lost document

[sheila2155]

thanks so far everyone. i think i've found my doc in temp files. however, when i try to open it all i get are boxes and 'y's'.
definately computer speak? can i convert it to human speak??

[vehelpfulguy]

On the Word 2003 Help menu is an option called Detect and Repair.

I have never used it, but see if that can help.

[vehelpfulguy]

Sheila,
When working with large or important documents I always:

1) Save it regularly with a different name as a back up.

So if you have a Word document called Story.doc, after you have done a save, do a separate save (into another directory) as Story01, then later Story02, then later Story03 etc.

Then exit Word, and reopen Story.doc and work on that.

That way you know you always have a recent backup of the whole document.

2) Also get into the habit of saving a large or important document onto another medium. Maybe a USB key, or a back CD or DVD.

Hard disks can and do go wrong and you can lose EVERYTHING on a hard disk.

If a file is backed up to a CD or DVD then you always have a copy to go back to.

[vehelpfulguy]

One final word of advice.

You said on your other append that this went wrong when you deleted a paragraph.

Whenever you plan to make major changes to a document or file ALWAYS copy it to another directory first. Then if it all crashes around your ears you know you have a nice safe backup somewhere.

I know these seem obvious suggestions but I am always amazed at how many people do not keep an backups of important files.

Also I learned these lessons the hard way. I too have lost important files in the past so have learned to save copies of everything before working on them.

[Bazza2764]

have you tried opening the file through word? finding it in your temp folder? word has an atuomatic converter that should open it.