How to Recover Overwritten Files on Windows 10/11

Have you ever had the same problem where you accidentally overwritten an important file or folder on your Windows that you’ve been working on for so long? And you just want your original data back. Don’t panic. You can get your old version files back. In this article, we will share with you several effective ways to recover overwritten files, such as Word, PPT documents, and other types of files on Windows 10/11.

Reasons why you have overwritten files

Usually, your Word or Excel files are overwritten by operating errors. For example, you save it with the same name and the system will replace the old files. Or you move a file from one place to another and the overwritten file has the same name. Or, there is a virus attack that causes overwritten documents. And it happens a lot in everyday life. 

How to Recover Overwritten Files on Windows 10/11

Here we will show you various ways to restore overwritten files. Make sure you check these ways one by one and get your original version files quickly.

Recover Overwritten Files Using Built-in Backup Features in Software

Now, there are some backup features on lots of office software, such as Microsoft Office and Adobe. Therefore, users can create a backup and always save the files now and then. For example, if you want to retrieve a previous version of a file, you can use AutoRecover in Microsoft Office.

• Launch Word or Excel.
• Select File > Option > Save.
• Click the “Browse” option to select your recoverable files in the auto-recovery folder.
• Once you have found the file you want to recover, click OK to retrieve overwritten files.

However, since autosave occurs at fixed intervals, it cannot guarantee the retrieval of the most recent version of the documents. If not, you need to try other ways.

Recover Overwritten Files Using the Previous Version

As we all know, there is a backup and recovery feature called Previous Versions on your Windows. Users can use it to recover files and folders that are lost, deleted, formatted or damaged due to improper operation. Therefore, previous versions, as a recovery point, always offer backup files for most data on Windows. If your files are overwritten, use these Previous Versions to bring back your old files. Follow the steps below and get your earlier version quickly.

• Open File Explorer on your Windows 10/11.
• Locate the file or folder you want to restore.
• Right-click this folder or file and select “Restore previous versions.”
• In the Properties pop-up window, you will see a list of previous versions in the Previous Version.
• Select the “Open” button to go through the file to make sure this is the correct version.
• After checking, select the “Restore to” option and select a location to restore your original files.

Recover Overwritten Files with the ONERECOVERY Data Recovery Tool

If you can’t recover your overwritten files through Previous Versions, try other reliable and professional data recovery software on the market, such as ONERECOVERY. This is an all-in-one and effective data recovery tool to bring your important data from any data loss scenarios, such as lost, deleted or corrupted files, virus attacks, software attacks formatted files, etc.

It supports almost all Windows operating systems, computer files, and more than 1,000 file types, which can help you bring your data easily. In addition, this data recovery software contains many functions, such as recycle bin recovery, lost partition recovery, hardware recovery, USB data recovery, crash computer data recovery, etc. With the intuitive interface, you can get your files back in a few steps.

• Download and launch ONERECOVERY on your Windows.
• Choose the storage device or location where you lost your data.
• ONEREVOERY software will scan the storage area automatically and quickly. Here you can choose a quick mode or a deep mode to scan your original version files. Usually, the scanning and data recovery process will take no longer than 2 minutes. 
• After the scan is complete, you can preview the recoverable data to see if this file is exactly what you want.
• Once you have checked the result, you can click “Recover” and get your file back.
• Choose a place and download it on your Windows. Don’t forget to restore a new name in case the data is overwritten again.

Restore Overwritten Files Using System Restore

System Restore is another fast and effective way to recover overwritten files. This is the last backup point for you to retrieve files if overwritten data compromise system files. Here you can follow the steps below.

• Type in Control Panel in the Search taskbar.
• Go to “All Control Panel Items” > “Recovery” and reach the Recovery page.
• Select Open System Restore.
• Click Next when you see the pop-up window with the title Restore System Files and Settings.
• Therefore, you can easily restore files or folders with the Previous Version option. Unfortunately, if you find it empty in the Properties Version, saying “There are no previous versions available,” you need to move on to the next method.
• Then, select the restore point that you want to retrieve before the overwritten infection appears.
• Or you can click Scan for affected programs to see a list of programs that will be deleted and may be restored automatically. 

FAQ:

Why can’t I see other documents in the previous version?

You must ensure that you have enabled the previous version before the overwritten problem occurs. Here you can open Settings on Windows 10 > click Update & Security > click on Backup > click the “Add a drive” > select the drive to use as the backup drive.

Conclusions

All in all, it’s still possible to recover your overwritten documents on Windows. These methods can work well with Word, PPT documents, Excel, and other files. If you have other file problems, we suggest that you download the ONERECOVERY data recovery software on your Windows so that you won’t be helpless when you face lost or deleted documents.