It is not common for you to get a virus on the flash drive that hides folders and files , or turns them into shortcuts, leaving everything you have inside inaccessible. Calm: you can recover your thumb drive and the files inside with a few tricks, without having to format it.

USB Drive Is Visible but Content Is Not
This usually happens when you plug the device into a public computer and the flash drive catches the virus from that computer. There are a few different types of viruses, but the biggest problem encountered is when folders become shortcuts and you can't access anything that was there before. If you click on the thumb drive with the right mouse button, go to Properties and see that there is space used, you will probably be able to recover your files. It turns out that they are still on the flash drive, but in hidden mode.

Solved - USB Drive not Showing Files and Folders
Method 1. Unhide USB drive files
If your USB drive files are hidden, you can only see the USB drive. Here, you have 2 options to unhide files when USB drive not showing files and folders.

① Show hidden files

Step 1: Connect your USB drive to PC.

Step 2: Right-click Start button and then choose Control Panel.

Step 3: Click Appearance and Personalization.

Step 4: Unde File Explorer Options, click Show hidden files and folders.

Step 5: Check Show hidden files, folders, and drives, and uncheck Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).

Step 6: Click OK button.

Alternatively, you can use CMD to unhide files.

② Unhide files by using CMD while USB not showing files and folders

PressWindows + X to open the Power Users menu.
Click Command Prompt (Admin).
Type diskpart, and press Enter.
Type following command:
attrib -h -r -s /s /d g:\*.*

Type Exit and press Enter.

If you still cannot see your files in USB drive after trying the above 2 solutions, your files could very possibly be lost. So the problem now is, how do we recover lost files from the USB drive? Keep reading to find the answers.

Method 2: Virus/Malware attack your USB drive
As we know, some unknown virus can not only infect your files but also makes them hidden.

If you are annoyed by the “USB files not showing but space used” issue, you come the right place! Here, we recommend using MiniTool Power Data Recovery to fix USB drive not showing files and folders with ease.



The best file recovery software, MiniTool Power Data Recovery, offers wizard-like interfaces as well as simple operations to help you recover hidden files from USB drive after virus invasion without any difficulty.

This all-in-one data recovery software not only works with USB drive, external hard drive, SD card or other storage devices; it also supports various operating systems including Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and so on.

A step-by-step guide to recovering lost data from USB drive.

LOOK!

Step 1: Launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery to get its main interface with 4 different data recovery modules: This PC, Removable Disk Drive, Hard Disk Drive, and CD/DVD Drive. Here, to recover hidden files in USB drive, you are supposed to click the Removable Disk Drive.

Step 2: Select the USB drive, and then click Scan button to scan the whole device. Before scanning the device, you can specify needed file systems and file types by clicking the Settings feature.



Step 3: Preview files, select all files you want, click Save button, choose a suitable place to store files, and click OK button. Never store selected files to the USB drive, or the original data could be overwritten.

Top Recommendation

If you want to recover data, you need to choose the personal license or business license. If you can't determine which license type is the best for you, look for answers from this page: Compare License Type.

Here, in my opinion, MiniTool Power Data Recovery Personal Ultimate is a good option. It not only offers MiniTool Bootable Media Builder for data recovery when PC cannot boot, but also provides lifetime upgrade service. More important, you can use one copy of the software on 3 computers.

After all operations are done, you have recovered lost data from USB drive without damaging the original data.

Method 3: USB drive files are deleted
If the files and folders were accidentally deleted, or they are deleted as a result of a virus/malware. you can see your USB drive but cannot see its files.

In this case, you can try using MiniTool Power Data Recovery to fix the USB drive not showing data in PC. Here, read this post How Can I Recover Shift Deleted Files with Ease to find how to recover lost data.

Method 4: USB drive has a wrong file system or damaged file system
In many cases, file system corruption can cause this “USB files not showing but space used” issue happens.

In computing, a file system is the method and data structure that an operating system uses to keep track of files on a disk or partition; that is, the way the files are organized on the disk.



If the file system is damaged or shows as RAW, you cannot access its files but will receive many errors. For example, if your USB hard drive shows as RAW, you will receive the following 2 errors:

You need to format the disk before you can use it OR The disk is not formatted (appear in Windows XP).
The volume does not contain a recognized file system.
Sometimes if Windows cannot recognize the file system of USB drive, it will not be able to show the files and folders in that USB drive. To be more specific, if your USB drive is formatted with the ext2/3/4 file system, you cannot see it in File Explorer and then cannot access its data.

Top Recommendation: Solved - External Hard Drive Not Recognized

Now, how to fix the issue of USB drive not showing files in Windows 10t? Users who successfully solved this issue do 2 things well.

First, they recover lost data from the USB drive.
Second, they format the USB drive.
Want to know more details? Keep reading!

Step 1. Recover lost data from USB drive

Launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery, and click Removable Disk Drive.
Scan the USB drive with the ext2/3/4 file system.
Save all needed files in a safe place.
Step 2. format the USB drive to NTFS/FAT32.

Method 5: USB drive might be damaged
Unfortunately, if you get the USB drive not showing files in Windows 10 issue, your USB drive might be damaged. This happens relatively often; a damaged drive is usually inaccessible. However, if the firmware is still functional, the USB drive will be displayed on your computer along with the storage space condition. You can copy files into this drive and see them when you open your drive.

However, the files and folders are no longer available when you unplug your drive and plug it back again. This is because the drive will save your files and folders as long as there is an electric current/voltage through the USB. But, it will not hold the copied data when the USB electric current/voltage is lost. Now, it begins to act like a RAM instead of a ROM. In this case, you need a new USB drive.

Useful Suggestions on How to Avoid USB Drive Data Loss
USB flash drive is the most preferred media for storage and sharing of data because of its speed, capacity and portability. However, you should take good care of your USB drive to avoid losing your valuable data.

Make sure to backup critical files to another drive. There is nothing that can replace backup to prevent data loss and avoid expensive recovery.
Always disconnect your USB drive safely. Make sure that each time you eject USB drive from your system using the "Safely Remove" or "Eject" option.
Avoid using the same USB device in multiple systems as there is possibility of its corruption.
If your USB drive data are lost, immediately stop storing new data on that drive as its storage space may be overwritten and thereby lessen the chances of data retrieval.
Keep your USB device in a safe place. It is very easy to carry a USB device with you wherever you go. However, you should put it in a safe place like inside a pocket in a bag.
Final Words
Have you ever been in a situation where you open a USB flash drive on your computer files on flash drive not showing up? If so, then you've come to the right place. In this article, we will tell you what you need to do in a situation where the files and folders are not visible on the flash drive.

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