If files are missing from a USB drive or SD card, they may be hidden rather than deleted. This guide explains how to show hidden files in USB on Windows and recover files that are deleted or lost.
Quick Answer
To show hidden files in USB on Windows, open File Explorer, select the USB drive, and enable View > Show > Hidden items. If the files are still hidden, use the attrib -h -r -s /s /d X:\*.* command in Command Prompt. If the files were deleted or lost, use data recovery software to scan the USB drive.
Why Are Files in a USB Drive or SD Card Hidden
If files suddenly disappear from a USB drive or SD card, they may be hidden rather than deleted. Common causes include hidden file attributes, USB drive corruption, and malware attacks.
- Hidden attributes: When files on a USB drive or SD card are assigned the hidden attribute, they are not visible from the normal directory view in File Explorer. You may intentionally hide files to protect sensitive information from others or to prevent accidental modification or deletion of files. Additionally, operating systems hide certain files by default for system stability and security reasons. These files may include system files, software files, or files that are unnecessary for regular user interaction.
- USB drive corruption: If your USB drive is corrupted, it may cause your files to be hidden or other errors. Continuing to use a corrupted USB drive is risky. So, you need to extract your files and replace the corrupted USB drive with a new one to avoid further data loss.
- Malware attacks: Malicious software may hide files on removable storage devices such as USB drives or SD cards to avoid detection by antivirus software in order to hide itself. Or, the malware has deleted your files, causing file loss.
How to Unhide Hidden Files in USB on Windows
How to find hidden files in USB? Here are three methods you can try to unhide USB files.
Way 1: Show Hidden Files in USB With File Explorer
File Explorer is the easiest way to show hidden files in USB drives or SD cards. You can enable the Hidden items option to display hidden files and folders without using additional software.
Step 1: Insert your USB drive or SD card into your computer.
Step 2: Press Win + E to open File Explorer and go to This PC. Or you can double-click This PC on the Desktop to open it.
Step 3: Open the USB drive in File Explorer. In Windows 11, select View > Show > Hidden items. In Windows 10, open the View tab and select Hidden items.
Step 4: Once Hidden items is enabled, check whether the missing files or folders appear. If you want to permanently unhide a specific file or folder, right-click it, select Properties, clear Hidden, and click Apply.
Then, choose Apply changes to the selected items, subfolders and files in the pop-up window and click OK in both the Confirm Attribute Changes and Properties windows..
Way 2: Show Hidden Files in USB with Attrib Command
If File Explorer does not show the missing files, you can use the attrib command to remove the Hidden, Read-only, and System attributes from files and folders on the USB drive.
Here are the detailed steps to show hidden files in USB:
Step 1: Connect your USB drive to your computer.
Step 2: Press Win + R to open Run, then type cmd and hit Enter.
Step 3: Input attrib -h -r -s /s /d G:\*.* into the cmd window and hit Enter.
After finishing the above steps, you can go into your USB drive to see if the hidden files have been displayed.
Way 3: Unhide Files by Changing Settings in Control Panel
If File Explorer and the Command Prompt are out of work, you can change some settings in the Control Panel to show hidden files on a USB drive or SD card.
Step 1: Connect your USB drive to your PC, then search for Control Panel in the search bar and open the Control Panel.
Step 2: Go to Appearance and Personalization, and click Show hidden files and folders under File Explorer Options. Next, choose Show hidden files, folders, and drives under Hidden files and folders. Finally, click Apply and OK to confirm the change.
Step 3: Now, navigate to your USB drive using File Explorer, and you should be able to see hidden files and folders.
How to Recover Deleted/Lost Hidden Files in USB on Windows
If your files are deleted or lost rather than simply hidden, MiniTool Power Data Recovery can scan the USB drive or SD card for recoverable files. It supports various storage devices and provides features such as filtering, searching, and previewing scan results.
The Free Edition allows you to recover up to 1 GB of data at no cost, so you can try the software before upgrading if more recovery capacity is needed.
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Follow the guide below to start the file recovery.
Step 1: Connect the USB drive to your computer and launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery.
Step 2: Go to the Devices tab on the interface, and you can see all the storage devices connected to your computer (including internal hard drives and external storage devices). Now, place your cursor on the USB drive connected and click the Scan button to start to scan this USB drive.
Step 3: Wait for the scan to finish. Once it is done, you can begin to select the files you want to recover with the help of some useful features of this software.
- Path: The found files will be displayed under this category list by default when the scan is complete. It shows scan results in a tree structure.
- Type: Under this tab, the scan results will be classified according to their file type, such as document, picture, audio & video, archive, other files, etc.
- Filter: It allows you to add specific filtering rules (including file type, modified date, file size, and file category) to filter files.
- Search: You can type the name of a file and press Enter to search for a certain file. It is especially suitable to look for several certain files.
- Preview: When you select a file, you can click the Preview button or double-click the file to confirm if the file is the needed one. The file to be previewed should not exceed 2GB.
Step 4: After selecting all the files you need, click Save, then you need to choose a location to save them. Do not save them to their original location, but save them to another directory to avoid overwriting.
Tips to Prevent Files From Being Hidden and Avoid File Loss
To reduce the risk of hidden files and data loss on a USB drive or SD card, follow these tips:
- Scan removable drives for malware. Malware can sometimes change file attributes and make personal files appear hidden. Use Windows Security or trusted antivirus software to scan your USB drive or SD card regularly.
- Back up important files. Keep copies of important files on another storage device or in cloud storage. You can also use backup software such as MiniTool ShadowMaker to create regular backups.
- Replace damaged or unreliable USB drives. If a USB drive frequently disconnects, reports errors, or shows signs of corruption, move your important files to another device and replace the drive to reduce the risk of further data loss.
- Avoid unnecessary changes to hidden files. Some hidden files belong to Windows or applications. Keep them hidden unless you need to access or modify them.
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Final Words
If you can’t find files on a USB drive, first use File Explorer or the attrib command to show hidden files. If the files still don’t appear, they may have been deleted or lost. In that case, MiniTool Power Data Recovery can help scan the USB drive and recover recoverable files.
For MiniTool software issues, contact us via [email protected].
Show Hidden Files in USB FAQ
If your USB drive shows used space but you cannot find the corresponding files, enable hidden items first. If the files still do not appear, they may be affected by malware, file system errors, or data loss.
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