PPT Recovery | How To Recover a Deleted or Unsaved PowerPoint File

Updated to Home > HowTos > File Recovery Tips by Nancy on Apr 8, 2024 | Approved by Daryl Baxter

Powerpoint is a presentation software that allows users to create an engaging and professional-looking presentation. It can be used for various purposes, from presenting research data to sharing photos from a recent vacation. Whether you're sharing slides with classmates or clients, PowerPoint is an excellent way to communicate your ideas.

However, have you ever put together pieces of a Powerpoint presentation and faced the repercussions of not saving it or accidentally removing it? It will vanish in seconds, and all your hard work and hours of struggle will drain in a second. It's frustrating, but luckily, there are a few practical ways to help you recover unsaved PowerPoint files. In addition, you can also use great software to retrieve deleted PowerPoint files in Windows 11/10 and Mac. Next, we will analyze the reason for its loss to avoid the same tragedy from happening again and the effective way to get it back.

Quick Navigation
Part 1. What Causes PowerPoint Documents Not To Be Saved/Lost?
Part 2. How to Recover an Unsaved PowerPoint File
Part 3. How to Recover Deleted/Lost PowerPoint Files
Part 4. Frequently Asked Questions for illustrator Recovery

What Causes PowerPoint Documents Not To Be Saved/Lost?

It's every presenter's nightmare: you're in front of your audience, ready to give the most important presentation of your career, and suddenly, your PowerPoint slides are nowhere to be found. Or worse, they appear cluttered or previous versions on the screen. The following reasons may cause this:

Whatever the cause, a lost or unsaved PowerPoint presentation can be a significant headache. But don't despair; there are ways to recover from this situation and salvage your presentation. You can use the following methods to recover PowerPoint files with little effort.

How to Recover an Unsaved PowerPoint File

PowerPoint is a powerful program mainly used for producing presentations and is widely used in speeches, teaching, product demonstrations, etc. While it is reliable software, it is not immune to crashes and errors. As a result, saving your PPT frequently is always a good idea. However, if you find yourself in the unfortunate position of having an unsaved PowerPoint file, please don't despair. Here are four ways to recover unsaved PPT files.

Method 1. From the "Document Recovery" Option

To recover unsaved PowerPoint files, you must try a built-in recovery feature available in your PowerPoint. It will assist you in restoring the presentation if your application quits unexpectedly.

  1. Restart your MS PowerPoint.
  2. Click on your unsaved PPT files in the "Document Recovery" panel on the left.
  3. After opening it, please save it again.

This way can help you restore unsaved documents in Word.

Method 2. Use the Recover Unsaved Presentations Option

Did you know that you can recover unsaved PowerPoint presentations? If you accidentally close a presentation without saving, or if your computer crashes, you can find it by the "Recover Unsaved Presentations" Option.

  1. Go ahead with launching MS PowerPoint and tap on the File option.
  2. Click "Manage Versions" and select "Recover Unsaved Presentations."
  3. In the open folder, select your PPT file and click the Open button.
  4. After opening the unsaved presentation, click "Save as" to re-save it to a new location.

Method 3. Use the AutoRecover Feature

Suppose you must have a good habit of regularly saving your presentation work. In that case, you must know there is a feature by the name of AutoRecover that helps save presentations at different intervals. It is a built-in feature that remains on by default. It also assists in recovering your work on PowerPoint and allows loading the files back into their original state. In addition, you can make changes to its settings and choose the time interval for your work as per your preference.

  1. Tap on the File tab and click Options.
  2. In the new window, click the Save option. At this point, you will see the location of an AutoRecover file.
  3. Navigate to this folder in your system's explorer and select Unsaved PowerPoint before opening it.
  4. Check this file and save it again.

Method 4. Check the Temporary Files for the unsaved PowerPoint file

If you miss any presentation and want to recover unsaved PPT files, you can look for them in the Temp folder on your device. You can search for the same by looking for the PPT file with a similar size. In this way, you'll be enabled to locate them quickly.

  1. Type "ppt*.tmp" in the search box and hit enter.
  2. After completing the search, you should be able to find the ppt***.tmp file (*usually a number).
  3. Please select the most recent one based on the modification date and open it in PowerPoint.
  4. Finally, if it's your target file, then you can re-save it.

Have you ever worked on a PowerPoint file for hours only to lose all your work due to a program crash or other reason? While it can be frustrating, it's actually easier to recover an unsaved PowerPoint file than you might think. With a little effort, it's often possible to get back presentations you didn't save.

How to Recover Deleted/Lost PowerPoint Files

PowerPoint presentations are a common way to share information, whether for work or school. However, there are always times when accidents happen. If you accidentally delete, format, or otherwise cause your PowerPoint files to disappear. Don't panic! There are a few ways to recover PowerPoint files in Windows 10/11 and macOS.

Ways 1. Check Recycle Bin for the Remove PowerPoint Files

The Recycle bin is where the operating system temporarily stores deleted files. If you are not very fond of emptying your recycle bin often, you may find a chance to recover deleted PowerPoint files here.

  1. Tap the Recycle bin icon to open it.
  2. Find and make a selection of deleted PowerPoint files you are looking to get back.
  3. Right-click on the chosen presentations and opt for the option of Restore.
  4. Once the recovery process ends, you will find the deleted PPT files in their previously located folder.

Ways 2. Recover PowerPoint from a Backup

You are safe if you have a good habit of constantly backing up your data at frequent intervals using an external hard drive. It is so because you can use this Backup to recover deleted PowerPoint files, and your work does not hamper anymore.

  1. Tap on the Windows button and type "file history."
  2. Click the "Restore your files with file history" option
  3. In the window that opens, you can see the backed-up data. At this point, select the PowerPoint file and click "Restore" to re-save it.

If you are a Mac computer, then you can restore deleted PPT files through Time Machine.

Ways 3. Use Software to Resume Your Presentation

iBeesoft Data Recovery is the best option whether you are looking to recover deleted PowerPoint files in Windows 10, 11, 7, and Mac. It has a clean user interface and useful features to make your job super easy, such as:

Your Safe & Effective PowerPoint Recovery Software

(Trust Score 4.7 by 1695 Users)
  • It allows recovery of PowerPoint presentations, audio, video, etc., formats of files in more than 1000 formats.
  • No matter what causes the data loss, it can still recover deleted files from pen drive, disk, USB drive, and more than 2000 storage devices.
  • You can preview it before PowerPoint file recovery to ensure its correctness. It also has the ability to repair damaged files, which can better help you get back your lost data.
Download for Windows Download for macOS

How to Recover Permanently Deleted PowerPoint Files on Mac/Windows PC

  1. Download and install iBeesoft data recovery software for Mac or Windows on your computer.
  2. Launching it, you can view volumes available for scanning. Choose the one that PowerPoint was saved before it was lost, and tap on 'Scan.' To shorten the scanning time, you can filter the file types. For example, tap the 'Go to settings' option in the window's bottom section. Herein you can make deselection of not needed files.
  3. Now, either during or after the scan, you can watch the details of recoverable files and preview them. As soon s you find the correct files, make their selection and tap on the 'Recover' option to save them.

Other 5 Tools to Recover PowerPoint Files

No software can 100% guarantee that lost PPT files can be recovered if iBeesoft data recovery software fails. Don't worry; you can also try the five alternative programs below to help you recvoer a PowerPoint file on Mac and Windows 11/10/7.

  1. TestDisk
  2. It is a free and open-source data recovery tool that can resume PowerPoint files from various storage devices. It can also create disk images and perform filesystem repairs. It is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS.

    Download for Windows Download for macOS
    Pros
    It provides deep checking to find deleted partitions of the device.
    It can repair an exceptionally logically corrupted file system.
    Cons
    The absence of a graphical interface is a little tricky for inexperienced users.
  3. Data Rescue 6
  4. It is an excellent tool to effectively recover lost PowerPoint files from any storage device. Additionally, it offers both a wizard-based interface and a more advanced interface for users who want more control over the recovery process.

    Download for Windows Download for macOS
    Pros
    It provides an easy-to-use interface, even for those who may be more computer-savvy.
    It can also recover data from a failed hard drive and supports a wide range of file types.
    Cons
    The trial recovery option is not available.
    The paid version is expensive.
  5. Disk Drill
  6. It is a comprehensive PowerPoint file recovery solution for Mac and Windows. It uses powerful scanning algorithms to search for lost data. In addition, Disk Drill offers a range of advanced features, such as bootable data recovery and RAID recovery.

    Download for Windows Download for macOS
    Pros
    It also provides additional utilities.
    It can recover data from iPod Nano, Shuffle & Classic.
    Cons
    Poor ability to recover Mac internal hard drive
    The full version is expensive.
  7. Recoverit
  8. It is a powerful data resume tool that can help users restore PowerPoint files from all storage devices, including hard drives, external hard drives, USB drives, and more. It also has a deep scan mode that can help you find items that have been lost for a long time.

    Download for Windows Download for macOS
    Pros
    It's simple to use and comes with a wide range of features, making it an essential tool for anyone who relies on their computer for work or personal use.
    Retrieve PPT files from any data loss situation.
    Cons
    Poor ability to recover deleted video from SD card.
    The trial version has many limitations.
  9. Lazesoft Data Recovery
  10. It can easily recover lost or deleted PowerPoint files, photos, music, Word, Excel and more from your computer. It supports many file types and can even retrieve data from formatted or damaged drives. Best of all, it's free to use!

    Free Download
    Pros
    It supports RAW drive recovery.
    Two scan modes- Quick & Deep.
    Cons
    Hard drive restoration takes a long time.
    Only one language support & does not save recovered files in original format.

In the case of no backup, we provide several software to help you recover PPT files. If all fails, then you have to remake it.

Frequently Asked Questions for PowerPoint Recovery

Presentations are an essential part of any business meeting or conference. However, they can sometimes become revert to the previous version, corrupted or lost. When this happens, it's important to know how to recover PowerPoint files deleted/unsaved. The following are some frequently asked questions:

Conclusion

You may or may not like the process of creating presentations using PowerPoint. These are useful whether at school doing a project or at work promoting a brand. But when you are not lucky enough, you may lose all your hard work in a single go. It happens due to some malfunctioning or you forgetting to close the application. Then you may need to recover PowerPoint files in Windows 11, 10, and macOS so your user information remains intact.

Here, we offer a variety of methods so you can retrieve deleted or unsaved PowerPoint files anytime. Make use of a backup, the AutoRecovery feature, or the Recover Unsaved Presentation Option. You can alternatively check temporary files or check the Recycle bin. If it doesn't work, use the best options for using robust software - iBeesoft data recovery software. With the seamless user interface of iBeesoft, you will be able to recover PowerPoint files in any case without any difficulty.