No excuses, no backup, but would like to recover HD data

On a side note, one of the easiest ways to backup important files such as your Excel spreadsheet is by using a Free cloud service. You get at least 2G storage space with Dropbox, or 15G Free with Microsoft OneDrive or with Google Drive.

Just designate the folder to backup and sync, and it does so automatically when you're connected to the Net. So you always have the original on your computer, and a copy auto backed up and encrypted on the cloud drive.