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Author Topic: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD  (Read 39021 times)

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ThatGuy11200

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    Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
    « on: October 20, 2014, 11:54:29 AM »
    Not sure if this is the correct place for this.

    I had my external HDD plugged into my PC.  I went away and did something else for a while and when I came back the computer had gone to sleep.  When it came back on, I tried to go into a folder in the eHDD and a message appeared saying the filepath didn't exist.  I unplugged it and plugged it back in and now the folder is gone completely.  However, when I look at the drive, it seems that Windows is still detecting the data there, because the same amount of space is in use.

    About 60GB is missing because of that one folder.

    I'm using Windows 8.1 and the HDD is a Buffalo 1TB HD that's formatted as NTFS.
    « Last Edit: October 20, 2014, 12:21:13 PM by ThatGuy11200 »

    Geek-9pm


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    Re: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
    « Reply #1 on: October 20, 2014, 12:39:38 PM »
    Quote
    About 60GB is missing because of that one folder.
    That sounds bad.
    You may wish to check the manufacturers site for a suitable diagnostic program.

    There have been reports of some users having trouble with external USB drives. Here is a link to another forum where a similar issue was considered.
    http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/276751-32-buffalo-external-hard-drive-problem

    Also, you may need to use a partition recovery program.
    Here is one:
    http://www.minitool-partitionrecovery.com/
    Use of any recovery tool has risk involved. It is a free tool.



    ThatGuy11200

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      Re: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
      « Reply #2 on: October 20, 2014, 01:13:29 PM »
      I found another forum where this problem was fixed for some people.  But it didn't work for me.

      http://www.makeuseof.com/answers/view-folders-external-hard-disk/

      The first suggestion was:

      "Go to Control Panel->Appearance and Personalization->Folder Options
      In view tab check show hidden file and also show protect folder of system

      on “Start” –>Run–>type cmd and click on OK.
      if your hard drive as G:
      Enter this command: attrib -h -r -s /s /d g:*.*
      Then check if your real files will be showed"


      When I tried that it didn't seem to do anything.

      I even tried Recuva and TestDisk but neither found any deleted files.  Even though I know I've deleted files on the eHDD.

      This isn't actually the first time this has happened, although it was years ago, and only affected a few files.

      ThatGuy11200

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        Re: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
        « Reply #3 on: October 20, 2014, 01:26:05 PM »
        I just tried copying the entire drive to my internal HDD.  Despite the G: drive saying it has 85GB of used space, it only copied 28GB, which is the total size of the visible folders.

        Geek-9pm


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        Re: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
        « Reply #4 on: October 20, 2014, 02:39:16 PM »
        Another suggestion.
        Use a 'Live' Linux CD to boot your computer. Then see if you can mount the USB drive.  In some cases the Linux system  can see the drive. Reason unknown.
        Also, in Linux, start up GParted.
        Or make a bookable CD kith GParted
        http://gparted.org/
        Quote
        GParted is a free partition editor for graphically managing your disk partitions.
        With GParted you can resize, copy, and move partitions without data loss, enabling you to:
            Grow or shrink your C: drive
            Create space for new operating systems
            Attempt data rescue from lost partitions
        Sometimes it works.



        ThatGuy11200

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          Re: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
          « Reply #5 on: October 21, 2014, 01:18:38 AM »
          I'll try that but it isn't a case that the drive can't be seen by the computer.  It's just that particular folder.

          Can you suggest which version of Linux to use?

          R2D2_WD



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            Re: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
            « Reply #6 on: October 21, 2014, 01:42:56 AM »
            Hi there,

            I believe the files are still there, but had gone invisible. The attrib command was a good option, because sometimes really solves the issue. Check the drive on another PC and with another USB cable. I would try to take ownership of that folder from the Security tab in Properties. I leave details below.
            Using a Linux Live CD is another option, which may give you access to those files. I believe that versions here do not really matter. If you access your data, do a backup and format the drive.

            http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753659.aspx – how to take ownership of a folder

            Hope this helps
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            ThatGuy11200

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              Re: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
              « Reply #7 on: October 21, 2014, 04:50:01 AM »
              I'll try that later.  I've currently got Recuva doing a deep scan which will take another 7 hours.  Also I won't be able to try another cable, it has a usb at one end and a larger connector (one that I've never seen before or since) at the other end.

              I've already taken ownership of the drive.  I had to in order to get the attrib command to work.

              Allan

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              Re: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
              « Reply #8 on: October 21, 2014, 05:52:49 AM »
              Hi there,

              I believe the files are still there, but had gone invisible. The attrib command was a good option, because sometimes really solves the issue. Check the drive on another PC and with another USB cable. I would try to take ownership of that folder from the Security tab in Properties. I leave details below.
              Using a Linux Live CD is another option, which may give you access to those files. I believe that versions here do not really matter. If you access your data, do a backup and format the drive.

              http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753659.aspx – how to take ownership of a folder

              Hope this helps

              1) How do files "go invisible"?
              2) Taking ownership has nothing to do with files disappearing, only the ability to access the files.

              R2D2_WD



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                Re: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
                « Reply #9 on: October 21, 2014, 08:01:35 AM »
                Hi, Allan

                I have seen many cases, where users can not see the content of their external drives/pen drives without any particular reason, but they can confirm that the space on the drive is used, meaning that the files are still on the drive, but can not be seen. Sometimes this happens after OS updates, because of HDD issues, software issues, anti virus restrictions (after an update) or ownership changes. Some of these may happen without the authorization of the user (like auto updates). I think the files are actually there. Some users report that taking ownership helps, so that is why I suggested it.
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                jason2074



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                Re: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
                « Reply #10 on: October 21, 2014, 08:19:59 AM »
                Quote
                on “Start” –>Run–>type cmd and click on OK.
                if your hard drive as G:
                Enter this command: attrib -h -r -s /s /d g:*.*
                Then check if your real files will be showed"


                When I tried that it didn't seem to do anything.

                Try following the exact commands including run as administrator when opening cmd prompt
                http://en.kioskea.net/forum/affich-623304-hidden-files-on-my-hard-disk

                ThatGuy11200

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                  Re: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
                  « Reply #11 on: October 21, 2014, 11:07:02 AM »
                  Try following the exact commands including run as administrator when opening cmd prompt
                  http://en.kioskea.net/forum/affich-623304-hidden-files-on-my-hard-disk

                  It didn't work.

                  The Recuva deep scan also didn't find the folder, and when I used the drive on another computer the folder still wasn't there, but the computer could still detect the space being used.

                  Geek-9pm


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                  Re: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
                  « Reply #12 on: October 21, 2014, 11:48:36 AM »
                  1) How do files "go invisible"?
                  2) Taking ownership has nothing to do with files disappearing, only the ability to access the files.
                  Malware can and does hide data on a USB drive. This has been documented.. ** The OP may need to go to the virus  forum and get some needed help there.

                  ** One one many references: http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/the-frontline-blog/2253176/hidden-data-trick-could-be-malware-writers-boon

                  jason2074



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                  Re: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
                  « Reply #13 on: October 22, 2014, 11:52:02 PM »
                  Did you try Tools - Folder Options - Unhide in Windows Explorer of the external drive?

                  ThatGuy11200

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                    Re: Urgent: Folder disappeared from external HDD
                    « Reply #14 on: October 28, 2014, 05:33:59 AM »
                    After waiting all this time to get some CD-Rs delivered, it seems my computer can't even burn anything to disc.

                    I downloaded Puppy Linux, inserted the CD-R and tried to format it and it says "Windows was unable to complete the formatting", or I get the error 0xc0aa0402 when I try to burn it to the disc.