How to Recover an Overwritten Excel File Without Previous Versions in Windows 10/11

How to recover unsaved or overwritten Excel files? Try these two effective methods to solve the issue.

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User scenario: Overwrote an Excel file by mistake

Scenario 1: "I accidentally saved over an Excel file. Is there any way to recover the overwritten Excel file?"

Scenario 2: "Does anyone know how to recover an overwritten Word document in Windows 10, 8, or 7? I replaced a Word document on my desktop and saved the file. I need to recover the overwritten Word document!"

For most Windows PC users, the issue of overwriting or replacing an Excel file is not new. However, despite its common occurrence, the solution still baffles many. So, what can you do when your Excel file gets overwritten or replaced? Here, we will provide two reliable methods to recover your overwritten Excel file.

Lastly, we introduce two intelligent Word/Excel recovery and backup solutions to help you recover deleted Word Excel or backup Excel files and prevent data loss. You can easily restore permanently deleted Word documents with one of the best data recovery software.

How to Use Built-In Excel Tools to Recover Overwritten Excel Files

Usually, when AutoSave is enabled, Microsoft Office Excel or Word creates some temporary files as backups while you're editing a Word or Excel file on a Windows PC. These temporary files don't overwrite your previous documents. So, if you overwrite an Excel or Word document, you can try to restore the previous version of the Excel file or Word document using the AutoRecover feature in Microsoft Office.

Step 1: Open Excel, and click on “File” > “Info” > “Manage Workbooks.” From the drop-down menu, select “Recover Unsaved Workbooks.”

Step 2. Select the unsaved file and click the "Open" button.

Step 3: In the bar at the top of the file, select “Save As” to restore your file.

Also read: How to Recover Unsaved Word Documents in Windows 10

How to Recover Replaced Excel File from Temporary Files When you accidentally replace an Excel file without saving the changes, there's a chance you can retrieve the original or previous version from temporary files. Here's how to do it: 1. **Close Excel**: First, make sure Microsoft Excel is completely closed. 2. **Find Temporary Files**: Temp files are usually stored in the following location (replace `username` with your actual username): - Windows 10/8/7: `%temp%\~$*filename*.xlsx` - Windows XP: `C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temp\~$*filename*.xls` Replace `*filename*` with the name of your Excel file. 3. **Open File Explorer**: Press `Win + E` to open File Explorer. 4. **Search for Temporary Files**: In the search bar at the top, type `~$*filename*` (replace `*filename*` with your actual file name) and press Enter. 5. **Locate the Temporary File**: You should see a list of temporary Excel files. Look for the one that was modified most recently, as it's likely the one associated with the replaced file. 6. **Copy and Rename**: Copy the temporary file to a safe location, then rename it to remove the `~$` prefix and change the file extension back to `.xlsx`. 7. **Open and Save**: Open the copied file using Microsoft Excel. If it prompts you about the file format, confirm that you want to open it. Once open, save it with a new name or overwrite the replaced file if you're confident it's the correct version. Remember that this method might not always work, especially if the temp files have been deleted or overwritten. It's crucial to regularly save your work and consider using auto-save features or cloud-based services to minimize data loss.

You can navigate to the location of the Temporary files folder on your Windows PC, look for previous versions of Excel or Word files, and then open and save them as needed.

Step 1: Navigate to the location where Microsoft Office saves its temporary files:

• On Windows 10/8/7/Vista: C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles • On Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles

On this path, replace “UserName” with your own computer user name.

Step 2: Locate the temporary file for the Excel spreadsheet or Word document that you need.

Step 3. Open the target file and click “Save As” to restore your replaced Excel spreadsheet or Word document.

After going through these steps, you should have successfully recovered your overwritten Excel or Word document and can continue using it as normal. If this doesn't work, try the next method.

How to Restore a Previous Version of an Excel File or Word Document

Another viable method to recover an overwritten Excel file or Word document is by restoring it from a backup. You can access previous versions of the file through File History or a Restore Point. As long as you have the Windows Backup option enabled, you can recover earlier versions of your Word document or Excel file by following these steps:

Step 1: Create a new Excel/Word document with the same name as your lost file, or open an existing Excel/Word document that you have saved.

Step 2. Right-click on the Excel or Word file and select Properties.

Step 3: Click “Previous Versions.” Find and select the latest version of the file you want to restore, then click “Restore.”

That's it – your overwritten or replaced Excel or Word file will be restored with the same filename.

How to Recover a Replaced Excel File on a Mac

How do I recover an overwritten file on my Mac? Try these three solutions to restore an accidentally replaced Excel file using Time Machine, AutoSave, or a cloud backup.

Recover Previous Versions of Excel Files from Time Machine

Restoring from a local backup is the easiest way to recover a replaced file. Mac users can use Time Machine to incrementally back up your photos, videos, documents, and other files. If you have Time Machine backups enabled, you can use it to restore your replaced Excel file.

Step 1: From the Menu Bar at the top of your Mac, launch Time Machine and click on it to enter.

Step 2: Select the folder that was overwritten.

Click “Recover” to restore the replaced Excel file on your Mac. The recovered file will go back to its original location.

Restore an Overwritten Excel File on Mac Using Auto Save

Like Windows, Office for Mac has an AutoSave feature that saves your documents at intervals you set. If your Word or Excel file becomes corrupted or gets replaced, you can use the AutoRecovery files to restore it. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Open your Mac, go to “Finder” > “Go” > “Go to Folder.”

Step 2: Type in ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery, then click “Go.”

Step 3: Locate the file you need and choose 'Save As' to recover it.

Restore a Replaced Excel File on Mac via Cloud Backup

How can I recover an overwritten Excel file without Time Machine? You can also utilize cloud backup services like OneDrive, iCloud, and Dropbox. These services keep a history of file changes, allowing users to quickly restore previous versions of the file.

Here, we'll show you how to recover a saved Excel file from Dropbox:

Step 1: Open a web browser and go to dropbox.com. Log in to your account.

Step 2: Choose the folder that contains the overwritten file, and open the latest version of the file.

Click the three dots on the right-hand control panel, and select “Version history.”

4. Find the original version and tap “Restore.”

Additional Tip: How to Recover Deleted or Lost Word/Excel Files

If your Excel or Word document was lost or accidentally deleted rather than overwritten, you can use a professional data recovery tool to retrieve the data. The Data Recovery Wizard is a well-designed and reputable utility that effectively allows you to recover deleted files. It possesses a powerful ability to recover lost data in complex situations.

Download this data recovery software to help you retrieve any deleted or lost Word and Excel files.

Step 1. Launch the Data Recovery Wizard. Select the drive where you lost your files and start the scan. This software lets you recover lost data from all devices, including HDD, SSD, USB drives, SD cards, flash drives, cameras, and more.

Step 2: Preview the scan results. You can click the File Type filter to choose the file types you need. tools Data Recovery Wizard supports 1000+ file types, such as photos, videos, documents, emails, audio files, etc.

Select the files to recover

Step 3: Select the files you'd like to preview. Click "Recover" and set a location to save the recovered data.

Backup Word/Excel Files to Avoid Data Loss

The best way to avoid losing an Excel or Word document is to back it up.

Enable Auto Save in Excel or Word

Step 1: Open Excel, click on "File" > "Options" > "Save."

Step two: Check the boxes for “Save AutoRecover information every * minutes” and “If I don't save, keep the last autosaved version.”

Step 3: Click “OK” to save your changes.

Utilize an automatic backup software to back up saved Excel files.

While Microsoft Office does provide an AutoRecover feature to automatically back up unsaved files, it doesn't protect saved documents. If you set up intelligent backups for your saved Excel or Word files, you can restore a backup even if the file gets overwritten. In this case, using a file backup software that saves a copy of your file every half hour can be very useful:

• Back up frequently changed database files
• Back up frequently modified shared files
• Create multiple backup points for recovery or rollback

If you frequently edit important Word and Excel documents, you should use this smart tool to back them up.

Step 1. Tap on "Select Backup" to start the backup process.

Create File Backup Step 1

Step 2. There are four backup types to choose from: Files, Disk, System, and Mail. Click on Files.

Create File Backup Step 2

Step 3: Your local and network files appear on the left. Expand the directories and select the files you want to back up.

Step 4. Choose where you want to save your backup, following the on-screen instructions.

Click “Options,” and under “Backup Options” set a password to encrypt your backup, and under “Backup Schedule” choose when to run the backup and select events to initiate a backup. There are many other customizable options available during the backup process.

Step 5: You can save the backup to your local disk, the tool's online service, or a NAS.

Step 6. Todo Backup lets you back up your data to third-party cloud drives and to your own cloud drive.

If you want to back up to a third-party cloud service, choose “Local Disk,” scroll down to add “Cloud Devices,” add an account, and log in.

You can also save the backup to the tool's cloud storage service. Click "Tool Cloud," register for a tool account, and log in.

Step 7. Click “Backup Now” to start the backup. When it's done, it will appear as a card in the left pane. Right-click it to manage the backup job.

How to Recover Overwritten Excel Files? – Frequently Asked Questions

Read more about recovering replaced Excel files.

"Overwritten" refers to a file or information being covered by new content, where the original data is erased. In some contexts, "overwritten" might imply "deleted," as the original data is typically unrecoverable after being overwritten. However, "deleted" directly signifies the removal of a file or information from a system. So, while there is some overlap in their meanings, they are not entirely synonymous.

When you write new data, it overwrites the original data. This involves writing a set of data (in binary) to the computer to replace the previous data. The original data is erased, not just deleted. You cannot recover overwritten data with data recovery software.

Can a covered Excel file be recovered?

If you're using an older version, you can try to recover a replaced Excel file on Windows 10 by utilizing File History. Once you've enabled File History or Windows Backup on your Windows 10 or Windows 11 system, you can restore the overwritten Excel file. On a Mac, you can use Time Machine backups to recover a replaced file.

How do I recover a file that was accidentally replaced?

There are three methods you can use to recover an Excel file that you accidentally replaced:

• Recover an overwritten Excel file using the AutoRecover feature in MS Office
• Retrieve a replaced Excel file from Windows 10's temporary files
• Restore a previous version of the Excel file

How can I recover an overwritten file without having the previous version?

There are two ways to recover an overwritten file without a previous version. You can recover it using the AutoRecover feature, or you can recover it from a temp file.