If you close PowerPoint without saving your presentation, the unsaved file will disappear instantly. If you’re lucky enough to have found this right page, you’ll learn how to recover unsaved files quickly and prevent future file loss with professional tips.
PowerPoint is widely used across diverse fields globally. It serves as a go-to tool in business for presentations, pitches, and reports, aiding professionals in conveying ideas clearly. However, imagine this: you’re working on a stunning PowerPoint presentation for work or study, but before you get a chance to save it, the computer suddenly loses power, causing the file to vanish completely.
That really can be frustrating, especially if it happens right before an important meeting or class. At this point, you must be wondering that: can I recover the unsaved PowerPoint file? The answer is YES, in most cases you can. Microsoft PowerPoint and Windows come with several built-in features make it possible to recover an unsaved PowerPoint.
Whether your computer crashed, you accidentally closed the app without saving, or Windows suddenly restarted, there are still ways to recover unsaved PowerPoint files. In this section, you’ll learn several step-by-step methods to recover unsaved PowerPoint on Windows. Let's explore them one by one.
If your computer suddenly loses power or PowerPoint crashes unexpectedly while you’re using it, PowerPoint’s AutoSave feature may have saved the file, provided you’ve enabled this function.
Step 1. Launch PowerPoint and click "File" button.
Step 2. Select "Open" section and click "Recover Unsaved Presentations".
Step 3. Browse the available unsaved files and open the one you need, then save it to a safe location.
PowerPoint has a built-in AutoRecover feature that automatically saves your work at set intervals. If the program crashes or you forget to save, you may be able to restore the unsaved version.
Step 1. Navigate to the default AutoRecover folder:
C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\PowerPoint\
Step 2. Search for files with extensions ".tmp" or ".asd" to locate your PowerPoint file.
Step 3. Open the file in PowerPoint to check if it's the one you want and save it to a safe location.
When PowerPoint is running, Windows automatically creates temporary folders to store auto-recovery information, preventing data loss caused by software crashes or power outages. You can check the unsaved presentation in Temp folder.
Step 1. Press "Win + R" and type "%temp%" in the run prompt to access the Temp folder.
Step 2. Once the folder opens in File Explorer, you can enter "*.ppt", "*.pptx", or "ppt*.tmp" in the search box to find the unsaved PowerPoint file.
Step 3. If it shows up in the search results, you can open it in PowerPoint to confirm it’s the file you want, then save it to a secure location.
If you have enabled File History or System Restore on Windows, you can use the "Restore previous versions" feature to recover older versions of your PowerPoint. If you have saved this PowerPoint file before and backed up the folder where it is stored using File History, this method can help you retrieve previous versions.
Step 1. Locate to the folder where the PowerPoint file were stored in File Explorer.
Step 2. Right click on it and choose "Restore previous versions" from the context menu.
Step 3. Choose a desired version from the list of versions and click "Restore" to recover it.
If you save your files on cloud backup tools like OneDrive and have enabled the auto-save function, every edit you make will be synchronized to the cloud in real time. OneDrive's Version History feature keeps track of these editing records, allowing you to find the version that contains your unsaved content.
Step 1. Sign in to your OneDrive account.
Step 2. Locate to the file you want to recover and right click on it, then choose "Version history".
Step 3. Select a desired version from the list of versions and right click on it, then choose "Restore" to recover it. You can open the file in PowerPoint to check its content and confirm if it's the file you want.
Although the above methods are effective, they can only recover unsaved files and previous versions. If your files are severely corrupted, deleted, or stored on a drive that won’t boot, a professional data recovery tool like MyRecover can be your safety net.
Unlike built-in features, MyRecover can recover a wider range of lost files, including documents, images, audios, videos, archives and more. Besides, it can also cover most data loss scenarios, such as recovering data from inaccessible drives, deleted partitions, formatted USB drives, crashed systems (only avaliable for paid versions), and so on.
⭐Support 1,000+ file types, including documents, images, videos, emails, and more.
⭐Compatible with all storage devices: USB drives, HDDs, SSDs, SD cards, etc.
⭐Dual scan modes: Quick Scan for speed, Deep Scan for thorough recovery.
⭐Support NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, ReFS in Windows 11/10/8/7 & Windows Server.
How to use MyRecover to recover lost PowerPoint files
Step 1. Download and install MyRecover on your computer from a secure channel, avoid installing it on the drive with lost files.
Step 2. Launch it and select the drive or folder where the lost files were stored, then click "Scan".
Step 3. Choose files you want to recover from the recoverable lists and click "Recover". You can use the "Filter" function in the right upper corner to access PowerPoint file quickly.
In general, MyRecover will automatically perform a quick scan. If necessary, you can click "Deep Scan" to scan for more file fragments and deal with extremely complex disks.
Step 4. Select a location different from the original one to save the recovered files.
When the process is completed, the message indicating successful recovery will pop up. You can access and check the recovered files by clicking on the destination folder path or "Browse" button.
Losing a PowerPoint file doesn’t always mean it’s gone forever. From AutoRecover to OneDrive version history, there are multiple ways to recover unsaved PowerPoint whether you’re on Windows 10 or Windows 11. But for long-term protection, pairing these built-in tools with a reliable professional recovery solution like MyRecover ensures that your work is always safe.
MyRecover can protect your files comprehensively. No matter what causes the file loss, it can help you retrieve the lost files. Moreover, MyRecover offers the Professional Edition which gives you unlimited data recovery, full file preview, and even recovery from unbootable systems, helping you protect your important presentations against future data loss.