How to Fix Files Missing From External Hard Drive But Still Taking Up Space?

Theo Lucia

Jan 24, 2024 • Filed to: Recover Files • Proven solutions

An external hard drive offers great convenience by helping you keep the data and files outside the internal system. However, you can sometimes find some files and folders missing from the drive when you connect it to the computer. Moreover, the drive properties show consumed space by the missing files.

Therefore, if you are facing files disappeared from external hard drive but still taking up space problem on your system, continue reading. This post will walk you through what makes files to disappear from the external hard drive, how to fix the issue and recover lost data.

Part 1: What Causes Files to Disappear?

When you notice files disappeared from external hard drive on Mac or Windows PC, you should not write any new data on the drive to prevent overwriting. Nevertheless, the reasons for files to disappear could be:

• The files are not lost but hidden.
• The file system is damaged, or the device does not have a recognized file system.
• Virus attack or malicious software can cause files to disappear.
• The “CheckedValue” has altered.
• The mirror image has damaged.

Part 2: How to Recover Files Disappeared from External Hard Drive?

Wondershare Recoverit is a powerful hard drive recovery tool that can help you restore files disappeared from external hard drive. Whether it’s about rescuing hidden, deleted, or lost photos, videos, audios, documents or any other type of file, Recoverit can help you. What’s more? It is capable of performing recovery on all types of storage devices. It can help you recover data from SSD, HDD, USB flash drive, memory cards and more. Above all, the tool works to restore files disappeared from external hard drive on Mac as well as Windows.

Here are the steps to follow to recover files missing from an external hard drive. To begin, get the Recoverit from its official website on your computer.

Step 1: Select your external hard drive

Launch the software and connect your external hard drive to the system. After that, you need to choose your external hard drive as the location you want to scan.

Step 2: Scan the drive

The software will perform the scan on your external hard drive to find and locate the hidden, deleted or lost files.

Step 3: Recover data from the drive

After the scan, you can preview the recoverable data. The final step is to select the files you want to get back, hit “Recover” and choose the location to save your recoverable data.

Part 3: How to Fix Files Disappeared from External Hard Drive Issue?

Here are all the common workarounds we recommend you to give a try to fix files disappeared from external hard drive on Windows 10 issue.

Fix 1. Restart Computer and Reconnect the External Hard Drive

Try to restart the computer and reconnect your external hard drive to your system. When the mirror image gets corrupted and the OS does not retort to a timely refresh, your folders and files may disappear from the external hard drive. In such scenarios, restarting the system and reconnecting the external drive can help you fix the problem. After doing so, make sure to check whether you can now view files on your system.

Fix 2. Unhide Hidden Files with attrib Command

As mentioned before also, the files on an external hard drive are not really missing from it. Perhaps they are hidden, therefore not showing up. To fix the issue, you have to unhide hidden files, and the attrib command can help you get the job done.

Step 1: To commence, enter “cmd” in the Windows Search box, right-tap on Command Prompt program and select “Run as administrator”.
Step 2: Type “attrib -s -h -r /s /d *.*” (D is the drive on which folders and files are hidden).
Step 3: Hit “Enter”.

Fix 3. Fix File System Errors

External hard drive folders and file can disappear even if the file system of the drive is damaged or contains an unrecognized file system. So, to fix files disappeared from external hard drive on Windows 10 PC, you need to fix file system errors.

Step 1: To begin, right-tap on the external hard drive and select “Properties”.
Step 2: Choose the “Tools” tab and tap on the “Check” button.
Step 3: Check the option saying “Automatically fix file system errors” from the pop-up window.
Step 4: Tap on the “Start” button to commence the procedure. Wait for a while to complete the process.

Fix 4. Modify CheckedValue in Regedit

Maybe there is a virus-affected CheckedValue in Regedit. It could make the drive fail to show files and folders stored on it. Therefore, to fix the issue and make files appears, you need to change CheckedValue in Regedit.

Step 1: To begin, press the “Windows + R” keys to open the Run command.
Step 2: Enter “Regedit” and hit “Ok.
Step 3: Go to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWAL.”
Step 4: Here, you need to inspect whether the data value of the “CheckedValue” is 1 or not.

If no, then delete “CheckedValue”. After that, create a new “DWOR” in the blank and then rename it as “CheckedValue”. Finally, set “1” as value data, and that’s it.

The Bottom Line

That’s all on how to fix files missing from external hard drive but still taking up space. This post explains all plausible solutions you can try to resolve this issue. Whether you are using an internal or external hard drive on a system, rescuing important data and files is the most important thing to do. To help you perform data recovery without any hassle, you can always count on the Recoverit data recovery solution. This tool has the potential to help you retrieve lost or deleted data from various data loss scenarios and all types of files.

People Also Ask

How much does it cost to recover data from an external hard drive?

If you decide to take an external hard drive data recovery service, you should expect to pay between $150 to $1500 – which is costly. But that does not mean there is no way to get back your lost files from an external hard drive at a low price. Using an external hard drive data recovery software li can help you have a more affordable and reliable solution to perform data recovery. What’s more? You can expect to pay around $50 only, on average.

Why did my D drive disappeared?

If you encounter a D drive disappeared error, then the reasons could be faulty disk drivers or inappropriate system settings.

Why has my folder disappeared?

Your folders or files may get disappear from your Windows 10 system due to an automatic update, malware, failing hard drive, or you signed in to a new user account.