May 12,2020 • Filed to: Mac Recovery • Proven solutions
While working on a Word file, if you forget to save the document then Office creates some temp files automatically as a backup. It creates a new temp file after a specific time without overwriting the previous ones. So if you accidentally saved over a word document, you.
I am using MS Office 2010, and this issue happens in MS Word 2010. I work on long documents for my job, and several of them have tables inserted into the Word document. Occasionally, I will get the message 'Microsoft Word has stopped working'. It freezes all documents that I have open, and eventually shuts down completely.
Favorite Answer use the recovery tool. You can get help about it in the help section of word and yes, if you had auto save feature on, then you wouldent probably loose much.
The Mac forums are filled with questions like “why does Microsoft word keep freezing on my Mac”. Even though Mac OS X is a reliable OS, but this doesn’t make it glitch free. Users often have to face a situation like this when Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and other MS office tools stop responding.
When you are using a version of MS Office which is not compatible with the macOS, it causes problems. Thus, Microsoft word is frozen on Mac and the system fails to process other requests too. Well, we might not know the exact reasons why this happen to you, but we can surely sum up the reasons in a list. In this article, you will not only learn the possible causes of this problem but also find out how you can fix it. Just take a look!
Part 1. What Causes Word Frozen on Mac?
Before you get to the fixes, it is vital to gather information on why does word keep freezing on my Mac. There are various reasons which lead to this issue causing panic in the users. If the problem last long, then it will cause the system to crash and the files will become inaccessible permanently. The causes narrow down to the following:
Human mistakes which include accidental deletion, formatting of files or volumes during normal operation.
Sudden termination of the system files due to a power surge or other reasons.
Interrupted Read and Write Operations.
Sharing data files with a system whose platform is not supported.
Virus attack.
Modification in BIOS settings can also lead to Microsoft word frozen on Mac issue.
Corruption in Header files.
Catalog files node corruption.
Problem in the boot sector.
Improper installation of the programs.
Hardware or software issues.
As you can see, there are numerous that can make the word file inaccessible. Once the files become inaccessible, you can only think of possible solutions. So, let’s try them now.
Part 2. How to Solve the Problem 'MS Word keeps freezing on Mac'?
Normally, people freak out and they don’t have any idea what to do when word freezes on Mac. But you have to make sure that you can either repair word on Mac or resolve the issue immediately to avoid further issues. Here are some methods that would fix the problems.
Solution 1: Force Quit Word Application on Mac
If you don’t know how to shut down the word on Mac when frozen then you should try the Force Quit. It will close the unresponsive application instantly. But you’ll also lose the current file on which you are working. Follow the steps below to force quit word or any other application on Mac:
Step 1 Click on the Word option in the Apple menu and it will open up several options.
Step 2 There you will see the Force Quit option. Click on the option and the system will shut down Word.
During the force quit, you won’t even get a notification that you’ll lose your unsaved documents. You can also force quit the running and unresponsive applications using the Task Manager.
Solution 2: Reset the Word Preferences and Restart Mac
Another method that you can try if the Microsoft word is freezing on Mac is resetting the Word Preferences. It is one of the main reasons that cause issues in Word or other MS Office applications. You have to reset the preferences according to Mac. Follow the steps below to do this:
Step 1 Close all the applications and open Library using the Go to the folder search. In the results, you will see the Preferences folder. It contains the preferences file you set for MS Word.
Step 2 Open the folder and locate the files which are named as-com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist. Open the files and close it and check if the problem is fixed. If not, then move the file to desktop and check again.
Step 3 If step 2 doesn’t work, then open word from the Apple menu. As you click on the Word option, you will see the Preferences option in the drop-down list.
Step 4 Open Preferences and click on the File Locations option. Select the User Template option and find the file which is named as Normal.dotm.
Move the files to the desktop and check whether the problem is resolved or not. If it doesn’t work then delete the file from the system permanently and it will fix reset the word preferences entirely.
Solution 3: Update Microsoft Office to the Latest
Usually, Mac Microsoft office gets frozen when an update is pending on the system. You can fix it by simply updating the existing version to the latest one. There is an Auto Update option for Mac so that you won’t experience security problems or other issues, but it needs to set up first. You can either open the Word application or go to the App store to update the MS Office.
Step 1 Open MS word and open the Help menu. There you will see the Check for Updates option.
Step 2 If there is an update available, install it on your Mac and the problem will vanish. Set up the Automatic Download and Install option and you won’t need to worry about the updates in the future.
The update will not only repair office on Mac but also improve the system performance. If you use the App Store, you can update all MS Office apps at once.
Part 3. How to Recover Force Quit and Unsaved Word Documents on Mac:
When word freezes on Mac, most of the people suffer from data loss situations. It is a palpable condition and you’ll need help to retrieve the lost files from your Mac. Here is the most apparent solution.
You can’t stop it if Microsoft word keeps freezing on Mac. But you can use Recoverit (IS) for Mac to get back the lost word files. The above methods to fix MS Word results in serious data loss but if you have the right tool; you can get them back easily. With a wide array of file format support, the recovery software for Mac is capable of retrieving all kinds of files including Word documents, presentations, archives, emails, photos, videos, and others too. Plus, you get a chance to recover the files which are deleted from Trash, lost from partition, formatted from the drive, and lost due to corruption and virus attack too.
Recoverit (IS) for Mac
The Best Word File Recovery Software:
It is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating system.
It supports a large number of storage device type including hard drives, USB flash drives, SD cards, etc.
All major types of files can be recovered including Office documents, music, images, video, emails, and archives.
It has a deep scan features for in-depth scanning of the hard drive for searching files to recover.
3,015,629 people have downloaded it
How to Recover Word Files on Mac?
Now, you can avoid the hassle of scouring the internet with keywords like “word froze on Mac how to recover”. All you need is right in front of you, a reliable Mac data recovery tool which is powerful and easy to use. Follow the guide below to get the unsaved word files back on Mac:
Step 1 Download and Run the Program:
The first and foremost step to get the files back is to download the software on your system. After the download, launch the software and select the file types that you want to recover. Choose a recovery method from the interface and move on to the next step.
Step 2 Scan Drive for Unsaved Files:
As the files are unsaved, it is better that you pick the “I can’t find my partition” option from the list. Hit the Start button and the software will scan the entire drive to look for lost or deleted files.
Step 3 Preview and Recover:
Once the scan is complete, the files will be displayed on the screen according to their formats. You can select the files and have a preview to ensure that they are intact. Select the files that you need on your Mac and click on the Recover button.
The files will be downloaded on your system in a while according to the size. To avoid overwrite or corruption, make sure that the files are saved in a separate folder.
Conclusion:
If Microsoft word for Mac keeps freezing, you can try out any of the above methods to resolve the issue. It is quite common with MS Office including Word, Excel, and Outlook 2016 Mac freezes abruptly. But now you know how to deal with the problem quickly. And if none of the methods work out, iSkysoft is always here for your help.
Summary :
Don't worry if you don’t know how to recover unsaved Word document? This post will show you two wonderful solutions to work things out after losing a Word document due to accidental deletion, formatting, program crash, or unknown reasons. One is recovering lost Word document through Microsoft Word and the other is using MiniTool Power Data Recovery.
Quick Navigation :
People are used to saving personal information, business data and study materials in Word documents, Excel files and PowerPoint files mainly because of its convenience. It is possible to lose the Word document due to different reasons no matter where it is stored (in the internal hard drive, external hard drive, USB flash drive, or other places).
The document is deleted accidentally
The document is lost due to system crash or Microsoft Word crash
Other reasons
You’re lucky if you do have back of the lost/unsaved Word document. But, in most cases, users don’t have the latest backup for the Word document. So they are wondering can I retrieve a Word document that wasn't saved.
How to recover unsaved Word document at this time? In brief, you have two choices:
Use MiniTool Power Data Recovery to recover lost Word document.
Recover previous version of Word document through Microsoft Word.
Recover Unsaved Word Document with MiniTool Power Data Recovery
In fact, unexpected file loss is a common problem that lots of people are facing with or have ever met. Most of them struggle to know how do I recover an unsaved Word document on my computer, instead of recreating a new document with almost the same content.
In this part, you’ll learn how to recover an unsaved Word document with MiniTool Power Data Recovery in different platforms. Please read the following tips carefully if you are interested in:
How to recover unsaved Word document 2007/2013/2016
How to recover unsaved Word document Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/Mac
Tip: Just open the backup file and find your needed Word document directly if you have backed up the latest version of the unsaved Word document. Click here if you want to do backup but has no idea of which tool to choose.
How Do I Recover an Unsaved Word Document in 2018
How do I recover an unsaved Word document in Windows 10 or other Windows systems? There are mainly three steps to complete.
Note: If you want to recover a deleted Word document, please open Recycle Bin to check first. If it is contained in the Recycle Bin, please drag it out directly; if it is not here, please click here to see how to recover deleted documents missing from Recycle Bin.
How do I recover a permanently deleted Word document?
Step 1: get & install MiniTool Power Data Recovery to your computer. Then, launch it to see the main interface. Now, you are supposed to choose one from the four function options displayed in the left-hand panel.
Tips on choosing a suitable one for your case:
If the deleted/lost Word document was saved on a local partition, please select This PC.
If your document is included in a USB flash drive/SD card, please connect the device to your computer and choose Removable Disk Drive. (How to fix when USB flash drive not recognized or external hard drive not showing up)
If you want to recover corrupt Word files from an inaccessible hard disk, you should select Hard Disk Drive.
Step 2: select the target partition/disk to scan and click on the Scan button in the lower right corner.
If you want to search for only Word files, please do the following things:
Click on the Settings button on the left side of the Scan button.
Check only Office WORD Document (*.doc) and Office2007 Word Document (*.docx) under Extra search for known file types.
Click on the OK button to confirm changes.
Click on the Scan button to start detecting Word documents.
Step 3: check all the Word documents you want to recover from the scan result. Then, you should click on the Save button to choose a storage path for them. At last, click on the OK button to confirm and wait for the recovery to complete.
Please note:
You’ll see the following prompt window after clicking Save in a Trial edition, which will prevent you from recovering any files from the scanned drive. Basically, the Trial edition is designed to help users scan and preview files. To recover the files found by MiniTool Power Data Recovery, you need to upgrade to a full version.
That’s how to recover the documents you have deleted or the corrupt files on Windows platform. If you have deleted a Word document from USB and want to recover it, please connect the USB device to your computer before running the Power Data Recovery software.
What if you have lost files on a Windows Server system? Please read this page:
Don't know how to recover lost files in Windows Server? Read this post to learn three possible ways for Windows Server file recovery.
How to Recover Unsaved Word Document Mac
To recover lost Word document on your Mac, you should use MiniTool Mac Data Recovery.
The recovery steps are:
Get & install MiniTool Mac Data Recovery for Mac Word files recovery.
Launch it to see the main interface, in which you should choose one from the four functions available (Undelete Recovery, Damaged Partition Recovery, Lost Partition Recovery, and Digital Media Recovery). Please select the one that suits your data loss case the best!
Select the partition/disk that contains the unsaved Word document and click on the Scan/Full Scan button to search for Word documents. Also, you can click Settings to search for only Word files.
Wait for the scan and check all the Word documents you want to recover from Mac. Click on the Save button to set a safe location for storing recovered Word documents.
Please note:
The free version of MiniTool Mac Data Recovery allows you to recover no more than 1MB of data. To break this limit, you should visit this page.
That’s how to recover a Word document on Mac. To know more about Mac file recovery, please read:
Believe it or not, we can make it easy to recover deleted data on Mac even if you are totally a novice.
Recover Unsaved Word Document with AutoSave Feature
Definitely, there is an AutoSave function built-in Microsoft Word that can be used to help you recover Word document easily from the automatically saved versions or unsaved files. If you’d like to learn the way to recover lost Word document by using the built-in AutoSave feature in different cases, just keep reading.
How to Recover a Word Document That Was Saved Over
You should recover previous version of Word document when you need a Word document that was saved over. The recovery steps are:
Keep the certain Word document opening.
Click on the File button located in the upper left corner of the pane.
The file window will appear and the Info option will be chosen by default.
Three sections are provided under Info: Permissions, Prepare for Sharing and Versions. All the versions saved automatically will be shown to you here according to the saving time.
Look at the save time of them and figure out which is the version you want.
Click on a version and Microsoft Word will open a new Word window for you.
In the new window, two options are available: Compare and Restore.
Click on the Restore button to overwrite the last saved version with the version you choose.
How Do You Recover a File You Didn't Save
The situation seems to get worse if you have made many changes to a document, then you close it without saving any changes. When you open the Word document again, you won’t be able to see any automatically saved versions in the Info window after clicking the File menu. How can you recover the unsaved document under such circumstances?
Well, you can rely on the Recover Unsaved Documents feature or open the AutoRecover file location to check.
Where is the Recover Unsaved Documents feature?
Open the Word document on your computer.
Click on the File menu in the upper left corner.
Find Manage Document option under Info.
Click on Manage Document and choose Recover Unsaved Documents.
Browse the recent unsaved files.
Select a file to open.
Click on the Save As button at the top of the file to save the changes.
How to open asd file?
You can also open the AutoRecover file location and check whether your need documents are contained here. Generally, the AutoSaved Word document files will be stored in the computer with a name formed by the original file name, Unsaved tag and some special symbols & numbers (please see the picture below). The AutoRecover files are saved as asd files and they are read-only.
Where are AutoRecover files saved?
You can find the location of AutoRecover files by the following steps:
Click on the File option in the menu bar.
Choose Options from the left-hand pane of the window.
Select Save in the Word Options window you see.
Navigate to the Save documents section on the right-hand pane.
Find the AutoRecover file location and look at the storage path after it. The default path is: C:UsersUsernameAppDataRoamingMicrosoftWord and you can change it according to needs.
When you finally find your needed document in that location, please double click to open the asd file in Microsoft Office Word. Also, two choices are available: Compare and Restore. If it is the one you need, please select Restore to recover the unsaved Word document.
Now, you know exactly where Word saves AutoRecover files.
How do I turn on AutoRecover in Word?
Actually, the AutoRecover feature will be enabled by default. The Save AutoRecover information every _ minutes and Keep the last autosaved version if I close without saving options under Save documents section are both checked by default. You can uncheck these two options as you need.
Can I change the time interval of AutoRecover?
In fact, the time interval is set to 10 minutes by default and you can change it to an integer ranging from 1 to 120.
The timer will be initialized every time when the new modification has been made to the Word document after the completion of the last auto-save/manual saving. And when the specified time interval is reached, a new version of the current Word document will be generated.
If you would like to save current changes manually by pressing the Save button, the timer will be cleared and stop working until new changes have been made to the document.
How Can You Recover an Unsaved Word Document after Crash
Sometimes, you may suffer from a sudden Microsoft Office Word app crash or a system crash while you’re working on a Word document. What’s the right thing to do at this time? Definitely, you should do the following things to recover unsaved Word document after the crash:
Restart the Microsoft Office Word or the restart the computer.
Go to the original place to find and open the correct Word document.
Take a look at the Document Recovery section located in the left-hand pane of Word.
There may be many files that Word has recovered for you and they are available in the list; you should make sure which one you need.
Right click on the file and choose Save As.
Choose a location for it and click on the Save button.
Please note:
If you see many files in the list and you don’t know which one to save, you may look at the date and creation time under the name of each file (that may give a clue).
If you see multiple versions of the same file, it’s better for you to choose the one with the most recent time since it often contains the most recent changes.
To see the detailed content and changes, you can click on a file to open the document directly. You can continue working with the file you choose or save it first.
Please close the Document Recovery pane when you are sure you have recovered all the documents you need.
All in all, if you find your Word document with very important information stored in is missing, you should react immediately by following the suggestions gave in the previous content to recover Unsaved Word document all by yourself.
The steps to recover unsaved excel file and the process to recover unsaved PowerPoint are basically the same. If you would like to recover a pdf file, please click here.
My Word Document Is Frozen And I Didn't Save
Bottom Line
Word document missing seems to be inevitable and non-ignorable. Almost all users have ever been stuck in Word document loss issues. What a pity!
But the loss of an important Word document is actually not the end of the world; on the contrary, you can recover the unsaved/deleted/lost Word document in different ways.
For instance, both MiniTool Power Data Recovery software and the built-in AutoSave function can be used to help you find back the lost Word document information. They can be useful in most of the case.
What you should do is choosing the proper method according to your actual situation to complete the Word document recovery work at once.
Recover Unsaved Word Document FAQ
My Word Document Is Frozen And I Didn't Save
? Can I retrieve a Word document that wasn't saved?
Of course, you can. And there are three ways available for you: recover the unsaved Word document by using previous version; recover the Word document by using data recovery software; and recover the file by checking the AutoRecover file location.
The default AutoRecover directory is: C:UsersuserAppDataRoamingMicrosoftWord. Users can go to check by clicking File, selecting Options, choosing Save in left sidebar and looking at the AutoRecover file location.
That depends on whether you have configured the Word program to create backup copy. You can go to check through these steps: click File -> choose Options -> select Advanced -> scroll down to find Save section -> look at Always create backup copy option.