Excel crashed while I was building a budget file I never saved. When I reopened Excel the document recovery pane showed nothing. Can I still find it?
Excel closed without saving. How can I recover my unsaved workbook?
Resolved
Data Recovery
ZS
Zane Shaw November 5, 2026
2 replies
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Try this.
1. Open Excel and choose File > Open > Recent, then at the bottom click Recover Unsaved Workbooks. (Or File > Info > Manage Workbook > Recover Unsaved Workbooks.)
2. Look for a file with the right time and open it. Then use Save As straight away.
If the list is empty, look in the folder yourself: C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles. The files have the .xlsb extension.
Also check the AutoRecover location in File > Options > Save. Make sure AutoSave and Save AutoRecover information every are turned on, and set the time to 5 minutes or less.
Found it in UnsavedFiles. I lost only the last two rows. Thanks.