How to Recover .asd Files

Opening a .docx file on your Windows 10/11 device is an easy task as long as the file isn’t corrupted. However, that might not be the case for the .asd files. Microsoft Word turns unsaved documents into .asd files to make sure you don’t lose any important data. But sometimes, MS Word just fails to open these files and deems them as an unsupported file type. How would you recover .asd files in those cases?

In this article, we will show you three easy ways to use MS Word and File Explorer to restore .asd files and open them with ease. We will also demonstrate how to recover these .asd files if they got deleted from your device. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

Table of Contents

What is a .asd File?

A .asd file is created when Microsoft Word uses its AutoRecover tool to save a backup copy of an unsaved Word document. Usually, MS Word use create this type of file to recover the Word files that it wasn’t able to save due to several reasons, such as system failure, app failure, or a sudden interruption in power supply.

In most cases, you can easily open a .asd file using MS Word 2010 or its later versions on a Windows 10 computer. However, there is no guarantee your MS Word will be able to open every .asd file without issues. Sometimes, it might fail to open the file and show a notification telling you that the file is unsupported and cannot be opened.

As we mentioned before, sometimes MS Word cannot open a .asd file. Does this mean there is no way to recover the data inside the file and open it again? Of course not.

In this section, we will show you three ways to recover .asd files and open them easily. We will also showcase the procedure of restoring a deleted .asd file to your computer. Let’s start with the easiest methods to rescue and open a .asd file.

Recovering .asd Files Using Recover Unsaved Documents

Microsoft Word tends to look for the .asd files whenever you open the application and shows it in the document recovery panel. Therefore, you can always find your .asd files and open them using the “Recover Unsaved Documents” feature of MS Word. Here’s how to do it:

Type “Word” in the “Windows Search Bar” of your computer and press the “Enter” key to open the MS Word app.
Once you open the MS Word, click on the “File” option and then on the “Open” option.
Next, click on the “Recent” option.
Now, click on the “Recover Unsaved Documents” option at the bottom of the window.
After that, a new window will show up that contains multiple .asd files of the UnsavedFiles folder on your computer. Select the .asd file you want to recover and click on the “Open” button.
Next, click on the “Save As” button, and your .asd file will convert to a .docx file.

Using this method, you can easily recover .asd files by converting them into .docx files. After the unsupported .asd files turn into .docx files, you can easily open them using MS Word version 2007 and above.

Try Using Manage Document Option in MS Word

You can also recover and open your .asd files safely using the “Manage Document” option in MS Word. Here’s how you can do it:

Type “Word” in the “Windows Search Bar” of your computer.
Press the “Enter” key on your keyboard to open MS Word.
Next, click on the “File” option and then click on the “Info” option in the left panel of the window.
After that, click on the “Manage Document” option and a drop-down menu with multiple options will appear.
From the drop-down menu, click on the “Recover Unsaved Documents” option. A new window containing one or more .asd files will pop open.
Click on the .asd file you want to recover before click on the “Open” button.
Click the “Save As” button to successfully convert the .asd file into a .docx file.

Now you can open the .docx file on your computer and retrieve the content.

Recover .asd Files Using File Explorer

Due to its AutoRecover feature, MS Word creates a backup of your files while you’re still working on them. These backup files are saved as .asd files and stored in a fixed location of your Windows 10 device. The location, however, varies according to your current version of Windows OS.

On Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista: C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\
On Windows XP: C:\Users\UserName\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\

All you have to do is go to the File Explorer, follow the file path mentioned above, and open the .asd files. Here’s how that works:

Press the “Windows + E” keys on your keyboard and open the “File Explorer” window.
Next, follow the file path mentioned above according to your computer’s Windows OS version to access the .asd files.
Now, right-click on the .asd file you want to recover, and a new prompt with multiple options will pop up.
Click on the “Open With…” option and then click on the “OK” option.
After that, a new prompt will show up asking how you would want to open the file. Select “Word” from the available options.
Click on “OK,” and then the “Save as” option to turn the .asd file to a Word file and recover it.

Restore Deleted .asd Files Using Data Recovery Software

Using the previous three methods, you can restore any .asd files on your computer by converting them to .docx files. But what if the .asd files are missing from your computer? They can be deleted from your computer for multiple reasons, including a virus attack, accidental deletion, lost partition, and more.

Thus, if you want to restore .asd files that are already deleted from your device, you need to use professional data recovery software for Windows. Just make sure that you choose professional data restoration software from one of the reputable companies to get the best results. Thankfully, the majority of data recovery applications have a similar user interface and require similar steps to recover your data.

Therefore, following the steps below (or with a small variation), you can retrieve .asd files that have already been erased from your device:

First, download and install a professional data recovery software of your choice.
After that, launch the application on your computer.
Next, click on the drive or local folder your .asd files were located in before deletion.
Once you pick the right drive, click on the “Scan” option. This action will take a while to complete, so please be patient.
After the scan process is complete, you will see a list of deleted files. Most data recovery software has a filter option you can activate by clicking the “Filter” button.
Select “Word,” “.docx,” or “.asd” in the file type option, and click on “Apply.” This will help you filter out unnecessary files and help you find what you’re looking for.
Once you find the document you wish to recover, select it.
Click on the “Recover” button to return it to your computer storage.

Once you’re done recovering the .asd files, you can use any of the first three methods to transform .asd files to .docx files and open them effortlessly.

What is a .asd File?