave and AutoRecovery features, but there's still a need for a reputable data recovery solution.

How PowerPoint Files Get Lost

To help you navigate various data loss scenarios, we've created a detailed table explaining how PowerPoint files get lost, the causes behind these issues, and their appropriate solutions.

How To Recover Deleted or Unsaved PowerPoint Files

Now that we know more about the possible issues related to PowerPoint files and their respective causes and solutions, we can dive straight into the steps for applying each solution. In this article, we are focusing on recovering a deleted or unsaved PowerPoint file on Windows 11/10. If you are a Mac user, you can refer to our guide for PowerPoint file recovery on Mac.

Method 1. Recover Deleted/Lost/Unsaved PPT With Wondershare Recoverit

Situations where your deleted or unsaved PowerPoint files are gone can be particularly frustrating. Fortunately, dedicated data recovery solutions like Wondershare Recoverit can help and work wonders in numerous data loss cases.

Wondershare Recoverit

• Recover deleted, unsaved, or lost PPT/PPTX files effectively, safely, and completely.
• Manages over 500 data loss situations, such as accidental deletion, app or system crashes, virus infection, and hard drive failure.
• Repairs corrupted PowerPoint file automatically in the preview process.

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Using the app is also incredibly straightforward. Here's how you can do that:

1. Open Wondershare Recoverit and choose the Hard Drives and Locations option on the left side of the screen.

   

2. Select the location where data loss occurred, and the app will automatically start scanning the disk drive for deleted or unsaved PowerPoint presentations.

   

3. You can add and adjust filters for file status, type, time, size, and tags to search for specific file types. For example, if you want to recover an unsaved PPT, you can narrow down the scanning results to Unsaved Files.

   

4. When it discovers the PPT or PPTX files, the app will allow you to preview them before recovering. You can verify their integrity and ensure they are your desired PowerPoint files.

   

5. If the app has already found the files you're after, you can pause or stop the scan and tap the Recover button to save them.

   

Accidentally deleting data like PowerPoint presentations can be scary. Still, there's nothing to fear when you have a dedicated data recovery tool like Wondershare Recoverit. Recovering deleted files is quick and effortless - as you can see, it only takes a few clicks and minutes of your time.

It can recover over 1,000 file types, including photos, videos, music, and documents, and works wonders with over 2,000 different storage devices like internal and external drives, NAS servers, USBs, etc.

Method 2. Look for Your Unsaved PowerPoint Files in Temporary Folder

Windows and macOS systems have a temporary file folder, also known as a cache folder, which stores the most recent data the user or system uses. This folder is often filled with recently downloaded Windows or macOS updates, files downloaded through the browser, and items currently in use, like PPT/PPTX files.

Therefore, looking into these folders on either operating system for PowerPoint presentations is an excellent idea. On Windows, you can access the folder by following these steps:

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft.
2. Locate the PowerPoint folder and find ".tmp" files resembling PPT or PPTX files.

   

3. Copy and paste these files to the desktop and change their extension from ".tmp" to ".ppt" or ".pptx" depending on your Microsoft Office version, with PPTX being the default format for versions from 2007 and newer.

For macOS, you'll need to follow different steps:

1. Close down all your active applications.
2. In Finder, click on Go > Go to Folder, and enter the following command:
   ~/Library/Caches
3. Once inside the cache folder on Mac, locate PPT/PPTX files and drag them to the desktop, or open them and save your presentations elsewhere.

It's worth noting that deleting temporary files and cache is also an excellent way to increase your storage space, but it should only be done after you've found the data you need.

Method 3. Use PowerPoint's Recover Unsaved Presentations Feature

Temporary or cached PPT/PPTX files can also be found in the Microsoft PowerPoint app through the Recent feature, which requires similar steps on Windows and macOS. Here's how you can find it:

1. Launch the Microsoft PowerPoint app after it or the system has crashed.
2. Click the File menu and then select Open.
3. Find and click on Recent Presentations.

   

4. Choose the unsaved recent PowerPoint presentation and open it.

It's highly recommended that you save the file to a safe location as soon as you open it to avoid app or system crashes affecting your files again.

Method 4. Recover an Unsaved PPT File Using PowerPoint AutoRecover

The last few versions of PowerPoint include a nifty little feature called AutoRecover. Microsoft added this feature into a few Office apps to allow users to recover files in case of system or app crashes. You can find the AutoRecover feature by following these steps on Windows or macOS:

1. Open a PowerPoint presentation and navigate to File > Home > Options > Save.
2. Make sure that you have checked the box saying"Save auto-recover info every x minutes", and the box saying"Keep the last Auto recovered version if I close without saving".

   

3. Copy the file destination path from"AutoRecover file location".

   

4. Open Windows Explorer, paste the path on the address bar and hit"Enter" to search the lost unsaved PowerPoint file.

You can also change the frequency of the Autorecover feature by modifying the Save every X minutes box. The AutoRecover File Location box is also here, allowing you to change the location where PowerPoint files are saved.

Method 5. Recover a Deleted PowerPoint File From Recycle Bin

If you've accidentally deleted PowerPoint presentations that you still need, these PPT or PPTX files have likely wound up in Windows' Recycle Bin, so you can effortlessly recover them. Here's how:

1. Open the Recycle Bin.
2. Locate the needed PowerPoint presentations, right-click on them, and hit Restore.

   

3. Find the restored PPT/PPTX files in the folders they've previously occupied before deletion.

If you have emptied the Recycle Bin, you'll need to go back to the Wondershare Recoverit solution and use that, as a dedicated data recovery app is the only thing that can help in such situations.

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Method 6. Recover a Lost PowerPoint File Using Windows File History

If you're a Windows user, you're likely aware of the built-in backup and recovery tools by the name File History. This tool is handy in situations related to accidental file deletion, failing disk drives, and mistakenly formatted storage devices.

Here's how to use File History on Windows 10 to recover your lost or unsaved PowerPoint presentations:

1. Click the Windows icon at the left bottom, select Settings.

   

2. Tap on Update & Security, and find the Backup option here.

   

3. If you didn't use File History before, it will ask you to add a drive to backup. Just click Add a drive, and select the drive where the PowerPoint app is stored. It will start auto backup, then.

   

4. If there are any files backed up already, you will see the Restore files from a current backup option at the lower place.

   

5. Click it, then you will get the list of the backed up files. Find the unsaved powerpoint file you wish to recover, then click the green icon to restore it.

If you have upgraded your system to the latest Windows 11 version, follow these steps:

1. Click the Windows icon at the bottom from your computer screen, and type File History.

   

2. If you didn't use File History before, you need to turn it on and select a drive to backup.
3. After that, click on Restore personal files.

   

4. Check the avaiable backup files and find the powerpoint file you are trying to recover.
5. Once you find it, click the green icon and restore it.

Remember that you can only use File History if you've previously set up these features and use them as backup options. If that's not the case, you'll have to use the mentioned data recovery method.

How To Ensure You Don't Lose PowerPoint Files in the Future

Although recovering PPT/PPTX nowadays is effortless, with numerous solutions that can help regardless of how you lost data, prevention is still better than treating. We've included a few tips to help you avoid PowerPoint data loss in the future:

• Manually Save Files - While Microsoft's AutoSave and AutoRecover features are fantastic, and you should undoubtedly keep them enabled on supported apps, manually saving your work is still relevant and necessary. Creating a habit of hitting CTRL + S whenever you get up from the PC or every few minutes can be immensely helpful.
• Use Reliable Backup Software - Windows and macOS provide decent and helpful built-in backup tools like Backup and Restore, File History, and Time Machine. However, a dedicated backup tool like Wondershare UBackit is even better, providing more options and features like scheduled and automatic backups.
• Install a Trustworthy Antivirus - Keeping a reliable AV or anti-malware tool on your computer is vital for protecting yourself from digital threats. And since viruses and malware can cause chaos, delete data, encrypt files, and lead to corruption, there are even more reasons to get a proper security app.
• Invest in a UPS - System crashes are often caused by power loss, and if you live in an area where power surges are common, investing in a UPS is a terrific idea. Not only will it save you from losing valuable data, but it'll also keep your hardware components healthy, as power surges can damage them.

Separating your OS, applications, media, and vital or work files is also a great option, and you can do that by dividing your disk drive into partitions. Alternatively, you can invest in multiple HDD/SSDs, each with different types of files.

Conclusion

Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most widely used applications for creating graphical presentations that support speeches. It uses PPT and PPTX files, which, although massively improved over the years, are still prone to accidental deletion, viruses, or corruption. The app can also suffer from power losses and system crashes, resulting in deleted or unsaved PowerPoint presentations.

There are numerous culprits behind PowerPoint presentation data loss, and we've included a detailed table with the most common cases and their causes and appropriate solutions.

From utilizing PowerPoint's AutoSave and AutoRecover features to looking through temporary files to using dedicated data recovery tools like Wondershare Recoverit, there are numerous methods for retrieving PPT/PPTX data, and we've included the top solutions for recovering deleted and unsaved PowerPoint files.

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