Word deleted 5 pages of my work,

Hi @Ísól Albertsdóttir - HI

Thank you for reaching out via the Microsoft Q&A forum.

I am incredibly sorry to hear about the loss of your critical work, especially right before such an important exam. I completely understand your frustration; losing days of effort is a nightmare scenario for any student, and I sincerely apologize for the stress this has put you in.

Please try a few specific methods to see if we can recover those missing pages.

Method 1: Check AutoRecover on Mac

First, let's see if Word created a temporary backup file.

Open Word and go to Word in the menu bar > Preferences > Save > Look under Save Options. Is the box for "Save AutoRecover info" checked? If it is checked, copy the file path listed there.

Paste the path ~/Library/Containers/com.Microsoft/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery and look for your files.

Method 2: Check Online Version History

Since I noticed you have an education account, your file might be syncing to OneDrive or SharePoint, which often keeps backups even if the local app crashes > Go to OneDrive and look for your file > If you find it, open it in the browser. Click on the File menu > Info > Version History > Check if there is a version timestamped from before the pages disappeared and try to restore it.

Method 3: Contact School IT

If the file was saved on the school's network (OneDrive or SharePoint) and the above steps didn't work, please contact your School's IT Administrator immediately. They often have administrative retention policies and backend backup tools that allow them to recover files that you cannot see yourself.

I really hope one of these methods helps you get your work back.

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If you've lost pages from your Word document, there are several methods you can try to recover your work:

1. Check the Recycle Bin: If you accidentally deleted the document, it might be in the Recycle Bin. Open it and look for your file.
2. Search for AutoRecover Files: If you have AutoRecover enabled, you can check the following locations for backup files:
   • C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word
   • C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles Replace <UserName> with your actual username.
3. Recover Unsaved Documents: Open Word, go to File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Documents. This may help you find a recent version of your work.
4. Check for Backup Files: If you have the backup copy option enabled, look for files with a .wbk extension in the same directories mentioned above.
5. Temporary Files: Sometimes, Word creates temporary files that may contain your lost content. You can search for files with a .asd extension by typing *.asd in the Windows search box.

If none of these methods work, you might want to consider reaching out to Microsoft support for further assistance. It's also a good idea to regularly save your work and enable AutoSave to prevent future losses.

References:

• How to recover unsaved Word documents
• How to troubleshoot damaged documents in Word