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I have a 24TB Seagate external hard drive. The whole folder just disappeared, with the rest of the storage unchanged, when I tried to transfer one of the documents to my computer. Is there any way to find it?
In fact, files or folders disappearing from an external disk in Windows 10/11 or Mac is a common issue. Though it’s stressful and can leave people worried about permanent data loss, there are always solutions available, whether on Windows or Mac. If you’re facing the issue, please read on.
In most cases, files that are missing or cannot be displayed on the external hard drive don’t mean they've been erased. Instead, there must be a problem with logical access. In other words, these data still exist, but the file system hides them or places them in a different directory. In this case, before you try the solutions below, please take the following steps.
While there are many reasons causing files or folders on the external disk to disappear, there are ways to address the issue. Below, our technical team has compiled a list of solutions that you can try.
External hard drives are frequently used across different computers, making them very easy to infect with viruses or malware. They will alter file attributes without your notice, causing files to be hidden. That’s the reason you should scan the external hard drive with antivirus software first.
Most of the time, the missing files are still on the external hard drive, but they disappear because their attributes were changed due to incorrect settings. The file system marked the changed files as hidden files. To view them again, you need to unhide them.
Open Finder and go to the directory where the missing files from the external hard drive were located. Press "Command", "Shift," and "." three keys. All hidden items will reappear with a semi-transparent appearance.
If files on the external hard drive are still missing after you changed the system settings mentioned above, then it is very likely that their attributes have been set to hidden at a higher level. In this case, it’s better to show hidden files or folders on the external disk with command lines.
CheckedValue is a DWORD registry value in Windows that controls whether hidden files are displayed. When it is 1, it will reveal hidden files. While 0 locks the settings to prevent unauthorized changes. Checking and changing the CheckedValue is an alternative solution if the aforementioned commands fail to remove the hidden attribute from the files on your external hard drive.
Files on an external hard drive may also disappear due to file system errors, such as lost file indices, corrupted boot records, bad clusters, or bad sectors present in the device itself. Coincidentally, CHKDSK in Windows or First Aid on Mac can detect and repair these issues, showing the disappeared files again.
If the methods above still fail to reveal the files that have disappeared from your external hard drive, the last possibility is that they were deleted without your notice.
Fortunately, when the deletion is carried out, the operating system doesn’t erase the files. Instead, it marks the file headers as deleted and removes the corresponding index entries from the directory list. It is precisely because these files lack the necessary reference information that they become unrecognizable and appear to have vanished from your external hard drive. In this case, there are two solutions. Choose the one that’s right for your situation.
As previously mentioned, even if some files on an external hard drive have been accidentally deleted, they still remain on the drive. Without a backup, the quickest and most effective solution is to use data recovery software to scan the drive's sectors directly, locating and restoring these files that are no longer indexed.
If you do not have such a tool installed on your computer, we recommend you try iBeesoft Data Recovery. It is simple to use yet powerful, allowing you to achieve unexpected results even in complex data-loss situations.
Tip: These steps can also help you recover deleted files on a Mac.
If all other methods don't work or you prefer not to handle the process yourself, the last resort might be to ask a data recovery service for help. To do this, simply search for a local provider and book a consultation.
No matter how excellent or simple a solution may be, it ultimately serves only to remedy a past mistake. To fundamentally prevent such errors from happening again, please follow the suggestions below.
As you can see, when files or folders on an external hard drive disappear, you should first check system settings and then run CHKDSK or First Aid to rule out file system errors. These simple ways often resolve the issue. If they fail to work, then you should consider using data recovery tools or services to retrieve lost files. We’re sure you will successfully recover missing files. Last, prevention is always the best approach. Therefore, please take a moment to read our suggestions and put them into practice.
There are many reasons why files and folders disappear from an external hard drive. Here are some common ones:
Certainly! In addition to iBeesoft Data Recovery mentioned in this article, you can also use TestDisk, which offers standalone versions for both Windows and Mac.
In most cases, there must be bad sectors or a mechanical failure on your external hard drive. To prevent permanent data loss, please replace the external hard drive with a new drive as soon as possible.
It is a symptom of a file system error. First, you should run CHKDSK or a repair tool to fix it. If that fails, use iBeesoft Data Recovery to recover the disappeared files first. After that, format the external hard drive to resolve the issue completely.
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