Help - 20 pages gone missing in my thesis!!

Question

I'm writing my thesis and have been working on it on and off. Last time I worked on it, I did some cut and paste and proof-reading. When I came back to my paper days later, it was 20 pages shorter! Most likely I have forgotten to paste what I cut, otherwise I have no idea what the problem is. Is there any way of finding these pages again? Or possibly tracing an older version of the thesis somewhere?
I'm using Microsoft Word for Mac '98 edition, because I sometimes need to send the document to my PC-using advisor, and it works best this way.
As you can probably tell from my question, I'm a very 'simple' ignorant user, which is why no clever updating has been done to my old, beloved blue iBook. Any help would be much appreciated, but needs to be thorough and in 'plain English'

Answer 1

Hi,
Pro primo, in order to avoid the risk of overwriting duplicates or file parts, do completely refrain from using the computer in question until you have investigated all options.
Begin by looking for any recovery possibilities offered by your word processor. Study the manuals carefully. Also, this, this or perhaps this web page may contain some information of interest. Otherwise, try the Microsoft support pages and/or forums.
If text recovery is not possible via Word 98, you may be able to find at least portions of previously saved file copies via something similar to UnErase in Norton Utilities.
No need now to tell you about the importance of continously made back-up copies. These can be done in many ways, e.g. by using CD-R discs and USB flash drives. If necessary, email the files to another computer first.
Good luck!
Jan