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How to Retrieve Hidden Files from External Hard Drive In Easy Steps?

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Published By Jamie Kaler 
Rollins Duke
Approved By Rollins Duke
Published On June 6th, 2022
Reading Time 5 Min Read

It is possible that certain files on the external hard drive will not appear to be there at any point in time. This section will address the probable reasons and solutions, as well as a method that is both effective and trustworthy when it comes to retrieve hidden files from external Hard Drive.

The Problem “External Hard Drive Files Are Not Showing”

Even though external hard drives have been a great help in everyday life and work, there is a chance that they might not show some of their files. Or even appear to have lost all of them, even though the disk capacity shown in disk properties is used.

If you have a general idea of how much space your data takes up, you’ll be able tell that the external drive is full of your files.

However, there is a problem: when individuals discover their data are missing from an external hard drive, they become nervous; they are afraid of permanently losing essential files. What occurs in reality when this situation exists? Are you able to repair it or recover hidden files from external Hard Drive?

And the answer is yes. Below, we’ll discuss every conceivable approach for doing this work. However, let us first consider some of the reasons why this occurs.

Reasons Behind Files Not Showing

Many factors contribute to the existence of hidden files; a few of them are as follows:

  • When files get corrupted or damaged.
  • If your system is not protected and gets attacked by a virus.
  • When a person conceals their data manually and then forgets about it.

As a result of the system failing to operate properly.

There were several more reasons for your file to get hidden. The good news is that you may restore hidden data from an external hard drive using the approach shown below.

How You Can Retrieve Hidden Files from External Hard Drive?

If you use one of the various options available, you will be able to retrieve your lost information. We’ll go through each of them in further detail below. Continue reading to find out:

Method 1 – Retrieve Hidden Files from External Hard Disk using CMD

  • From your taskbar, select the Window Start button and type “CMD” into it.
  • Click on Enter
  • Alternatively, hit the Window icon + R on your keyboard. Launch the pop-up window
  • By typing “cmd” and pressing the enter key, the cmd window will open.
  • “attrib -s -h -r c:/*.* /s/d” Type: “attrib -s -h -r c:/*.* /s/d”. (C: is the drive letter; substitute your own drive letter)
  • Now, type enter to run the command.
  • This command will take a considerable amount of time to perform. Wait a while and then exit the cmd. Now, access the external hard drive and verify that all of your previously hidden files have been restored.

Method 2 – Recover Virus-Infected Hard Drive Hidden Files

As previously said, a virus-infected hard drive may hide your file or have a proclivity for data loss. Users must install anti-virus software on their PC in order to restore hidden files. The data is shown in this example via a command prompt. If you do not already have a reliable anti-virus program, get one and then proceed with the instructions to retrieve hidden data.

  • Install the anti-virus software and run a full system scan, including the external hard drive, to identify any viruses.
  • Start by typing control panel into the window’s start menu and pressing enter.
  • After clicking on Appearance and Personalization, click on File Explorer.
  • On the View tab, choose the option to see hidden files, folders, and disks.
  • Uncheck the box that reads Hide protected operating system files.
  • Click on the Apply button.

After finishing this, return to the cmd prompt and repeat the procedures outlined previously. Wait a moment before executing the instruction. Close the cmd window and navigate to your external hard drive; your files should now be visible.

Please Note: Though we discussed a manual technique, there is a possibility that the user may have problems with some files; files with a high quality or a large file size are difficult to restore manually. There, you must utilize software that recovers files without causing data loss.

Method 3 – The Professional Software to Retrieve Hidden Files from External Hard Drive

We are aware that there are several specialist solutions available to complete this work. Selecting the best one is challenging. As a result, we would like to strongly advise you to utilize Best Data Recovery Software Wizard. It is a highly rated program that is capable of meeting the requirements of all types of users. This incredible tool makes it simple to retrieve hidden files from an external Hard Drive.

This program features an extremely straightforward user interface. This program is simple to use for all types of users. Additionally, you just need to follow a few basic procedures to do this work. So, just download the software and take a trial.

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The Final Words

In today’s guide, we have explained different methods to retrieve hidden files from external Hard Drive. You have the option of selecting the technique that best meets your requirements. We hope you enjoyed reading this content.

Also Read:

How to Recover Deleted Data from Portable Hard Drive?