[zeplin]

Sorry to ask like this, but the circumstances plain suck.
I was almost done with a 6 page paper when I accidentally closed it without saving. Don't ask me why I did it (i'll explain later), but is there any way to retrieve that document with my paper on it???? Please say there is, oh please. My paper is due tomorrow and I don't know what I'm going to do if I can't retrieve the data. Thanx in advance for any help anyone can offer

 

[Wodgy]

If you closed it without saving (i.e. I'm assuming you closed it intentionally -- your word processor didn't crash), you're probably out of luck. Usually any autosaves, recovery, and temp files are cleaned up when your word processor exits properly. If you could predict what those temp filenames were, you may be able to undelete one of them, assuming they have not been overwritten, but the chances of this are slim.

Unless someone suggests something with a reasonable likelihood of working, I wouldn't waste my time futzing with software. Fire up a pot of coffee and start writing it over again while the main ideas are still fresh in your mind.

 

[GoRedwings19]

What were you using word??? Doesn't it create a backup file. go to open file and try *.bak

If you are lucky word might of saved a backup file and you should be able to get mosty of your paper back

 

[Edwood]

If one thing I learned (the hard way), is to save, and save often.

And save multiple copies (versions) when you make a significant change. There's nothing like working on a file for days, and then find it won't open for some reason, because it is corrupted.

Saving Word files takes nearly no time. Now imagine saving large graphics files. Yep, I save and save often.

-Ed

 

[zeplin]

Thanx guys for respponding so fast. I had a feeling the chances were slim

This sucks!

Also, Goredwings, it was word, and what do you mean by .bak??? Do I type that in the blank space when I go into the open file option. Or is .bak an already existing choice??? Thanx again for your help

 

[stet]

I don't know if this still works or how, if it does, buti've been in offices where writers did this kind of a lot on beige powermacs running word with autosave on. One way that usually worked, IIRC, was to force restart the comp without quitting word -- hit the restart button or use command+control+power. When it fires back up, start word and and it should ask you if you want to revert back to the unsaved version of your file.

Good luck, whatever you do.

 

[GoRedwings19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeplin Thanx guys for respponding so fast. I had a feeling the chances were slim This sucks! Also, Goredwings, it was word, and what do you mean by .bak??? Do I type that in the blank space when I go into the open file option. Or is .bak an already existing choice??? Thanx again for your help

The very old versions of word always made a backupfile no matter what. Now I don't know if the programmers still put this in the XP version but when it asks you for a filename just put in *.bak

You type the asterix in as well, hopefully it might work no promises. But I hope it does

 

[wit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoRedwings19 What were you using word??? Doesn't it create a backup file. go to open file and try *.bak If you are lucky word might of saved a backup file and you should be able to get mosty of your paper back

Try search you disk by date (one day.) then sort result by date-time, if you find any .dat, .bak then make copy and rename the extension of the copy file to .txt or .doc Word usually keeps a back up document in its temp folder. Give it a try I guess it won't hurt at this point.
good luck.

 

[zeplin]

again, thank you all for all the help you given me. i can't seem to find any .dat, *.bak, or anything in the temp folder. someone on another board said that windows 2000 and up automatically saves a back-up, but i can't seem to find it. it looks like i'm starting all over again

i'm going get in contact with my prof to see if i can get just a one day extension. thanx again guys, you are the best, and i love this community we all have here at head-fi

 

[GoRedwings19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeplin again, thank you all for all the help you given me. i can't seem to find any .dat, *.bak, or anything in the temp folder. someone on another board said that windows 2000 and up automatically saves a back-up, but i can't seem to find it. it looks like i'm starting all over again i'm going get in contact with my prof to see if i can get just a one day extension. thanx again guys, you are the best, and i love this community we all have here at head-fi

Sorry I couldn't help you. Good luck meeting with your professor.

 

[hero zero]

I run Office 2k and it doesn't make a backup file..well, it does sometimes, but only when it's running. I do have quite a few temp files in the directories I save my documents in. Anyway, have you tried clicking on the File tab in Word? there should be a list of the most recently accessed documents there, just before the 'exit' option.


good luck

 

[bangraman]

Nothing I can do for you this time around, but in the future make a habit of pressing Ctrl-S regularly.

 

[xtreme4099]

try seach and do a *.tmp and look for a name similiar to your document.... your outta luck if you didnt even save it once and left it as untitled.doc

 

[wallijonn]

the second thing you have to do is set it up for auto-save every minute. I would do a search for every file in the last 10 minutes of when you closed Office.

 

[Orpheus]

well, as far as i know, my word doesn't keep backups either by default, unless i think you specifically tell it to in some setup menu. sorry man.

but really, if you wrote the essay thoughtfully, it shouldn't be too hard to recall most your major points and the works that you cited. should take you 1/10th the time the original took. now, if the whole thing is bullcrap, that's another story... then you'll have to think of new bullcrap all over again.

i think for essays due at 10:00AM, i usually started at 2:00AM with books in hand (as in yes, i did take time to go to the library to get the books i needed before i started writing), without reading nothing before hand. Or at midnight if i didn't want to procrastinate.

.....no kidding. so, you can do it man.