A rather large word file I use quite often suddenly became "non responding" the other day. The hourglass appeared and when I closed the file a note appeared wanting me to send the file to Microsoft. I believe I added something too quickly to the file and from then on I was unable to make any changes to that file. Corrupted file? Nothing I tried seemed to help including System Restore, trying to repair or reinstall with CD #1 of the Microsoft Office for Small Business 2 CD pack I have. I thought for sure that would help. I also tried left clicking to copy the file and replace on a blank Word document but by the time I finished copying I could no longer paste.

Then I did a really dumb thing. I replaced another file (that I didnt need) onto the unresponsive file that I do need and now everything I had on the file I need is gone. I should add I dont go online with this computer I just add to my Word files. Can I ever recover that lost file? Its an old HP Pavilion from 2004 with Windows XP.

Please update your profice so we can tell what operating system and Word version you're using.

Word wouldn't have wanted to send the file to Microsoft; just information about the crash. Neither a System Restore, or Office Repair/Reinstall would have been appropriate. Simply re-starting your system and letting Word auto-recover should have been enough.

As for what you've done since, the only way to recover your work is by restoring it from a known good backup.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

I dont know what other info do you need ? Windows XP SP2. This PC is used offline only. So whatever it takes I can download from another computer to CD and install, However isnt there an easier way to recover the lost file? I know I made a stupid mistake when I swapped one good file for this bad one. I couldve gone intp safe mode when gthe file was there but corrupted...

You're still using Office XP - on Win XP?! Wow! That's ancient.

The file isn't so much lost as overwritten - by the "really dumb thing" you did. Your chances of recovering any of the original content is small to non-existent. A file recovery program might be able to recover some of the text from the file by examining your hard disk's contents. The only reliable way to recover your work is by restoring it from a known good backup (e.g. a copy on a USB stick, CD or floppy disk).

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Supposing I had I NOT swapped one file for the other and the file was there but just not responding or corrupted because I added to it and tried closing to abruptly. Whats the procedure to get it to respond again?

Simply re-starting Word or your system may have been enough. However, you're way beyond that now.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

No that didnt work. I tried reinstalling and repair from the Small Business 2 CD pack in the Control Panel. I already said that in my original post. I was afraid to try uninstalling and reinstallation fearing all my files would be lost

Repairing & Reinstalling both have no effect on your files - other than to make them readable again if an Office fault was preventing that.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

I had an external drive on a previous computer. The same thing happened. It did nothing to save a non responsive file. So if I had a backup USB plugged in here and this happened, The backup file would be corrupted as well. How do you go about saving a Word file in two places so that if the original gets corrupted you have a backup file thats not corrupted?

Then I guess you have to disconnect the external hard drive after each use, before adding anything new to the Word file, close the Word file, make sure the addition has been accepted, close the file, then connect your external source and add it to the external source. Is that how it works so as not to corrupt the external source? The new stuff gets added to the external source only after you see that its been accepted on the Word file correctly and not corrupted otherwise it gets corrupted on the external source as well, correct?

Using Word with a USB Flash drive, especially Word 2002 from Office XP, is one of the most frequent causes of document corruption.

Well then and I repeat, I guess you have to disconnect the external hard drive or USB after each use, before adding anything new to the Word file, close the Word file, make sure the addition has been accepted, close the file, then connect your external source and add it to the external source. Is that how it works so as not to corrupt the external source? The new stuff gets added to the external source only after you see that its been accepted on the Word file correctly and not corrupted otherwise it gets corrupted on the external source as well, correct? BTW my file got corrupted with no external backup connected just because I opened the file too quickly...

You should never use Word to work on files stored on removable drives. Period. That is a well-documented, frequent, source of corruption. That corruption is usually caused by not going through the 'safe removal' process, though it can also happen when there is insufficient storage space on the drive for both the original file plus any temporary files Word needs to create while editing it.

If you have a file on a removable drive and want to work on it, copy it to an internal drive first, then copy it back again when you're done.

As for your assertion:
I suggest you watch your attitude.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Is it ok to use the USB or external HDD as a backup only, in the event the Word file gets corrupted? Adding to it only after Word additions have been accepted.
How would you backup on this Word 2002 system?

Read the second paragraph of my previous reply.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]