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'The directory name isn't valid' on Word and USB has deleted every file on there. Is there anyway to recover my document from word!?

Anonymous
2023-11-03T17:51:53+00:00

So I got a new USB and saved this file UPD BOOKLET onto it but when I inserted it it asked me to format it. I ejected it without doing this and passed it onto IT Dept who looked at this and said there where no files on the USB at all. The only trace I can find of the document is on my Word history however, when I try and open it it comes up with the error message 'The directory name isn't valid'. Is there anyway to restore my document? I have tried using disk drill but when trying to open this it doesn't work either.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Stefan Blom 342.7K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2023-11-03T23:27:11+00:00

    Since you are being recommended to format the USB stick, its data may be lost forever. There are recovery programs which may be able to recover at least some of the content. That could be worth trying.

    In general, saving to a USB stick from Word isn't safe, as Palcouk wrote. You can of course move files to and from a USB stick, using File Explorer, for temporary storage or backup reasons.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-11-03T21:02:10+00:00

    Hello

    I’m Adeyemi and I’d be happy to help you with your question.

    I understand that you're having trouble with the error message 'The directory name isn't valid' in Word and that your USB seems to have deleted all its files. Here are some steps you can take to try and recover your document:

    Firstly, you can try to recover the document from Word itself. Word has a feature called 'AutoRecover' which automatically saves a backup copy of your documents as you're working on them. To access these files, go to File > Options > Save and check the AutoRecover file location. Navigate to this location in File Explorer and see if your document is there.

    If you're unable to recover the document from Word, you can try to recover the files from your USB drive. Connect the USB flash drive to your computer, open the Start menu, type "This pc", and hit Enter on your keyboard. Right-click on your USB flash drive and select "Properties". Go to the "Previous Versions" tab and look at the list of available recovery options. Select a previous version and click "Restore.

    If the above methods don't work, you can use data recovery software to recover the files from your USB. There are several data recovery tools available that can help you recover deleted files from your USB drive. These tools can scan your USB drive and recover all types of lost files.

    I hope this helps.

    Give back to the community. Help the next person who has this issue by indicating if this reply solved your problem. Click Yes or No below.

    Kind regards, Adeyemi

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-11-03T19:29:57+00:00

    If O365 is involved docs are saved to OneDrive.

    A usb stick should only be used to copy data from one device to another, and you cannot simply copy a doc located on OneDrive to the stick

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