Recover Unsaved Word Files on iMac After Power Outage

data recovery
1

I’m using a 2017 iMac Retina 4K running macOS Big Sur 11 with Microsoft Office for Mac installed.

A few months ago, I had a power outage. Since then, some Word files won’t open. For example, a file I created on 12/19/2022 now shows this error in Word:

“Can’t open xxx.docx — document either deleted or not accessible.”

I use Time Machine, but that file doesn’t appear in my backups. Finder also can’t locate it.

Is there any way to recover these files?

2

A sudden power outage can sometimes corrupt files or parts of the file system, especially if Word was open at the time.

First, I’d check whether the file actually still exists:

  1. Open Finder and search for the exact filename.
  2. Right-click the file (if you see it) → Get Info.

If the size is 0 KB, it’s likely corrupted.

If it has a normal size, it might still be recoverable.

Next, try this:

  1. Open Microsoft Word.
  2. Go to File → Open.
  3. Select the file.
  4. Click the small arrow next to “Open” and choose Open and Repair

Also check Word’s AutoRecovery folder:
~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery

You can access it via Finder → Go → Go to Folder.

If Time Machine doesn’t show it, make sure you enter Time Machine from the actual folder where the file was originally stored, not just from the Desktop.

If the file truly disappeared and isn’t in backup, your only remaining option would be a data recovery tool, and the chances depend on whether the disk sectors were overwritten after the outage.

I’ve used iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac to help me find the lost files. It’s an easy-to-operate tool and supports scanning your entire Mac hard drive to find your lost data.