[Solved] Corrupted File Possible Help?

[Aderfast]

Hi everyone,

My computer crashed while I was in the middle of writing, my file got corrupted, and I lost a month's worth of my novel. I swear I'm over here kicking myself for not making any recent backups. Losing a month of hard work is like a kick in the gut. Would any of the fine folk here be willing to walk me through a simple solution (or possible solution) to recovering this---and perhaps make it easy for my very non-technical brain to understand? I apologize for asking since this question has been asked before, but I am soooo bad with computers and am having a hard time understanding the instructions that have been given on different threads. If you could spell things out for a computer dummy like me, I would be most grateful.

[Zizi64]

PLease upload or share the damaged file here.

not making any recent backups.

Always create more than one backup copies about your important files with timestamped filenames.
Save them onto different media.

[robleyd]

If your file displays an ASCII Filter window when you try to open it, the likelihood is that the file is damaged beyond salvation. You can try to recover temporary files created by OpenOffice - see [Tutorial] How to find and un-delete AOO temporary files.

For future peace of mind, consider installing and using the Time stamped backup extension to save multiple backups of your important OpenOffice files.

[RoryOF]

Forget about the file giving the ASCII filter message; proceed immediately to the recovery methods suggested in the Tutorial to which robleyd has linked.

[John_Ha]

There is nothing in your file - it is completely lost.

STOP USING THE PC and DO NOT POWER IT OFF until you have recovered the file so as to maximise your chance of success.

Ask someone with good computer skills to follow [Tutorial] How to find and un-delete AOO temporary files which gives detailed instructions on how to

a) use Previous Versions (W7 and later) to recover previous versions of the file (is there something similar on MacOS and Linux?);

b) recover your file as it was when you last opened or saved it, or as it was when it was last saved with AutoRecovery;

c) find previous versions of the file in the folder it is located in, but which have since been deleted;

d) un-delete the temporary files AOO wrote while you were editing the file, and then deleted. This will recover your file as it was when you last opened or you last saved it.

[Aderfast]

Well, looks like I got lucky. I read through the How to find and un-delete AOO temporary files instructions and was able to find the temporary files. Thanks for your help everyone!

[John_Ha]

Well, looks like I got lucky.

Think of it as a lucky escape.

Be sure to take the actions recommended in the Tutorial about backups because it WILL happen again and you may not be so lucky next time.