6 Easy Methods to Recover Deleted, Unsaved, or Corrupted NotePad Files
Last Updated on September 20, 2025 by Yulia Ilina
Notepad is a built-in and free text editor, which is frequently used to take important notes. It is a simple text editor without an auto-sync feature. What should you do to recover the deleted or lost text from Notepad? Besides the autosaving features, here are 6 easy methods to retrieve the unsaved, corrupted, and deleted Notepad. Just learn more about the processes from the article now.
- Part 1: How to Recover Corrupted Notepad Files with CHKDSK
- Part 2: How to Retrieve an Unsaved Notepad via Temporary Files
- Part 3: How to Restore Deleted Notepad Files on Mac from iCloud
- Part 4: How to Retrieve Overwritten Notepad from Previous Versions
- Part 5: How to Retrieve Deleted Notepad Files from Windows Backup
- Part 6: The Ultimate Guide to Retrieve the Deleted or Lost Notepad
Part 1: How to Recover Corrupted Notepad Files with CHKDSK
If the Notepad program suddenly corrupted, but you cannot find the text from the autosaving, the CHKDSK command should be the most effective way in recovering a Notepad file. It is used to check a specified disk and repair or recover data on the hard drive of Windows 7/8/10.
Step 1: Go to the search box on your computer and type cmd in the column. From the search result, you can find the Command prompt program to retrieve the Notepad files with command lines.
Step 2: Select the Run as administrator button to launch it. In the command prompt, you can type chkdsk C: /f and press the Enter key to scan and repair any bad section in the hard drive.
Step 3: If there is a prompt message, Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process, simply type Y to check the C drive. Reboot your system to recover the corrupted Notepad file.
Part 2: How to Retrieve an Unsaved Notepad via Temporary Files
Once you have deleted an unsaved Notepad file, the file is still available on your computer temporarily. Go to the Temporary Files folder, you can check the TXT files to retrieve the unsaved Notepad files. But you cannot turn off or restore your computer, otherwise, the files will lose forever.
Step 1: Go to the Search button on your Windows and type the %AppData% command line before pressing the Enter key to open the Roaming folder with the unsaved Notepad files.
Step 2: Type the name or the TXT extension to search for the unsaved Notepad file. Right-click the TXT files and open them with Word or other files to restore the unsaved Notepad files.
Note: Go to the backup folder of Notepad directly to retrieve the files with the following path directly. You can use a similar method to restore files from Microsoft as well.
C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\backup
Part 3: How to Restore Deleted Notepad Files on Mac from iCloud
Whether you are using Windows or Mac, cloud services are always useful to back up important files. When you deleted or lost the Notepad files, you can retrieve them online from iCloud or others. It enables you to retrieve the deleted files from iCloud within 30 days.
Step 1: If you have already enabled the auto-backup feature of iCloud, you can sign in to the account with your Touch ID or password. Go to the account and click the Settings icon in the upper-right corner.
Step 2: Select the Data Recovery button from the drop-down list, where you can find the 4 different files you have deleted, like files, bookmarks, contacts, and calendars.
Step 3: Just find the deleted Notepad files from the Restore Files tab. Select the desired ones you want to retrieve or check the Select All option, you can click the Restore button to retrieve the deleted Notepad files.
Part 4: How to Retrieve Overwritten Notepad from Previous Versions
Besides the auto-backup features of some Cloud services, File Explorer also provides a feature to restore the notepad to a previous version. It has a copy of files and folders automatically saves as part of a restore point, which you can restore overwritten Notepad files within one click.
Step 1: Go to the Documents folder to locate the desired Notepad text file you want to restore. Open File Explorer and right-click the folder where you have deleted the text file, which will pop up a list of options.
Step 2: Select the Restore previous versions option from the drop-down list. Go to the Previous Versions tab and choose the desired one to restore the overwritten Notepad files according to your requirement.
Step 3: After that, you can click the Restore button before clicking the Apply button to save the previous version to the original folder on your Windows 10/11 within a few seconds.
Part 5: How to Retrieve Deleted Notepad Files from Windows Backup
Windows Backup is the default Notepad data recovery that enables you to restore Notepad files from a backup created with Backup and Restore or File History. Make sure you have already enabled the Save backup copies of your files with File History option for Windows 10/11.
Step 1: Connect the external device that contains the backup files to your computer. Open the Control Panel program and choose the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) button to check the deleted files.
Step 2: From the Restore section, you can click the Select another backup to restore files from link. Select the location of your external storage device and follow the instructions to restore your Notepad files.
Step 3: If you have already synced the settings, the files will be automatically restored on your new PC when you sign in to the account. Just select the text files from all restored files without replacing the originals.
Part 6: The Ultimate Guide to Retrieve the Deleted or Lost Notepad
Is there another easy method to retrieve the deleted or lost Notepad files if you cannot find them with the above ones? Data Recovery is a versatile way to get them back. Besides the advanced deep scan mode to check all devices completely, you can also search for the desired text with the name and path easily. Moreover, you can preview the lost or deleted Notepad files before recovering or purchasing a license.
1. Retrieve the deleted or lost Notepad TXTs, ZIP files, documents, etc.
2. Provide 2 scanning modes to retrieve the text with a higher success rate.
3. Find the Notepad files from different categories, names, and paths easily.
4. Restore the Notepad files from hard drives, memory cards, and others.
Step 1: Once you have installed Data Recovery, you can launch the program on your computer. When you need to retrieve the lost or deleted Notepad files from an external device, make sure it is connected to the computer.
Step 2: Check all the options if you do not know how the files are lost, you can select the Document option and the Others option to retrieve the Notepad text on your computer. After that, you can click the Next button.
Step 3: Click the Scan button to perform a quick scan of the lost files. It will provide a list of retrieved text files, which you can locate the desired one from the left menu. Enter the name of the Notepad file to search it easily.
Step 4: Just check the option in the front of the lost file or preview the files, you can click the Recover button to retrieve the deleted Notepad. If you cannot find the file, choose the Deep Scan mode instead.
Conclusion
When you need to recover your deleted, unsaved, or corrupted Notepad files, here is the ultimate guide you can follow. But before using the data recovery programs, you can check the backup files beforehand. If you cannot find the lost or deleted Notepad files, Data Recovery is always the initial way to get back the files.