Stepwise Tutorial on SharePoint Recover Overwritten File

How do I recover overwritten files in SharePoint?

“Hi, I accidentally uploaded a document with the same name that was already there in SharePoint. So the document got overwritten. How to recover overwritten files in SharePoint?”

How to perform SharePoint recover overwritten file

How to perform SharePoint recover overwritten file? You can recover the overwritten files by restoring the previous version of them. In this section, we provide you with two ways to do this job.

Method 1. Restore a previous version in SharePoint

For SharePoint restore overwritten file, you can recover a previous version in SharePoint Version History with turned it on before. If you are not sure, follow Part 1 to check whether you enabled Version History or not. Or you can skip to Part 2 to recover the previous version directly.

Part 1. Check whether the version history is enabled

Step 1. Open the target list or library you want to turn on versioning.

Step 2. Select Settings icon > List Settings.

Step 3. On the list settings interface, click Versioning settings.

Step 4. Then you can see whether you have enabled the Version History.

Part 2. Restore previous version in Version History

Step 1. Open the target list or library from the Quick Launch bar. 

Step 2. Right-click on the blank space between the file name and the date, then choose Version History from the menu. The list of file versions is then visible.

Step 3. Hover next to the target version you want to recover, click the down arrow and select Restore.

Step 4. In the pop-up window, click OK.

Method 2. Recover SharePoint overwritten file via File History

There is another way to perform SharePoint recover overwritten file. If you automatically sync SharePoint to your computer and enabled File History to backup your local files, then you can recover the previous versions from it.

Step 1. Go to File Explorer, locate and right-click the file/folder you need to restore an older version, and select Restore Previous Versions.

Step 2. In the Previous Versions section, select the target version and click Restore to recover it to its original location.

Bonus tip: How to restore SharePoint deleted files

What to do if you accidentally deleted SharePoint files? Don’t worry, we also offer you feasible ways to recover the deleted files in this part.

Method 1. Restore deleted files from SharePoint Recycle Bin

When you deleted files in SharePoint, they aren’t immediately removed. Therefore, you can go to the SharePoint site Recycle Bin to recover the recently deleted files directly.

Step 1. Go to the SharePoint site where you deleted the files.

Step 2. On the bottom left of the screen, click Recycle Bin.

Step 3. Then you can a list of deleted files, and tick the target files you want to recover.

Step 4. Click Restore to recover the deleted files.

Method 2. Recover deleted files using data recovery tool

If unfortunately, you empty the SharePoint Recycle Bin, don’t worry, you can also use data recovery tools. We recommend you use a professional Windows data recovery tool MyRecover to restore your deleted files quickly and safely. The distinguished advantages of MyRecover are listed below.

Easy-to-use. It has easy operations, you can recover the deleted file within only 3 steps.

All-inclusive. It offers comprehensive solutions to save you from all data loss situations. In addition to recovering data from manual deletion, it can also recover data from formatted disk, crashed system, etc.

Efficient. Embedding an advanced scanning algorithm, it will scan and recover your data deeply and quickly.

Safe. It is 100% secure and trustworthy with a virus-free guarantee.

Compatible. It supports NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS in Windows 11/10/8/7 and Windows Server.

On your computer, download and install MyRecover. Then, let's begin the process of recovering deleted files.

Step 1. Open the software on your computer, hover the mouse over the drive that previously stored the deleted files, and then click Scan.

Step 2. The software will scan your drive rapidly and completely. A list of lost files will then show up. By typing the file name into the search box in the top right corner, you can quickly find the desired files.

Step 3. To recover multiple files at once, select the files you want to recover and click Recover x files.

Closing words

This post explains how to perform SharePoint recover overwritten file. If you previously enabled this functionality, you can get the earlier file version from SharePoint Version History. But not everyone can effectively retrieve the previous version. In this situation, maintaining a backup of your data is essential to preventing such troubles from occurring again. For instance, you can use AOMEI Backupper to protect your data from any data problems.