One Note - Retrieving lost data & unlocking password protected section

Question

I have 2 issues pertaining to One Note - I had to switch accounts and ended up uninstalling OneNote without taking a back-up. It wasn't synced up in OneDrive either. Is there a way to retrieve data? On the  Office.com profile, I don't see the latest data. Also, how can one unlock a password protected page if the password has been forgotten?

Answer 1

Hi VidyaSR,

Sorry for all the trouble caused by the issue. I know losing data can be frustrating and can cost a lot of time and work.

OneNote automatically stores backups of your notes on the same hard disk drive as your original notebook files. You might be able to find backups of your notebook files, please check the following location:

• On Windows 10, the Backup folder for your notebooks is located at C:\Users\user name\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneNote\version\Backup.

The above location is the default location, if you haven’t changed the location in OneNote application before uninstalling the app, you might be able to find the backup files. If this location was changed in OneNote app, then you must search manually.

If you still can’t find the backup files and since the notes were not synced, then I am afraid there’s no way to find the notebook.

Reference: Default storage location for backup files

Regarding unlocking password protected section, OneNote uses encryption to secure password-protected sections. If you forget any of your section passwords, unfortunately, no one will be able to unlock those notes for you (not even Microsoft Technical Support). 

Reference: Password-protect your notes

For the future reference, take care when applying or changing passwords. Write down your passwords and keep them in a safe place if you think you may not be able to remember them.

Regards,

Neha