Help !! Any data recovery experts in here ??

[g8ina]

A friend writes:

"Anyone out there know how to recover data from an overwritten file? You know, like the 2000 word essay I spent 4 months researching, citing, writing, editing, rewriting etc. Some dumbbum moved what he thought was the original file from SD card to PC and overwrote the ACTUAL essay and is now just over a week away and facing having to write what took 4 months in 6 days. If I had hair, I'd be pulling it out right now."

Anyone help please ??

[Saracen999]

Doesn't Word have auto-backup turned on by default?

It might also be a good time to point out gently that it wouldn't have much mattered if some dumbass accidentally moved the wrong file if dumbass #2 had a backup strategy in place. Y'know, a swift kick in the 'nads while he's down. The message might stick then.

[Saracen999]

Also .... kidz today.

In my day, essays were done on typewriters. The 'backup' was a carbon paper copy. Seriously.

[Jonj1611]

Have they tried something like Recuva or Stella Data Recovery perhaps

[Rob_B]

Like Saracen said, right click the file and isn't there 'versions' or something like that?

Unsure of this works for a home environment though.

[Jonj1611]

Word backup file names have a ".wbk" extension. If you have the "backup copy" option selected in Word, there might be a backup copy of the file.

To check whether this option is on, select File > Options > Advanced, scroll down to the Save section, and then select Always create backup copy.

If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription, check these two folder locations for a backup file:

C:\Users<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word
C:\Users<UserName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles

Note: In these paths, replace <UserName> with your username.

To find the backup copy of the file, select Start, enter .wbk in the Search box, and then press Enter. If you find any files that have the name "Backup of" followed by the name of the missing file, double-click the file name to open it.

OR

Windows File Recovery Tool

If you are using Windows 10, version 2004 or later, you can try the Windows File Recovery tool. Windows File Recovery is available from the Microsoft Store. You can use it to recover files that have been permanently deleted.

[kalniel]

Like Saracen said, right click the file and isn't there 'versions' or something like that?

Unsure of this works for a home environment though.

Restore previous versions

Yes - should be for home environment, it's part of the default windows 10 file backup/restore points

[g8ina]

Thanks all, I think the Word backup will do the trick, Ive passed this on, will advise result.