How to Restore Data That Has Disappeared from an External Hard Drive

It’s extremely frustrating to lose access to your important files. The frustration rises when you know that the files exist on your external hard drive, but you can’t find them. You place your faith and save precious memories in a robust storage device – only to find yourself filled with regret.

The good news is that several techniques exist to recover files that disappeared from an external hard drive. If you’re eager to jump directly into the data recovery tutorial, simply click here.

Understanding the Causes of File Disappearance on External Hard Drives

Before jumping to the recovery techniques, here’s a brief overview of what causes file disappearance in the first place:

Reasons	Description	Solution
Files and folders are hidden	If you are certain that the files are present on your PC but can’t access them, chances are that the files and folders are hidden.	Unhide Missing Files & Folders by using Windows’ in-built features.
Accidental deletion or formatting	Human errors like accidentally deleting or formatting your external hard drive.	Use data recovery software to recover data from the external hard drive.
Viruses or malware infection	Viruses and dangerous malware like trojans can result in abrupt file deletion and disappearance.	Scan and disinfect your external hard drive, then attempt data recovery.
File system corruption	Corrupted partition tables and files can lead to file disappearance and deletion.	Fix the External Hard Drive Errors Using CMD.
Physical damage	Mechanical damage arising from physical blunt force, hard disk head platter damage, moisture, power outages, etc.	If you are dealing with significant physical damage and your PC doesn’t detect the external hard drive, consult a data recovery service center.

How to Recover Files That Disappeared From an External Hard Drive

As promised, here are the various techniques that you can use to recover files that disappeared from an external hard drive:

🔧 Caution: If you discover that files are missing from your external hard drive, it’s crucial to cease using the drive immediately. Continued usage could lead to file overwriting, thereby significantly reducing or completely eliminating the possibility of successful data recovery.

Method 1: Retrieve Missing Files Using a Data Recovery Tool

Data recovery software provides a simple and efficient way to reclaim missing or deleted items. In specific cases, such tools remain the only viable option for getting back what you’ve lost, especially after actions like unintended disk formatting or irreversible file removal (Shift + Delete).

Method 2: Unhide Missing Files & Folders

There’s a possibility you accidentally marked certain files & folders as hidden. Additionally, some file-hiding viruses like Trojans manipulate the “hidden” attribute to restrict file access.

In such cases, try these techniques to unhide and restore folders disappeared from the external hard drive:

Using File Explorer

Here’s how you can use Windows File Explorer to unhide your files:

Use the shortcut Windows key + E to open up File Explorer.
Click on your hard disk > View > Show > Hidden Items
Alternatively, you can click on the three dots > Options > View > Show hidden files, folders, or drives > Apply > Ok.

Using Registry Editor

Windows Registry Editor (regedit) is a database editor that allows you to manipulate critical configuration settings. With Regedit, you can view and customize attributes like startup options, hardware information, boot-up parameters, etc.

📁 Among the many attributes in regedit is the hidden file attribute, essentially a .reg file that toggles this behavior. Unlike the file explorer technique, tweaking the Registry Editor can help you unhide files across your PC, instead of a specific target drive.

Here’s how you can flip the switch to unhide your files:

Press Windows key + R to open a Run window. Type in regedit, and hit Enter.
Navigate to this path: “HKEY_CURRENT_USER –> Software –> Microsoft –> Windows –> CurrentVersion –> Explorer –> Advanced”
Right-click on the “Hidden” attribute > Modify > change its value from “2” to “1” for unhiding your files and folders. Then, click on Ok.
Finally, overwrite the value for “ShowSuperHidden” to “1” to display protection OS files.

Using Attrib Command

The Attrib command allows you to change the file attributes of a storage device. As a result, you can unhide missing files and folders.

Load an elevated Command Prompt (CMD with administrative privileges) window. Here’s a shortcut: Press Windows key + R to open Run. Type in CMD, and then press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER.
Key in this command: attrib -h -r -s /s /d F:*.* and then hit Enter.

🔍 Breaking down the command: ‘F’ stands for your external hard drive’s letter. Ensure you key in the correct disk letter. This command, once executed, will unhide your hidden files. The ‘h’ parameter does the magic by clearing the hidden file attribute.

Method 3: Fix the External Hard Drive Errors Using CMD

Hard drive errors like bad sectors and file system corruption result in abrupt file disappearance. With corrupted file systems, it becomes challenging to locate specific files – causing them to disappear or become inaccessible.

💻 CMD features a Check Disk (CHKDSK) command that scans and resolves issues on your external hard drive. The CHKDSK command verifies disk volumes’ integrity and fixes logical file errors.

This demo features a Windows 11 PC. The tutorial is suitable for Windows 10 as well.

Here’s how you can use CHKDSK:

Load an elevated Command Prompt (CMD with administrative privileges) window. Here’s a shortcut: Press Windows key + R to open Run. Type in CMD, and then press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER.
Key in this command: chkdsk F: /f /r /x and hit Enter.
Replace F with the corresponding drive letter of your external hard drive. Press Enter.

👀 If you suspect signs of corruption, here’s how to repair a corrupted external hard drive.

Method 4: Scan Your External Hard Drive for Viruses and Malware

Viruses and malware are notorious suspects of abrupt file disappearance from an external hard drive. An infamous malware strain that hides files is IndoVirus. We highly recommend using an antivirus with real-time threat protection.

Here’s how you can use Windows’ inbuilt antivirus, Windows Defender, to scan your external hard drive:

Connect the affected external hard drive to your PC.
Go to Start > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection.settings
Select Manage settings and toggle Real-time protection to On.
Now, open File Explorer > This PC.
Right-click on your external hard drive, and select Scan with Microsoft Defender.
Wait for the scan to terminate for further steps.

Once you safely quarantine and eliminate the virus, attempt hard drive data recovery using a reputable data recovery tool like Disk Drill.

Don’t worry about Disk Drill being a potential threat to your PC. Explore our genuine customer reviews to learn more about the tool.

🦠 Here’s a complete guide on recovering virus-infected files.

Method 5: Contact Data Recovery Service

If none of the above methods works, you must consult a data recovery service center to retrieve your disappeared files.

Professionals at data recovery service centers possess the know-how and technology, including sophisticated tools and clean rooms, to safely retrieve data from your external hard drive.

Here are some tips to effectively shortlist a data recovery center:

📃 Service range and expertise
🔍 Research for online reviews
📕 Read through customer service policies
✅ Look for industry certifications
🔒 Evaluate security policies