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Have you ever lost a Microsoft Word document that you have spent HOURS working on?  It has happened to me many times, and has probably happened to you too!  Well, I have discovered a method for recovering lost documents that works about 75% of the time...  I am including instructions here, for use in case of emergency, but feel free to call me if you want me to attempt to recover the files for you!  Whatever you do, though, be sure to MEMORIZE STEP 1!  

13 Lucky Steps to Recovering  Lost Microsoft Word Documents

(These instructions apply mainly for Windows 2000, but other versions of Windows will be similar)

Step 1.  IF you try to open your document only to find a blank screen, CLOSE Microsoft Word immediately!            OR, If you accidentally close Microsoft Word without saving your document, DO NOT try to reopen it (yet)
Step 2. Click on the Windows Start Menu and select "Search" (or "Find")  Then select "Files or Folders"
Step 3. In the search options, be sure to specify to search by date, and select "in the last 7 days (or increase the length of time if you haven't worked on the file in the last week)"  Step 4. Be sure that the search is told to "look in: Local Harddrives".   You may need to change the search location by clicking the dropdown menu.  Step 5. Click "Search Now" button
Step 6. After the search completes.... (it may take a few minutes), click on the column header "modified".  You may need to scroll to the right in order to find it!   This will arrange the search results by date!
Step 7. Scroll down the list of search results until you find any files that look like they may be your document.  You want to look for files with similar names to your document, or files that were modified during the time you were working on your file.  (You can skip any files that are 0 in size, even if they have the same name as your document)
Step 8. Highlight each file that you think may be your document (as described above).  You can highlight multiple files by holding down the CTRL key while clicking each file once!  Once they are highlighted, right click and select "copy"
Step 9. Minimize all windows until you see your desktop... (or click on the show desktop icon to the right of the Start Menu)
Step 10. Right Click on the desktop and select "new" then "folder" and name this folder "Recovered Documents"
Step 11. Open this new folder, then right click and select "paste."  This will paste all the potential files in here.  If it does not, maximize the search window and repeat step 9.
Step 12. Rename all the files in your "Recovered Documents" folder by highlighting them individually and hitting F2.  Give them names such as "Document1.doc, document2.doc, document3.doc  etc...
Step 13. Once the files are renamed, try opening them!  Good luck in recovering the lost documents!

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Copyright 2002.  Questions/Comments:  bmooney@lapcf.state.la.us