WordPad Missing in Windows 11 24H2? See How to Restore It!

Windows 11 2024 Update (24H2) Will WordPad be removed? Easy recovery method!

Microsoft has confirmed that the upcoming Windows 11 24H2 update will no longer include the WordPad text editor. This may be bad news for users who are used to using WordPad, but don't worry, this article will provide an easy way to recover.

WordPad disappears from Windows 11 24H2

WordPad has existed as a free text editor and word processor since Windows 95. It supports formatting and can easily open rich text format (RTF, .rtf) files, and can quickly open Word files (DOCX) without Office installed.

However, with the rise of more powerful word processing applications, WordPad usage has gradually declined. Microsoft updated support documentation shows that WordPad will be removed from all versions starting with Windows 11 24H2 and Windows Server 2025.

You can verify this message by searching for WordPad in the search box. Additionally, in the path C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories , you will not find both wordpad.exe and WordpadFilter.dll .

What tools can be used after removing WordPad?

After WordPad is removed, the existing WordPad document (.rtf) can be opened through another program.

Microsoft mentioned in its support documentation that after WordPad is removed, you can choose to use other tools:

• Microsoft Word: Paid software, part of the Microsoft Office suite.
• Word for the web: Requires a Microsoft account and network connection.
• Notepad: A simple text editor built into Windows for editing plain text files (.txt).
• LibreOffice: A free and open source office suite that supports a variety of document formats including .rtf.

How to restore WordPad in Windows 11 24H2?

If you still need to use WordPad, you can recover after the Windows 11 24H2 update by following the following steps:

Step 1: On a computer running Windows 11 23H2 or earlier, open File Explorer and access the path: C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories . You will see the en-US folder, wordpad.exe , and WordpadFilter.dll files.

Step 2: Copy these files to an external hard drive or USB drive.

Step 3: Connect the drive to a computer that no longer has a WordPad, and paste the files into any folder.

Step 4: After the paste is complete, right-click on wordpad.exe and select Show more options > Send to > Desktop (Create Shortcut) to quickly run the tool. Double-click the file to start WordPad immediately on your Windows 11 24H2 computer.

For easy access, you can also pin it to the taskbar by right-clicking on the WordPad and selecting Pin to Taskbar.

Conclusion

If you need to continue using WordPad, consider delaying updates to Windows 11 24H2, as the 23H2 and 22H2 versions still include WordPad. But if you have installed the 2024 update, you can try to restore WordPad by copying and pasting related files from the older version.

You can also download WordPad from some third-party websites, but doing so means you won't be able to get any feature or security updates in future versions of Windows.

Before upgrading to 24H2, be sure to back up your .rtf document using the backup software to ensure data security.

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