try recovering the docx files again with a different recovery solution? Maybe the one you used was not able to recover them and another recovery tool might be better at recovering that particular type of file?
I assume that the software you are using is not a really old version (ie before docx files were invented by microsoft)?
I dont know if this is any use - it may not be - I have only recovered files twice - one on a laptop running ubuntu after a power brown out. and the other time was when I had my laptop running - playing music while I was doing stuff outside. I came in and move the laptop, and I think what happened was windows had popped up with the stupid message it often does with external drives 'you must format this drive before you can use it... do you want to format it' (or something along those lines). Anyway Id picked up the laptop and moved it without actually looking at it, and came back in later on to find my 2TB external drive with loads of stuff that was important, had been formatted - Thanks windows! That message must have popped up after Id plugged in the external drive, and when Id moved the laptop I must have inadvertantly hit a button and said 'yes' to format it.
So I did a quick google for something to try and recover it. and found an app called recuva. I cant compare it to anything else as it is the first and only thing I tried. The search process takes forever, and I found I had to check 'enable deep scan' every time or it wouldnt find anything. However, everything I have restored with it so far, as been fine - no problems using the files (mostly photos and movies though).
The only problem (and this might well be standard for this sort of tool, you would probably know that better than me) is that I couldnt restore it back onto the drive it was on, so I have be4en for months now, slowly working my way through the files, as my laptop and other externak drive dont have enough space to fit 2TB of data - or close to - and I am too tight to buy another drive ;-)
Anyway its freeware so I figure, if your client is desperate to get these docx files back - what harm can it do you to try this and maybe any other tools you have available, or find by your own googling.
If you do use it , Id be interested to know whether it was any use ?
Was the drive wiped - as in formated or partition deleted? or something else?
Regarding the word doc ghost files - I assume you mean the files that start with $....? And are usually created when a person has a doc open - and removed when the doc is saved? I am wondering how the pc could have been at a computer shop (you said it was wiped because of computer shop not knowing what they were doing) and at the same time have files open and in use? Is there some reason that users might not have been able to properly save and close these docs?
I think there are some tools that you can get which claim to be able to repair files without the temp file - I did a search on it once when an excel doc was corrupted and excel when crashing had removed the temp file as well. I never ended up trying any of them, but do remember there were a number of tools claiming to be able to restore MS docs without the temp file. No idea whether any of them actually could - but if you are desperate it might be worth doing some googling on? I wonder if there is any way to find out from the files you do have - whether they are 'expecting' a ghost file, if you know what I mean - some sort of flag that the file has when it is in use. Knowing that would allow you to check if all the docx files were considered 'open' when the disk was wiped, and may also be something you can manually turn off, so that the file will open for you and not insist on there being a ghost file available first.
I hope that if you solve this you will post back here? As your solution might help a lot of others (ie me :-) when ms office crashes corrupt spreadsheets, word docs, and so on....
Oh the recuva tool I have used is at
http://www.piriform.com/recuva. Ive only used it on the one pc to restore a whole pile of avis, and some jpegs and other bits and bobs, after that accidental format - but apart from being really slow, seemed to work ok - as long as you choose the deep scan option.
Edit: Hmm ok, just looked at the recuva web page and their features refers to recovering word docs but specifically says it rebuilts them from the temp files. So I guess unless it is able to find the temp files where the other one didnt, then it probably isnt going to be able to get them back for you either.
If you solve this Id be keen to know how?