My power point suddenly lost random pages of data

If the presentation is stored in OneDrive, restore the missing slides from Version History; if it is stored only on the PC, check Manage Presentation and the AutoRecover folder instead.

1. Preserve the current presentation

Before attempting recovery, open the affected presentation and select File > Save As to create a copy under a different name. Perform the recovery steps on that copy so the currently available content remains intact.

Since restarting did not restore the slides, there is no need to repeat that step.

2. If the file is stored in OneDrive

PowerPoint preserves earlier versions of presentations stored in OneDrive.

1. Open the presentation.
2. Select the file name in the title bar.
3. Select Version History.
4. In the Version History pane, open versions from before the slides disappeared.
5. When a version containing the missing slides opens as a read-only presentation:
   • Copy the missing slides into the current copy, or
   • Save that earlier version as a separate copy.

Avoid restoring over the current file until confirming that the earlier version contains everything needed. ^1^

3. Check PowerPoint’s saved recovery version

For a presentation that had already been saved:

1. Open the affected file.
2. Select File > Info.
3. Under Manage Presentation, look for a version labeled (when I closed without saving).
4. Open it and check for the missing slides.
5. Save it under a new name first. Select Restore only if that version should replace the current presentation.

This option is available only when PowerPoint retained a recovery version. ^2^

4. Search for an AutoRecover copy

In PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 on Windows:

1. Select File > Home.
2. At the bottom, select Recover Unsaved Presentations.
3. Open each likely recovery file and look for the missing slides.
4. If found, immediately use Save As and give it a different filename.

You can also inspect PowerPoint’s AutoRecover directory in File Explorer:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\PowerPoint

Replace <username> with your Windows user name. The configured location is shown under File > Options > Save > AutoRecover File Location. AutoRecover periodically saves background copies, but a usable copy will exist only if AutoRecover captured the presentation before the content disappeared. ^3^

If none of these locations contains an earlier copy, the documented recovery mechanisms do not provide another version to restore. Retain both the original file and the safety copy in case another backup service or storage history is available.

References

1. Microsoft 365
2. Recover an earlier version of an Office file | Microsoft Support
3. Windows