How to Recover Unsaved Wordpad Document

Among the many popular word-processing apps, including online-based text editors, Wordpad holds a special significance for its inherent features. Yet, often many users struggle with Wordpad document recovery issues with online queries such as “How do i recover an unsaved Wordpad document?" and "I have lost my unsaved WordPad document due to an automatic update - How to recover?".

If you are also in the same dilemma and figuring out how to recover an unsaved Wordpad document, read the article. We have compiled reasons and methods to fix Wordpad document issues.

What Are Wordpad Documents

Wordpad is a basic word processor built into Windows computers. It is more advanced than MS Notepad and has a clear page layout, making it popular among text editing users. Thanks to its simpler interface, you can easily create and edit text documents such as notes.

While Wordpad comes preinstalled in all Windows version computers, including Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11, you have to install Microsoft Word, another popular word processor on Windows computers. Here are a few key differences between Wordpad and MS Word:

• The Wordpad does not have as many features as MS Word, and it is meant to be used for minor text edits and writing.
• Wordpad does not have an autosave feature, but MS Word prompts to save the file while closing the document.
• MS Word is a paid word processor with a trial version, while Wordpad is a free text editing application.
• WordPad supports many file extensions to read and save, including .txt format (plain text files), .rtf format (rich text format), .odt (OpenDocument Text format) and .doc/.docx format (Microsoft Word file format).
• MS Word comes with the MS Office package, and Wordpad comes preinstalled on Windows computers.
• Unlike in MS Word, you do not get spell and grammar checks in Wordpad.
• MS Word is available for various operating systems, but Wordpad is preinstalled on Windows computers.

Reasons behind Wordpad Documents not Saved or Deleted

There can be many reasons behind Wordpad document saved or deleted problems. However, here are some common reasons for Wordpad documents to be deleted or not saved on your computer:

1. Forget to Save: Since Wordpad does not have an autosave feature, you have to manually save your document. If you forget to save your Wordpad document before closing it, you can lose the file.
2. Disk Failure: Another common cause is due to hard disk failure. Sometimes, bad sectors in the hard drive can cause the Wordpad documents to not save or delete issues.
3. Virus Attack: Virus and malware on your computer can corrupt many files and applications, including Wordpad documents.
4. System Crash: While working on a Wordpad document, if your system crashes for any technical error or power failure can result in the loss of a file.
5. Accidental Deletion: If you accidentally delete the Wordpad while clearing the internal hard drive of your computer to make space will result in a Wordpad document recovery issue.
6. Formatting Error: Hard drive or external storage device formatting will result in losing all the files, including Wordpad documents.

How To Recover Unsaved Wordpad Document

If you are wondering how to recover a Wordpad document after closing it without saving it, there are a couple of ways to do it. The methods can include restoring Wordpad documents from the previous version or temporary files. You can also use third-party data recovery tools like Recoverit to easily restore your lost Wordpad documents.

Here is a brief overview of the solution for how to recover unsaved Wordpad document:

Method 1: Restore Previous Versions From Hard Drive

You can restore Wordpad document by recovering previous versions of it from your hard drive. However, you have to make sure the System Protection feature is your computer is enabled, and you have to remember the location where you saved your WordPad file or folder and its folder name.

Follow the below steps to recover unsaved Wordpad document using the previous version from the hard drive:

Step 1: Go to “This PC” on your file explorer and navigate to the original location where your Wordpad was stored.

Step 2: If the folder containing the Wordpad is lost, create a new folder with the same name in the original location.

Step 3: Right-click on the newly created folder with the same folder name or on the original folder when you lose the Wordpad file.

Step 4: Select the “Restore previous versions” option and choose the version of the folder that contains your Wordpad files.

Step 5: Once the Wordpad file is recovered, copy the file to the desired location you prefer.

Method 2: Recover WordPad Document Using Temp Files

Although Wordpad does not have an autosave feature when you close it, temp files are created by Windows for each new Wordpad to store information. If you have not enabled File History or System restore points for your computer, you can recover unsaved Wordpad documents from their temporary files.

Follow the steps mentioned below for Wordpad document recovery using temp files:

Step 1: Press the “Windows + R” keys simultaneously on your computer to open the “Run” window.

Step 2: Enter “%AppData%” in the text box and press “Enter”.

Step 3: Now, on the new window, search for “.tmp” or “.asd” files at the top right corner. Click on the “Date Modified” tab at the top to sort the results to find the most recent files.

Step 4: Locate and select the Wordpad document you want to recover from the search result.

Step 5: Change the file extension of the temp file to “.odt” format and move the file to the preferred location.

Method 3: Recover WordPad Document Using Wondershare Recoverit

If none of the above methods help restore Wordpad document, you should consider using third-party data recovery tools such as Rocoverit - Data Recovery. It is among the most popular Wordpad document recovery programs, that can help you to recover multiple file types, including Wordpad documents. It has an easy-to-use interface and a few simple steps to easily recover unsaved Wordpad document on your system.

Below are some of the advanced data recovery features of the Recoverit program:

1. The program offers a user-friendly interface, making it suitable for those with varied levels of technical ability.
2. It includes a quick scan for fresh deletions and a deep scan for difficult-to-recover Wordpad documents.
3. Along with Wordpad, you can restore a wide range of file formats, including images, videos, documents, emails, and more.
4. The app recovers data from partitions that have been lost, deleted, resized, or damaged.
5. Before completing the recovery process, you can review recoverable Wordpad documents to check that you are restoring the right data.
6. It supports recovery from a wide range of storage devices, including hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, memory cards, and external drives.

Follow the below steps for how to recover unsaved Wordpad document using Recoverit:

Step 1: First, download and install the Recoverit data recovery application on your computer. But, ensure not to install the program on the same partition or hard drive where your Wordpad documents are lost.

Step 2: Launch the program and select the “Deleted File Recovery” mode option to restore Wordpad document.

Step 3: Click on the “Hard Drives and Locations” option on the left side panel and select the location of the disk or drive where you have lost your unsaved or deleted Wordpad file.

Step 4: Click the “Start” button to begin the finding lost data process. The app will start a quick scan of your computer hard drive or selected partition.

Step 5: After the scan is completed, all the recoverable files are displayed. Preview your lost unsaved Wordpad document and click the "Recover" button to retrieve it. Make sure to save the recovered data not in its original path.

Tips & Notes: Avoid Data Loss By Creating Backup and Save Files on Time

While you can easily recover lost data from your computer by using the Recoverit program, it is also important that you create a backup. When create backups of your precious data, it will protect your data loss from human error, hardware failures, virus attacks, and more. It not only protects you from future data loss situations but also helps save time and money in the event of data loss situations.

Follow the below steps to schedule periodic backup on your computer:

Step 1: Open the “Control Panel” on your computer from the “Start” menu.

Step 2: Click on the “System and Security” option and select the “Backup and Restore (Windows 7)” option.

Step 3: If you see the “Windows Backup has not been set up” message, click on the “Set up backup” button under the “Backup” section.

Step 4: Select the drive space you want the backup to be stored and click on the “Next” button to continue.

Step 5: Choose between the two options “Let Windows choose (recommended)” or “Let me choose” options and click on the “Next” button.

Step 6: Follow the on-screen instructions and click “Next” to continue.

Step 7: Click on the “Change schedule” option if you want to choose a different schedule to take backup. Click on the “Save settings and run backup” button when you are satisfied with the settings.

Once everything is set up, Windows will automatically create a backup of your desktop.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to recover unsaved Wordpad documents, you can enjoy the benefits of the text editor without any worry. Depending on the reason for the lost Wordpad file, you can choose the right Wordpad document recovery solution from the above list. However, for a comprehensive data recovery solution, you should use Recoverit software.