Help: Saved a writer file but a Lenovo bios update reverted it to one from two weeks ago

[augustmight]

Hi, a Lenovo bios update asked me to save and close what I was working on, so I closed my Libreoffice Writer (I use it multiple times a day, to write research notes for a project), and let it update.

The update seems to have been successful but when I went back to the file, it said it had not saved properly and if I should let it recover and I said okay and then it seems to have reverted to a version from two weeks ago cause that’s the last note there.

I’m perplexed.

I’ve had Lenovo bios updates and this never happened. I also had LIbreoffice Writer crashes and they always recover in full. I restarted my PC and and the file too and no change. If I right click and say restore previous version, says there are none.

Is there anything I can do at all? I really need the data.

[ve3oat]

Your problem is not an uncommon one. Although it is certainly unpleasant to think about and probably uncomfortable to accept, if the last available version of your document was from two weeks ago, it seems that you need a more rigorous procedure for Saving and Backup.

You probably have a friend who is obsessed with saving his stuff every two minutes and backing up to a portable drive at the end of every day. It is funny to watch him but, well, you know, he never loses anything …

[augustmight]

ve3oat, but the strange thing is, like I said, I use this file multiple times a day, which means I save it multiple times a day. Why it reverted back to one from two weeks ago is what perplexes me.

Regardless, you make good points, and from now on I will save my file once a day.

[ve3oat]

"from now on I will save my file once a day"

I can’t explain why the computer reverted to a version two weeks old, but if you already save your documents multiple times a day, don’t now save it only once a day. Once a day to a different folder on the same drive, or (preferably) to an external thumb drive or portable hard drive, or even to so-called “cloud storage”, is a good procedure.

Have you used your file manager to look for a more recent version of the document?

Have you changed the file name recently? Did the two week old recovered version have a different file name than the one you worked on just before the update?

It is not a bad idea to intentionally change the name (Save As with a serial number) periodically, or every time you make major changes to a document; that way you will still have saved copies of the old versions. Example,

Project-Whatever-Proposal-023.odt

[augustmight]

Thanks ve3oat, no, I hadn’t changed the file name or anything else, but these are great suggestions. Thank you.