The flash drive is not empty, but the files are visible. No files are visible on the flash drive, but the space is occupied
Description of the problem
When opening a flash drive, folders, files and other elements are not displayed.
Cause
The operation of a malicious application that has changed the attributes of elements to a hidden display mode.
Options for solving the problem
Select "Folder Options" (for Windows 7 and higher - "Folder Options").
Go to the “View” tab. Here you need to uncheck “Hide protected system files” and check next to “Show hidden files, folders, drives”. Then click “OK”.
Open “My Computer”. Right-click on the flash drive icon and select “Properties”.
A window will appear in which you need to uncheck the “Hide” command.
2. You can also access hidden files on a flash drive using the Total Commander program.
Let's launch the software. Select “Configuration” on the toolbar. Here click “Settings”.
Go to the “Panel Contents” tab, which is located on the left side of the working window and check the “Show hidden/system files” checkbox.
The contents of the disk drive will be displayed.
3. The third method can be called “Medicine for a flash drive.”
Open the removable disk. Right-click and select “New”, “Text Document” (Notepad type).
We give the document a name. For example, “Doctor for a flash drive.”
Write the following command in the text: “attrib -s -h -r -a *.* /s /d”
Save the file.
Go to the “View” tab and uncheck “Hide extension for known file types”.
Let's return to the flash drive. Click “Rename” and place the format “txt”, enter “.bat”. The result is a program file.
We run the file and all the elements on the flash drive are displayed.
Today we will talk about an interesting virus, the name of which I certainly don’t know or don’t remember.
He lived in one wonderful budget organization, which was either forced to buy a paid antivirus, known to all of us, or they themselves decided so. Don't know.
Actually this is good and correct. But, either it (the antivirus) does not cope with its task, or the administrator is lazy, but one way or another, the virus has been living on the computers of this organization for a long time.
And so I managed to connect a flash drive to one of the computers of the above-mentioned office of the organization.
The peculiarity of the virus is this: it does not copy itself onto your device (or rather, it copies, but very rarely, and apparently only some kind of it), but it manages to cause mischief.
The virus has hidden folders and files on the flash drive
All of the following symptoms may appear either all at the same time or some separately:
- The flash drive is supposedly empty - you don’t see anything in the explorer.
- There is not a single file visible on the flash disk, but if you look at the properties of the disk, it becomes clear that it is not empty.
- There is something on the disk that looks like your folders, and even looks like them, but in fact, these are EXE files that open Windows Explorer. Sometimes in the “My Documents” folder.
- Instead of your files, shortcuts that still open your files. Well, or they don’t open...
How to cure a flash drive from a file-hiding virus
What to do if such a nuisance happens to you and your flash drive?
Tip #1. Do not format the flash drive under any circumstances.
Your data is there, it is not corrupted, and we will return it now:
Run command prompt as Administrator. Enter the command
attrib -h -r -s /d /s h:\*.*— where “h:\” is the letter of your flash drive.
and press
This command will make your files and folders visible.
Let's look at what the command we entered does:
attrib— actually launches the attrib program
key -h— clears the “hidden file” attribute.
key -r- clears the file's read-only attribute.
key -s— clears the “system file” attribute.
key /s— applies only to files.
key /d— extends the effect to directories (folders) and files. Doesn't work without /s
After these steps, your files and folders will become visible. All you have to do is delete (using a search) all files with the extension *.lnk (shortcuts) and name.exe that look like your folders (where name is the names of your folders). If there are files that are not similar to yours, delete them too.
Neoshibka.Ru is not responsible for your actions and possible loss of information. You perform all actions at your own peril and risk. You must understand what you are doing and where it will lead.
What to do if the files on the flash drive are not visible
Owners of flash drives have situations when, after inserting their media into the computer again, its contents cease to be accessible. Everything looks as usual, but it feels like there is nothing on the drive at all, but you know for sure that there was some information there. In this case, you should not panic; there is no reason to lose information yet.
We will look at several ways to solve this problem.
Reason #1: Virus infection
By default, most antivirus programs automatically scan flash media when it is connected. But if the antivirus program is not configured, you can do it manually. To do this, follow a series of simple steps:
- Open This PC.
- Right-click on the flash drive shortcut.
- In the drop-down menu there is an item from the antivirus program that you need to run. For example, if Avast antivirus is installed , then select the item"Scan F:\". ,Click on it.
Thus, you will not only check, but also, if possible, cure your flash drive of viruses.
Reason #2: There are errors
An issue where information has become invisible may indicate the presence of viruses on the drive.
- Go to “This PC” (or “My Computer” if you have an older version of Windows).
- Click the mouse cursor on the flash drive label and right-click on it.
- In the menu that appears, select “Properties”.
- Next, go to the “Service” tab. In the top “Check Disk” section, click on the “Run check” item.
- A dialog box appears in which you enable all disk check options:
- “Automatically correct system errors”;
- "Check and repair bad sectors."
Click on "Launch".
When completed, a message will appear indicating that the device has been successfully verified. If errors were detected on the flash drive, then an additional folder with files like"file0000.chk"
Reason #3: Hidden files
Most often due to a virus that changes the file attribute to hidden.
If your USB drive does not show files and folders, then first of all turn on the display of hidden files in the Explorer properties. This is done as follows:
- Go to Control Panel on your computer.
- Select the theme “Design and Personalization”.
- Next, go to the “Folder Options” section and select “Show hidden files and folders”.
- The Folder Options window will open. Go to the “View” tab and check the box next to “Show hidden folders and files.”
- Click on the "Apply" button. The process does not always happen quickly, you need to wait.
- Go to your flash drive. If the files were hidden, they should appear.
- Now you need to remove the “Hidden” attribute from them. Right-click on the file or folder.
- In the drop-down menu window, select “Properties”.
- In the newly appeared window of this item, in the “Attributes” section, uncheck the box next to the “Hidden” field.
Now all hidden files will become visible on any operating system.
But there are times when only formatting will help bring a flash drive back to life. Our instructions will help you perform this procedure at a low level.
Important! Formatting erases all data that was written to the flash drive! Therefore, before running it, be sure to transfer all important files to another location (for example, to your hard drive).
How to quickly format a flash drive
This can be done using standard system tools. They are available in any version of Windows (XP, 7, 8, 10).
1 . Insert the flash drive into your computer.
Most likely, an autorun window will open in a second or two. Let's close it.
2 . Open Start - Computer.
3 . Right-click on the flash drive icon and select “Format...”.
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When working with USB drives, situations often arise when some of the files (or even all the information on the drive) become invisible.
There can be a number of reasons behind this problem.
Common reasons for file “invisibility”
- The files on the flash drive are not visible, what to do in this situation? Operating systems allow you to limit the visibility of files.
In this case, such information does not disappear from the media, but the user cannot see it.
The reason for this could be a malfunction of the application, the deliberate actions of another user using this media, or the result of a virus that hides files on the drive. We will describe below ways to recover hidden files on your flash drive. - The files were written to the media with an error. This situation can occur when the flash drive is unsafely removed from the computer. In this case, some files may not be completely recorded. In this case, such a security threat will either be read incorrectly or not be displayed at all.
- The files were deleted by the user, an antivirus program, or as a result of a crash. We will describe methods for recovering information below.
What to do?
What to do if there are no files visible on the flash drive? Firstly, if the files on your flash drive have become hidden, you need to determine the reasons for the invisibility.
Only the correct definition will allow you to choose the right course of action and open these hidden files on the flash drive.
Secondly, It’s worth trying to open the flash drive on another computer or through another operating system. Some reading errors may be corrected by a newer version of Windows.
Ways to show hidden files
To solve this problem, you can use both standard tools of your operating system and various third-party programs.
Instructions for Windows XP
Instructions for the Total Commander program
Total Commander will also help you show hidden files on your flash drive. To do this you need:
- Open the folder in the program.
- On the toolbar, find an icon in the form of a leaf with an exclamation mark (in some versions of the program - an asterisk) with the inscription “Hidden elements”.
When activated, all hidden files will appear semi-transparent.
Information from the media disappeared after being scanned by an antivirus program
This situation may occur if the files contain potentially dangerous information. In this case, most antivirus programs will place the file in a quarantine zone for further processing.
To restore them, you need to find “Quarantined files” in the antivirus menu and restore (or delete infected) files in the menu that appears. After this, the information will appear on the media.
It is worth saying that if information is recognized as malicious, then the antivirus can remove it from the media offline without the possibility of subsequent recovery.
In this case, the list of antivirus operations performed will contain information about the infected file and the reasons for deletion.
Problems accessing the flash drive
A more common problem than file visibility is that access to the flash drive is denied. This manifests itself as follows.
You insert the flash drive into the slot, try to open it and receive the message “Access denied”. There are two main reasons for this problem.
Firstly, the media fails. In this case, it is almost impossible to restore the functionality of your device on your own and you will need to contact service centers.
Secondly, a write error may occur on the media due to unsafe ejection and interruption of the writing process.
In this case, to restore full access, it is necessary to check the media for errors. To do this:
- Open the “My Computer” window and find your removable media. If it is not in this window, then most likely the flash drive has failed.
- Right-click on the flash drive shortcut and select “Properties” - “Tools” - “Check volume for errors” from the menu. This check will most likely solve the problem. If this does not happen, then a breakdown is likely.
Updated: 11/30/2018 Published: 2016 or earlier
Description
Files and folders on the flash drive are no longer visible. At the same time, the place on it is occupied.
Cause
Most often due to a virus that changes the file attribute to hidden and/or system. The problem may also be due to damaged media.
Solution
Solution 1: Configure showing hidden and system files
If after completing step 1, hidden folders do not become visible, you can use the “Far Manager” program. To remove the “Hidden” attribute in this program, you need to select a file or folder and press the key combination Ctrl + A - then uncheck the “System” and “Hidden” checkboxes.
If the “Hidden” folder attribute is dimmed and inactive, then the folder is defined as system. Open a command prompt as administrator and enter the following command:
attrib C:\Temp -S -H /S /D
* Where C:\Temp you need to replace it with the path to the folder in which the files are not visible; -S removes the system attribute; -H- removes hidden; /S— recursive query (for subfolders and files); /D— action for the folder.
Solution 2: Check the media
We check the flash drive. To do this, open the command line - right-click on Start - Command Line (Administrator) / Windows Powershell (administrator). Enter the following:
* Where F- letter for my carrier.
If the system finds errors on the media, it will correct them. The files should appear.
Solution 3: Check your computer for viruses
We scan your computer for malicious content. To do this, it is best to use temporary healing utilities, for example, CureIt, while starting the computer in safe mode.
Solution 4: Recovering files
If the previous steps did not resolve the issue, the files may have been deleted. To recover information, use a special program, for example, Piriform Recuva or R-Studio.
