Autosave is your friend

You are working away on that important project due the next day and then suddenly, BAM! Your screen blinks, the lights around your desk flash, and you've lost your file. Power surge, power loss, system crash, whatever, it's gone. This is where that little 'autosave' feature can 'save' your butt. Some Microsoft files will save currently open files upon a crash to a temp file if there's enough warning. A quick reboot can determine whether you're in the clear. If you're lucky you've only lost a bit of work.

If you've got a file but it opens with weird characters you might want to try a recovery software tool. There are many titles available for free download. If you're comfortable with Linux you might even want to try the free disc recovery utility. You can't beat free stuff.

If you didn't enable 'autosave' you're up a creek without a paddle. Better get started or re-doing that work.