I have a new surface pro. I started a word document and saved it. When I woke up and returned to the file, my computer had mysteriously rebooted. I opened the file and the autorecover only showed the original file I had saved, sans any work I had done. I checked the autosave preferences, and was relieved to see that it was set to save every ten minutes. When I went into the autosave folder, I saw the .asd files and found the latest one and double clicked it (a mistake, I know, i should have right right-clicked open as or opened from word). It asked me if I wanted to go to the app store to find the right file to open it with, and I said yes. Realizing my mistake, I closed the MS store application. 

The .asd files were now gone. Not in the recycling bin. A search for .asd files was unsuccessful. Am I totally screwed? Why did this happen? Why are .asd files like an illusionist, now you see them now you dont? 

Your computer probably restarted after installing automatic updates from Microsoft Update. To avoid problems, it is best to never leave Word running over night.

AutoRecover (*.asd) files are not replacements for ordinary saves. If you don't resave the files in Word format as soon as possible, they may be lost.

You may be interested in this article: http://www.gmayor.com/automatically_backup.htm.

Your computer probably restarted after installing automatic updates from Microsoft Update. To avoid problems, it is best to never leave Word running over night.

AutoRecover (*.asd) files are not replacements for ordinary saves. If you don't resave the files in Word format as soon as possible, they may be lost.

You may be interested in this article: http://www.gmayor.com/automatically_backup.htm.

Hi lightman,

I tested your issue in my own environment, I opened the ASD file and which stored in original file wont be removed or deleted. Normally, they are typically never used and the older ASD files are removed.

First I suggest you try to recover the lost document.

• Search for AutoRecover files
  1. On the File menu, click Open, and then click Recent Documents.
  2. Scroll to the end of all recent documents, and then click Recover Unsaved Documents.
  3. If you find the Word document that you are looking for, double-click it to open it.
• Search for Word backup files
  1. Start Word 2013.
  2. Click the File menu, click Open, click Computer, and then click Browse.
  3. Locate the folder in which you last saved the missing file.
  4. In the Files of type list (All Word documents), click All Files. The backup file usually has the name "Backup of" followed by the name of the missing file.
  5. Click the backup file, and then click Open.
• Search for temporary files
  1. Refer to method 1 to perform a search for *.tmp files (temporary files).
  2. If you are not sure which file is the missing file, save all .tmp files to a location.
  3. Start Word.
  4. Click File > Open.
  5. Browse to the location that you saved the .tmp files, and then click All Files *.* . If you do not click All Files *.*, the .tmp files may not be displayed.
  6. Open .tmp files one by one.
  7. If you find the missing file, save it immediately.

More information please refer to this link:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/316951

If these methods are not available, I suppose you should try to recover the ADS file.

About how to recover the ADS file please refer to this link:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5178957_recover-asd-file.html

Please Note: Since the web site is not hosted by Microsoft, the link may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this information.

Hope its helpful.

Regards,

George Zhao
TechNet Community Support