Show Hidden Files in USB or SD Card on Windows – 3 Ways

Why Are Files in a USB Drive or SD Card Hidden

Have you plugged your USB drive into your computer and tried to open a file, only to find that the file is no longer there? What is the reason for this? There are several possible reasons.

• 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.
• Accidental deletion: You may inadvertently delete unneeded files or folders from a USB drive, only to realize later that essential files were included in the deletion. This can lead to files appearing hidden because they have been removed from view.

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

Using File Explorer is the easiest and most straightforward way to show hidden files on SD cards or USB drives. As a built-in feature in Windows, it allows you to adjust file attributes with corresponding buttons.

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: Get into your external drive by double-clicking it. Go to the View tab, then tick Hidden items.

Step 4: After that, hidden files should be displayed. Now, press Ctrl + A to select all files, then right-click any of them and click Properties. Untick Hidden under the General tab, and hit 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: Use the Command Prompt to Unhide Files

Besides using File Explorer, you can also show hidden files in USB attrib command. The attrib command allows you to add or remove attributes of files and folders. You can use it to remove the hidden attribute of your files.

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 you fail to show hidden files in USB by using the above three methods, the files may have been lost. In the next part, we will introduce you to an effective way to recover hidden files in USB.

It’s recommended you use MiniTool Power Data Recovery, a robust data recovery tool, to recover deleted and lost hidden files. Whether you’ve accidentally deleted important files, encountered a formatting error, or experienced a disk crash resulting in data loss, MiniTool Power Data Recovery offers a comprehensive solution to help you recover your valuable files efficiently.

With MiniTool Power Data Recovery, you can seamlessly recover files from a wide range of storage media, including hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, SD cards, and more. Whether you’re a novice or an experienced user, you can easily navigate through the software’s features and initiate the recovery process with just a few clicks.

Moreover, MiniTool Power Data Recovery stands out as a reliable and cost-effective solution, offering a free file recovery software option that allows you to recover up to 1 GB of data at no cost. This edition enables you to evaluate the software’s capabilities and recover essential files without any financial commitment.

Come to get this powerful data recovery software to recover your data for free!

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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

Preventing files from being hidden and avoiding file loss is also important to keep your files safe. Here are some useful tips.

For hidden files:

Hidden files are typically system files or configurations that are intentionally concealed to prevent accidental modification or deletion. But sometimes, malware and viruses may also cause your personal files to be hidden. To prevent such a thing from happening, you can use antivirus software to scan your USB drive or SD card. If you haven’t downloaded any third-party antivirus software, you can use the built-in antivirus Windows Defender to do this.

Additionally, you can keep the Hidden items option under the View tab enabled in File Explorer to make hidden files visible. Hidden files are usually represented by faded or transparent icons or different font colors to distinguish them from regular files. Note that this may make important system files vulnerable to accidental deletion, so we do not recommend doing this.

For lost/deleted files:

Lost or deleted files refer to files that were once accessible but no longer exist in their original location or have been removed from the system’s file index. Error messages or prompts stating that files cannot be found when attempting to access them may indicate that files have been lost or deleted.

Do these things below to prevent data loss:

• Timely organize your files according to specific rules, like file type, creation date, file subject, file size, etc.
• Always download files/apps through trusted sources like official websites or app stores.
• Upload your files to a cloud service, such as OneDrive, Google Cloud, etc.
• Copy your files manually to different folders or other storage devices.
• Regularly back up your files by using professional third-party data backup software (like MiniTool ShadowMaker).

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Additionally, a damaged or old USB drive can compromise your file safety. To mitigate the risk of data loss or other issues, it’s advisable to replace it with a new one. This post will guide you on selecting USB drives that are worth purchasing: How to Choose The Best USB Flash Drive.

Final Words

When you can’t find files in your USB device, try the above methods to check if they are hidden. If your files are deleted or lost, you can use MiniTool Power Data Recovery to restore them from the USB device. If you encounter any issues while using MiniTool software, you can contact the support team for assistance via [email protected].

Show Hidden Files in USB FAQ