Windows 10: Saved Notepad document opening blank

My boyfriend and I just moved into a new apartment, and we won’t have internet until tomorrow. My boyfriend writes scripts for videos he makes using online programs generally, but as we’re without internet for the time being, he’s been using Notepad instead.


In the past two days, he’s put about 7 hours into his script. He saved it into Notepad. Today he went to open it and the entire document was blank. It allows me to highlight it when I open it and blue text goes down for a while, so it appears he’s written a lot, but it’s all blank like someone held the space bar down for a couple of minutes.

I’ve tried ctrl + z, nothing. Tried copying the text and pasting it in another Notepad document or pasting it into the search bar into file explorer or WordPad and it’s all blank. It’s text of some sort because I can move my cursor and put it in different parts, but it’s all blank.

I’ve also tried restoring previous versions, but when I select that, it tells me no previous versions of the document exist.

I’ve tried highlighting all the text in the document and changing font, size, etc., but it all stays blank.

It’s incredibly frustrating. He’s already given up on recovering it and has started re-writing the script, but I’d love to be able to recover it for him.

Is there any way to, or is it a lost cause?

:)

 

my document that i save us coming up blank

Hi Jude,

If a saved document is coming up blank when opening it, it could be that the document is corrupted when it was saved, or that the document was not properly saved, etc. For us to isolate the issue about a document that opens up blank, kindly respond to the
question below:

• What application are you using to open or save the document?
• Is the issue specific to one document or with every document that you open?

We look forward to your response.

 

Notepad- opening a new document

In a notepad document without inputted data, if I click File -> New, is there an action taken? I mean, will it open a new blank notepad document or it will remain the same ( no action taken ) ?

 

Saved note in Notepad opens blank

Hi Thistlefur,

There could be a number of factors as to why you are experiencing issues with a file on your computer. One possible cause could be corrupted system files.

I'd like to know more about your concern. Kindly verify if you were able to open the file before after saving it. Is the issue specific to a particular notepad file? Have you made any changes to the computer prior to the issue?

Meanwhile, I suggest that you run the System File Checker and DISM tool to scan for any corrupted system files. Here's how:

1. On the Start menu, type Command Prompt. Right-click the result, and then select
   Run as administrator.
2. Copy or type each command followed by hitting Enter.
   
   dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
   
   sfc /scannow
   
   

You can also restore the previous version of the notepad file. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Right-click the notepad file and then select Properties.
   
2. Click the Previous Versions tab.
   
3. Under File versions, select a version you would like to restore. Click
   Open to check for the contents. If you're satisfied with the contents of the file, you can click
   Restore. You will be prompted to overwrite the existing file version that you have.

Let us know how it goes and we'll assist you further if needed.