How to Show and Recover Hidden Files on SD Card/Flash Drive

Eleanor Reed

Dec 16, 2024 • Filed to: SD Card Solutions • Proven solutions

If you have faced this problem with your SD card, then you need to apply some simple techniques to show hidden files. You can use Google Chrome, File Explorer, and attrib command to view or show the files again. But how you do it, we have covered the methods here for your convenience. Besides, we studied and tried to figure out the reasons behind this issue, along with recommending recovery software.

Part 1: Reasons For The Loss of Hidden Files From Memory Card

Memory cards and flash drives are used widely by photographers and smartphone users to store various types of files. When the flash drive doesn't show some files, then this can be a challenging problem for you. It is vital to know how to show hidden files on SD card to prevent any further issues. Before learning how to show hidden files on a flash drive, you must know the reasons that cause this issue. The possible reasons are given as follows:

• One of the leading causes of hidden files on the SD card or flash drive is being infected with viruses or malware.
• There might be the possibility that you have purchased a flash drive or SD card of low quality.
• You may have deleted files or formatted it accidentally and don't remember the same now.
• Removing the SD card suddenly from the system while the file-sharing process is going on can corrupt it, and you lose the stored files.

Part 2: How to Show Hidden Files on An SD Card or Flash Drive

You can show hidden files on an SD card or flash drive using the following methods. Let's find out how to show hidden files on a flash drive.

Method 1: Find Hidden Files in File Explorer

The first solution you should try to show hidden files on SD card is using the File Explorer option on Windows computer. Here are the steps:

1. Connect the SD card to your computer, and ensure that it can be recognized.

2. Open the File Explorer, and go to the SD Card. Click the View tab and check Hidden items.

3. Now you would be able to see the hidden files on the SD card.

Method 2: Change settings in File Explorer to show hidden files

Changing settings in File Explorer is another effective way to show hidden files when the method 1 doesn't work. Many people have tried this and found that it works.

Step 1: Connect the SD card

Connect the SD card or flash drive to the USB port of your computer.

Step 2: Open File Explorer

Open the "File Explorer" and then navigate to "Tools" ; "Folder options" ; "View Tab." Tick the "Hidden items" box option. Check now if you can view the hidden files.

Step 3: Check the Option

If the issue hasn't been solved yet, click on the "View" ; "Options" ; "View" and then check "Show hidden files, folders, and drives."

Method 3: Use attrib command to unhide files on a memory card

Command Prompt is another way to unhide the files on a memory card. This is so far the best method as recommended by experienced users.

Step 1: Connect the flash drive

You need to connect the flash drive or SD card by inserting it to a card reader to unhide hidden files. Please wait for the computer to recognize it.

Step 2: Run CMD

Hit "Windows + R" and enter "cmd" in the "Run" dialog box. Click on "Ok" to proceed.

Step 3: Type the command

As soon as the command prompt window opens, you have to write the "attrib" command as "attrib -h -r -s /s /d E:\*.*" and change the letter "E" with the drive letter of the connected flash drive. Hit the "Enter" key for the execution of the command.

Method 4: Show hidden files by using Google Chrome

Google Chrome is the perfect browser for handling issues like this. It can help in un-hiding hidden files. Follow the steps below for showing the files:

Step 1: Connect the USB drive

As you have done in the above methods, do the same hereby connecting your SD card or any other flash drive to your PC and remember the drive letter as shown.

Step 2: Run Google Chrome

Launch Google Chrome using the "Search" box" Start", or you can double-click on its desktop icon. On the address bar, you have to type file:///x: and hit "Enter" after replacing the x with the drive letter of your USB drive. Google Chrome initiates the indexing of all the items present on the flash drive.

Method 5: Show hidden files by assigning new driver letter

If above methods don’t work, assigning new driver letter can also help you show the hidden files on SD card.

1. Right click the Start icon on Windows, and select Disk Management.

2. Find the SD card and right-click on it.

3. Navigate to the Change Drive Letter and Paths option. Click on it and ensure that the changes are applied before clicking on OK.

Method 6. Recover Hidden Files on SD Card with Recoverit Data Recovery Software

The data stored in your flash drive could be a lot important to you but suppose all of a sudden, they stop showing the saved files and folders. What can you do in this situation? After analyzing all the above methods and still not being able to view them is the worst thing that can happen. Now, the only hope and tool that you can trust are none other than the Recoverit Data Recovery application, which is designed for Windows and Mac users. It allows you to recover hidden files on the SD card quite quickly. Moreover, you can recover data from any external device with this compact tool.

Video Tutorial on How to Recover Hidden Files from SD Card?

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Step 1: Connect and select the flash drive

Before launching Recoverit, you have to download it first from the link "https://recoverit.wondershare.com/". Besides, you need to connect the SD card to the PC and wait for it to be detected. Run the Recoverit tool now, go to the SD Card section to recover hidden files on the SD card and select your USB flash drive as the target location. Click on the "Scan" button to proceed.

Step 2: Scan the external device

Start a full scanning of the external flash drive and be patient for a few minutes. This lets you choose the files that you want to recover.

Step 3: Preview and recover files

After the scanning process finishes, you can preview the files. Move the cursor to the "Recover" button to start the recovering of files and save them to the desired folder.

The Bottom Line

Many people have raised this issue but unable to find solutions. Therefore, we decided to help them by curating all the possible solutions on how to recover hidden files on a flash drive under one content. Out of every solution, recovering hidden files with the Recoverit data recovery tool is the ideal solution. The worldwide user of this software is more than 5,000,000. So, we would like to recommend Recoverit to every person who wants to recover hidden files on the SD card.