4 Fixes: Folder Disappeared From External Hard Drive

Why does the folder disappear from external hard drive?

External hard drives bring great convenience to users in storing and transferring data. However, there are situations where the disk capacity in the disk properties is shown as used, but you may can’t see files or folders on external hard drive, or even the files seem to be completely lost. If your files and folders are not showing up on an external hard drive in Windows 7, 8, 10, or11, it could be due to the following reasons:

Recover lost data from external hard drive 

When you eventually find that your external hard drive has lost some files or even the partition is lost or corrupted, in this case, stop writing any new data to the external hard drive and you must perform data recovery with reliable tool like AOMEI FastRecovery on the external hard drive immediately. This software can recover data from many internal and external hard drives, such as HDDs, SSDs, USB drives, SD cards, and more. And it supports NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, ReFS in Windows 11/10/8/7 & Windows Server.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI FastRecovery. Choose the exact partition or disk where your data lost and click Scan.

Step 2. Then, the recovery tool start to scan and search. lt will execute the “Quickly Scan" first to find your deleted data fast, and then execute the “Deep Scan" for searching other lost data.

Step 3. Once the scan is completed, all deleted files, recycle bins and other missing files will be displayed. Please select the file you would like to recover and then click "Recover".

Step 4. Then, select a folder path to save your recovered files.

Step 5. Wait patiently for this process of recovering ends.

How to fix folder disappeared from external hard drive

Several solutions are presented to recover deleted files from external hard drives. Choose one that works for you. Start with the easiest way. Sometimes the external device cable causes the issue. If the cable cannot supply stable power or connection to the computer, the external hard drive may have no files due to delayed refresh. You can reattach your external hard drive or use another port.

Method 1. Show the hidden files

If the folder disappeared from external hard drive without any reason, you may accidentally hide it. You can just show the hidden files to fix the problem. The following steps could help you to finish the task.

Step 1. Check whether the files are endowed with system property: run "Control folders" (or go to Appearance and Personalization under Control Panel).

Step 2. Then, it will show you the window Folder Options. Click View. In view tab, check "show hidden files, folders, and drives" and uncheck "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)". Then check whether our files/folders are there.

After that, you can get into the Seagate external hard drive and see whether the files are showing there.

Method 2. Recover disappeared folder via Previous Versions

If you have enabled the Windows Backup function and saved your Excel file in a folder that is backed up by this function, you can also select the "Restore previous versions" option to recover missing files from external hard drive. 

Step 1. Go to the original folder of the deleted Excel file.

Step 2. Right-click it and select the Restore previous versions option from the menu to check the previous versions of this folder.

Step 3. Select the version that includes the deleted Excel file and click Restore to retrieve the document.

Method 3. Change settings in Regedit

If the "CheckedValue" is suffering from virus infection. You can do as the following:

Step 1. Run "Regedit" and then, follow this route in Registry Editor: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWAL.

Step 2. Check whether the data value of "CheckedValue" is "1". If NOT, delete "CheckedValue", create a new "DWOR" in the blank and rename it as "CheckedValue". After that, modify the value data as "1".

Step 3. Then, you can go back to see whether the Seagate external hard drive files showing up.

Method 4. Running CHKDSK to fix errors on external hard drive

If folder disappeared from external hard drive due to corrupted file system, you can follow the steps given below to run Check Disk tool. In File Explorer, right-click the external hard drive and navigate to “Prosperities” > “Tools” > “Check”. It is also available to run Check Disk from Command Prompt.

After checking, the files and folders on external hard drive might appear.

Conclusion

This guide shows simple ways to recover folder disappeared from external hard drive, including HDDs, SSDs, USB drives, SD cards, and more. You can use AOMEI FastRecovery to scan the drive and restore your lost files. You can also try using built-in Windows tools for recovery.