Several possibilities.
1:
When in File, Open... and searching for these files, make sure the "Files of
Type" is set to either all Word Files, or All Files. It may have gotten set
to a different file type, thus filtering OUT .DOC files.
....or... the file extension (.doc) may have gotten wiped out somehow
(renaming the file with extensions visible?), and may no longer be associated
with Word.
2:
Go to "Tools, Options..." and look to see where your File Save locations...
are pointing to, then check that folder out.
3:
Open Windows Explorer, or go through My Computer, C Drive; or Start, Run...,
C: to open a file browser window to look for the files outside of Word.
4:
Do you remember part of the filenames? Open My computer, right-click on
the C: drive (or other if that's where they were stored), and do a search for
[ filename*.* ] without the brackets. The asterisks (*) are wildcards that
will allow any character. So ONLY include parts of the filename you are sure
of.
5:
Last and more difficult... did any of these originate from a document you
received in an email? If so, you may have opened the document from within
the email, thus opening it into the temporary workspace. If so, reopen one
of the documents from within email again. Then do "File, Open..." to see if
you can find the others you created. If so, open them and save them in your
real documents folder (File, Save As...".
Hope that helps somehow.
