How to Recover Deleted Word Documents on Windows 10/11

One of the latest questions from a frustrated user on a popular tech community forum was the following:

I have deleted a crucial word document by mistake and am not able to find it anywhere. Is it possible to retrieve it?

— From Ping.Fm Forum

Anyone can accidentally lose a Word document. In this guide, we will give you 5 proven ways to get back deleted Word documents as soon as possible.

Part 1: Can Deleted Word Files Be Recovered?

The answer is yes. In most cases, it is possible to restore deleted Word documents. However, it depends on multiple factors.

How the File Was Deleted

When you simply delete a file (by pressing the Delete key or right-clicking and selecting Delete), it usually goes to the Recycle Bin. You can recover it easily. However, if you use Shift+Delete or empty the Recycle Bin, recovery can be challenging but still possible.

Time Since Deletion

When a file is deleted, Windows marks its storage space as free. The data is not erased immediately. However, if you continue using the computer, new data may overwrite the original files. Once overwritten, recovery becomes difficult or even impossible.

Backup Availability

If OneDrive syncing or Windows File History is enabled, you may have a recent copy of your document. But if no backup is available, you’ll need to rely on data recovery software.

Part 2: How to Recover Deleted Word Documents on Windows 11/10?

Try these five methods, and you can easily recover deleted Word documents on Windows quickly and effectively.

• Method 1: Restore a Word Document from Recycle Bin
• Method 2: Undo the Deletion of a Word Document
• Method 3: Retrieve Deleted Files in the OneDrive Backup
• Method 4: Check File History
• Method 5: Utilize Data Recovery Tool

Method 1: Restore a Word Document from Recycle Bin

Recycle Bin is the first option you need to look at when you want to recover a deleted Word document.

Here’s how to restore a Word document from the Recycle Bin

• Double-click the Recycle Bin icon to open it.
• Browse the files. You can also locate them through the search bar.
• After finding the deleted Word file, right-click on the file.
• Select Restore from the menu. And then, the file will return to its original location.

Method 2: Undo the Deletion of a Word Document

Using the Undo shortcut is one of the fastest ways to restore a recently deleted Word document. Try this before you do any other activities on your PC.

This is how to recover a deleted Word document via the “Undo Delete” method:

1. Find the location where the deleted Word document is.
2. Press Ctrl+Z on the keyboard.
3. Windows will undo the deletion. After that, the file will go back to its original folder.
4. You can press Ctrl+Z many times to reverse several actions.

Method 3: Retrieve Deleted Files in the OneDrive Backup

This method works well if your Documents folder is synced with Microsoft OneDrive.

OneDrive has its Recycle Bin, where deleted files are stored for up to 30 days.

Follow these steps to recover deleted files from OneDrive

1. Sign in with your Microsoft account.
2. On the left-hand panel, click Recycle Bin.
3. Check your deleted Word document in the list. You may sort by Date Deleted or may quickly search it with the search bar.
4. Select the box beside the file that you want to recover and then press the “Restore” button.

Method 4: Check File History

Windows File History is a Windows built-in backup tool. It saves file copies automatically. The File History option enables you to view and restore previous deleted Word documents. If the “File History” feature is enabled on your Windows PC, then you can also use it to restore your deleted Word files.

Here are the steps to recover deleted Word files from File History

1. Open the File Explorer. Navigate to the Documents folder.
2. Right-click on the folder and open Properties.
3. Open the Previous Versions tab.
4. Select a version dated before the file was deleted and click on Restore.
5. Preview the contents of the backup and locate your Word document in it.
6. Drag the file to a safe location or right-click it and select Restore.

Method 5: Utilize Data Recovery Tool

Once the Recycle Bin is empty, Ctrl+Z will not work. It means the file cannot be restored without a backup. At this stage, a professional data recovery tool is the most effective way: iToolab RecoverGo Windows Data Recovery.

What is iToolab RecoverGo Windows Data Recovery?

iToolab RecoverGo Windows Data Recovery is Windows-based data recovery software. It can recover lost or permanently deleted Word files from various storage devices. What’s more, iToolab RecoverGo features an intuitive GUI and a straightforward recovery process, making it easy for beginners to recover Word files quickly.

Key Features

• Offers up to a 99% recovery rate for deleted or lost files.
• Provides Quick Scan, Deep Scan, and Advanced Scan features to find more lost or deleted files.
• User-friendly, clean interface lets you recover files in three steps.
• Supports Word files (DOC/DOCX), Excel files, PDF files, images, videos, audio files, emails, and archives.

How to recover deleted Word files from PC using RecoverGo

Step 1 Select the drive or folder where the deleted Word document was saved. Then click on the “Search for Lost Data”.

Step 2 The tool will start scanning. The scanning time depends on your drive and data.

Step 3 Once the scan is complete, you can easily locate the deleted data via file path or file type. After that, you can click the “Recover” button to restore it.

Conclusion

Losing a Word document doesn’t mean your work is lost. In this guide, we offer 5 proven methods to help you recover deleted Word files on Windows 11/10. Each solution fits a different scenario. So you can start from the simplest options—like the Recycle Bin or Ctrl+Z to the built-in Windows features. If these methods don’t work, you can turn to a reliable solution like RecoverGo.

iToolab RecoverGo Windows Data Recovery helps you recover your precious Word files with 99% recovery rate. Its simple UI and user-friendly interface make the recovery process much easier.