Word is missing from my computer

Question

Issue: How to Recover Microsoft Word Documents?

Hello. I need someone to help recover my Word file ASAP. At the moment, I’m struggling with my BA thesis, which has to be done this Friday. A half of an hour my PC crashed due to the electricity problems and the worst thing is that the word document with BA was opened. Now I can’t open it due to the “Microsoft Office cannot open this file because some parts are missing or invalid” error. For some unknown reason, autosave was disabled, and I did not know that!!! I did not touch anything after that because I’m afraid to lose my work. Could you please help to recover the file?

Solved Answer

Microsoft Word remains one of the most popular applications for word processing.^[1] However, there is a possibility of issues with the program still. “Microsoft Office cannot open this file because some parts are missing or invalid” message may be caused by corrupted or some issues that occurred during the saving of your file.

If a computer loses power or crashes as the program is writing to the disk there is a high possibility of files crashing. When the part of a file is left behind, the document becomes corrupted and cannot be opened properly. Other file corruptions, storage media issues, and even computer viruses can cause these issues with files.

The recent version of Microsoft Word has a function that allows minimizing corruption of the files. By AutoSaving the document to a different location instead of saving on top of the current existing file. The nature of this file corruption should dictate how to recover the document, so there are many solutions depending on the reason. Make sure to try all the methods listed below.

There are many reasons why Word files get corrupted and different errors occur on the screen as well as solutions for the issue.

The culprit of corruption may be a virus infection or the system’s crash/power loss. The latter variant is most frequent and may lead to errors like the following:

The file is corrupt and cannot be opened.

or

Microsoft Office cannot open this file because some parts are missing or invalid.

That could mean that the Word document got corrupted due to improper saving or closing. There are other data corruption causes, but in most of the cases, it is possible to recover the file or at least to minimize the loss. Unfortunately, if your PC forcefully shut down due to the power loss, it might have been curtailed and hard to recover. Nevertheless, if you can’t open a Word file and need it desperately, you can always try the following MS Word file recovery methods.

Methods to recover Microsoft Word files

Various issues with Windows versions and updates can cause bugs or issues with the system, errors, and corruption of the files.^[2] Fortunately, Windows got several updates and fixes, patches to ensure the end of these issues. The same thing may happen to MS Word too. Maybe your program is affected or some settings need renewal.

In case your PC has been infected with a virus, for example, the one that encrypts files, you will have to remove the virus first and then try to decrypt the damaged Word file.^[3] First of all, remove the virus with a professional anti-malware, say RestoroMac Washing Machine X9. After that, check this article to find data recovery methods.

Method 1. Use Microsoft Word Repair tool

Microsoft Word Repair is an inbuilt tool, which can be launched by following these steps:

1. Start Microsoft Word.
2. Open File and select Open.
3. Find the file that has been corrupted and click it.
4. Click the Open button and select Open and Repair.
   

   You can use this automatic Word repair function by opening the needed file.

Method 2. Recover text only

If you cannot recover everything from the corrupted document, at least, try to restore text. Although you will lose images and formatting, a long and important text recovery would minimize the loss to the minimum:

1. Launch Microsoft Word.
2. Open File and select Open.
3. Find the file that has been corrupted and click it.
4. Select All Files and click on Recover Text From Any File option from the drop-down menu.
   

   There is an option of recovering text from any file.

5. Click Open and save the file to the new location.

Method 3. Use Notepad to save text

This method will help you to recover the text only. Although that’s not the best solution, it’s better to recover at least something than nothing, isn’t it?

1. Find the Word document you cannot open.
2. Right-click on it and select Open with.
3. Click Choose default program and select Other Programs.
4. Pick out Notepad and uncheck the Always use the selected program to open this kind of file box.
   

   Make sure that the MS word program is always used to open this kind of files.

5. Click OK to save the option and check if the text from the corrupted Word document has successfully been transferred to Notepad.
6. If it’s there, copy the text and paste it into a new word document.

Method 4. Install a third-party tool

Check the Internet for recovery tools that can recover corrupted Word files. Before downloading it, make a research on it and make sure to download it from a reliable source.

Recover files and other system components automatically

To recover your files and other system components, you can use free guides by ugetfix.com experts. However, if you feel that you are not experienced enough to implement the whole recovery process yourself, we recommend using recovery solutions listed below. We have tested each of these programs and their effectiveness for you, so all you need to do is to let these tools do all the work.

Sometimes it happens that a person permanently deletes the word document then it becomes too difficult to retrieve that file back. So in this article I am going to discuss the various causes of losing a word file and the various methods through which you can easily find and restore lost word document.

There are five different ways through which you can recover
deleted word file but first of you must know the reason why this often happens.

Reasons for losing a
Word File

• Shift +
  Delete Command.
• Formatting
  Hard Drive Mistakenly.
• Usage of Command
  Prompt for Deleting Files.
• Permanent Deletion from Recycle Bin.
• External Virus Attack on the word File.

So there are many reasons where it is difficult to find a word
file which is missing from the computer. I will not waste your time discussing
in detail about the issue, let’s come straight to the point. I will tell you
the various methods through which you can find missing word document.

You May Also Read- How to Fix PPT File Error

Methods to find a
Lost MS Word File

I am going to tell you five different ways which you can
apply in order to recover and find missing word document on your computer
system.

Inspect Recycle Bin

• Find Recycle Bin Icon.
• Double-Click to Open it.
• In the Search
  Box Search for the file by its Name.
• If you are able to locate the file then
  Right-Click on it and Click on Restore.

Once you restore the file you can see your document on the
desktop or on the location where I was saved earlier. You can only apply this method
if your file is found in Recycle Bin otherwise go to the next method.

Look for Word Backup
Files

• Open a Blank Word Document on your system
• Click on Open under the File tab present on the top left corner.
• Select Save under the Word option.
• In the Auto Recover file, Location box Browse the file where it was saved earlier.
• Now Click on OK and restore lost word document.

You can also search the entire system by searching .wbk
files if you don’t remember the location of that document where it was
previously stored.

Use Word Auto Recover
Tool

If the autosave
setting is ON then you can restore
word file from the Recent Documents
option. The abrupt system shutdown or forceful closure of the file also leads
to deletion of the word file. So you can restore missing word file through
recent documents.

• Open Word Document
• Go to Recent
  option under File Tab.
• At the bottom of the menu click on Recover
  Unsaved Documents.

You can also search directly .asd files on the windows
search option if you don’t have the above option in your MS word version.

Search in Temp. Files

• Go to My Computers and Press F10. Make sure all
  your files are unhidden.
• In windows search type .tmp files.
• Inspect thoroughly and look for the missing word
  document. You can find your file there.

Word File Recovery Tool

If you are unable to find lost word document then you can go for a third party professional tool which will surely help you out. The Word File Recovery Tool by Sysinfo is the best software which can restore your missing word file and saves a lot of time. If you think that there is a risk of data loss then don’t worry because this tool restore all data without any deletion of content.

Features

• Recovers MS Word Files.
• Repair Severely Corrupted Word Document.
• Restores texts, attachments, hyperlinks, and images from a word file.
• Compatible with all the versions of Windows.

If you are a non-technical user then too you can use the tool as it has an easy to use Graphical User Interface.

Conclusion

Well, it is time to wrap up things. You have many options to make a choice that either you can go with the manual methods or the professional recovery tool. The manual methods are helpful but I can’t assure you that they will restore lost word document without data loss. There are some chances that you can lose some of the data. But on the other hand, the professional tool will find all the data of a word file without a loss of single content. So it is your decision that does you want fast recovery or time taking recovery.

I hope there is enough
information in this article which can deal with your problem.

Related Post

Windows 10 users have reported an issue regarding Microsoft Office versions 2010 and 2013, where products like Word, Excel, or PowerPoint will not open and return no error or prompt.

In the reports submitted by Windows 10 users, Microsoft’s Office suite worked fine for a period of time, and for no apparent reason, the shortcuts of the different Office components stopped launching the program.

Microsoft Office didn’t return any error or give any prompt when this issue presented itself. But, by following the steps below, let’s hope that you will be able to solve your problems.

Why is my Office 365 not opening?

Sometimes the applications might encounter bugs, and this can result in We’re getting things ready Office error while trying to run certain apps.

Few users reported that MS Office shortcuts are missing from the Start Menu thus making them unable to run any of these apps.

Issues with your Microsoft account can also lead to various problems, one of them being There are problems with your account Office error.

How do I fix Microsoft Office not opening?

1. Use Task Manager

If you’ve tried to open Microsoft Office Word (for example) from your Windows 10 computer or laptop and it didn’t do anything, try opening the Task Manager.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc or right-click on the Taskbar and select Task Manager and take a look either through the opened apps or under the Details tab, where you will find it as WINWORD.EXE.

If you see the process there, this means that Windows 10 thinks the program is open and will not do anything about it. In this case, try to create a new document and right-click it, and select Edit.

In some cases, this method has proven useful and might help you in a tight spot.

2. Go to the source

If your Microsoft Office shortcuts don’t do anything when you try to launch them, then there might be an issue of communication between the shortcut itself and the actual executable it should open.

Depending on what Office version you’ve installed, you should find them in one of these locations:

• C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice14
• C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficeOffice14

Try launching the tool you need from here, if it works, then your shortcut was to blame. Create a new shortcut for the Office components you use and replace the faulty ones.

3. Use Safe Mode

Starting an Office product in Safe Mode is pretty simple, as it was in previous Windows versions.

Just open the Run utility (Windows key + R) and type in the name of the product you want to follow by /safe.

For example, if you wish to open Microsoft Excel in Safe Mode, type in excel /safe.

5. Repair or Reinstall

1. Press the Windows key and type apps in the search box, then click the Apps & features result.

2. Here, type office inside the search bar, then click the Microsoft Office result.

3. Click on Advanced options.

4. Scroll down, then click the Repair button. By using this option, your app’s data won’t be deleted, but the app’s files will be checked for any damage or corruption.

5. Alternatively, you can use the Reset button in case repairing the app didn’t work. In this case, your app data will be lost as well.

The built-in Reset option for Microsoft Office will uninstall and reinstall the application, thus fixing the Microsoft Office not opening issue.

You can choose to fully reset the app or merely repair it, thus preserving your app data for later use. Choose the appropriate option according to your needs.

6. Install Windows updates

Microsoft regularly releases updates for Microsoft Office (and other in-house features and programs) through Windows Update.

So, if your current version of Office is disrupted in some way, there’s a chance a new update will fix it. And it doesn’t necessarily need to be an Office update.

Maybe some other features installed on your computer are interfering with Office, preventing you from accessing it. In both cases, installing fresh updates can resolve the problem.

To install the latest updates on your computer, simply go to Settings > Update & Security, and check for updates.

If you’re having issues opening the Setting app, take a look at this article to solve the issue.

7. Uninstall Windows updates

1. Go to Settings. Now, go to Updates & Security, followed by Windows Update.
2. Go to Update history > Uninstall updates.
3. Now, find the latest Office update installed on your computer (you can sort updates by date), right-click it, and go to Uninstall.
4. Restart your computer.

Now, let’s do the total opposite of the previous solution. If the problem started to manifest after you’ve updated your Office suite, then you can easily uninstall the latest updates and see if this fixes your problem.

8. Disable Add-Ins

1. Open the troublesome app.
2. Go to File > Options.
3. Click Add-Ins, and then disable all add-ins.
4. Restart the program, and run it without any add-ins enabled.

Sometimes, damaged add-ins may block your Word/Excel/PowerPoint from opening any document.

Since you can’t know for sure which add-in causes the problem, we recommend uninstalling all of them and then installing one by one again.

That way, you’ll be able to find out which one causes problems. The task is time-consuming, but you don’t really have too many choices.

9. Make sure Office is activated

If your copy of Microsoft Office Suite is not genuine, you won’t be able to open any Office app. Technically, you’ll be able to open any program normally, but you can’t do anything with it.

You can’t create new documents, or open and edit existing documents. It’s just an empty shell. So, make sure your Office is properly activated, and try to run in once again.

10. Remove Word Registry Keys

1. Go to Search, type regedit, and open Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to one of the following paths:
   • Word 2002: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice10.0WordData
   • Microsoft Word 2003: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice11.0WordData
   • Word 2007: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice12.0WordData
   • Word 2010: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice14.0WordData
   • Microsoft Word 2013: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice15.0Word
   • Word 2016: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice16.0Word
3. Now, just click on the Data key, and delete it.
4. Restart your computer.

If you specifically have problems with opening Word, we’ll try to delete some registry keys. Hopefully, the program will work after that.

11. Remove old printer drivers

And finally, some users have also reported that having old printer drivers installed on your Windows 10 PC prevents Microsoft Office from working. You have to remove your old printer drivers and install up-to-date ones.

Alternatively, you can use dedicated uninstaller software to automatically remove old printer drivers from your PC.

Third-party uninstaller software can scan your PC for any leftover files related to your specific app and permanently remove them.

After you finish removing your old drivers, check to see if the problem persists.

That’s about it. We certainly hope at least one of these solutions helped you resolve the problem with Microsoft Office.

Keep in mind that this problem mainly occurs with Microsoft Word. However, we’ve detailed solutions that apply to all Office programs, nevertheless:

• Microsoft Word not opening
  • There are times when trying to open any Word document leads to the same result: you just cannot get passed the opening blue box.
• Word documents not opening
  • Users often complain that double-clicking a Word document (.doc or .docx) is useless. They cannot open a Word file or the file icon is blank.
• Microsoft Office won’t open on Windows 10
  • Even more, you may face the unfortunate situation of having Office completely unable to open. Apply the above solutions and confirm the one that’s successful in your case.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, just let us know in the comments down below.