How to retrieve documents

Question

Can I retrieve Microsoft documents from my computer that will not power on?

Answer 1

The bot has most of the information you'll need.

If the files were on the hard disk:

To connect the old drive to your new computer, look online for a SATA to USB adaptor. Open the old machine, remove the drive, put the adaptor on, then plug the adaptor into a USB port on to your new computer. The drive should show up with a drive letter like D or E. Your files will probably be in Users[Your User Name On The Old Machine]\Documents.

Answer 2

Yes, of course, as long as the hard drive itself still operates normally. Remove it from the computer and install it into a spare drive bay in another computer.

But it might be a better idea to replace the power supply unit in the dead computer.

Answer 3

Yes. If the computer will not power on, the practical recovery path depends on where the documents were stored:

1. If the files were synced with OneDrive
   • Sign in to OneDrive on the web and check whether the documents are there.
   • If they are present, install the OneDrive desktop app on another Windows 11 computer, sign in, and let the files sync.
2. If the files were only stored locally on the old computer and the drive is still readable
   • Copy the files from common folders such as Documents or Desktop to a flash drive or external drive, then move them to the new computer.
3. If the old computer cannot be accessed normally but the drive can still be read from Windows
   • Windows File Recovery can recover files to a different drive.
   • Basic command format: winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches]
   • Example to recover the Documents folder: Winfr C: E: /regular /n \Users\<username>\Documents\
   • Example to recover Word files: Winfr C: E: /regular /n *.docx
   • The source and destination drives must be different.
   • Microsoft creates a recovery folder on the destination drive named Recovery_<date and time>.
4. If a Word file was open when the computer failed unexpectedly
   • Word may automatically recover work the next time the app opens if an AutoRecover file exists.
   • For Word on Mac, AutoRecover files can be found in the hidden AutoRecovery folder, but if a file was never saved at least once, AutoRecovery may not recover it.

If the machine does not power on at all, the most likely successful options are OneDrive, copying files from the old drive, or Windows File Recovery if the drive is still readable.

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