Using XP and Word 2003.

I hate to type, and really, really hate to re-type. I set my automatic save for maximum protection, with:
Always create backup copy.
Allow background saves.
Save autorecover info every 1 minute.

Then as I am typing, every paragraph or so, I will do a Ctrl+S.

To test whether Ctrl+S was working, I typed a line, did a Ctrl+S, and did a forced shutdown of the computer. When I rebooted, the line I had typed immediately before doing the Ctrl+S was not there. I opened the backup file and each of the tmp files and neither showed the last line that I type, before doing the Ctrl+S. For that reason, I concluded that Ctrl+S is not working.

The Backup file probably put me within 1 minute of the forced shutdown.

Why is Ctrl+S not working?