Hello, I went to use a program from a folder on my 3TB WD My Passport Ultra and found the folder mysteriously empty. Says the folder has not been modified since 2016, sounds right, I’ve scanned repeatedly with Recuva and found nothing inside of the folder, no files related to the folder when doing a full scan of the whole drive. I have gone into folder options to show hidden folders and even system files, no cigar. I’ve tried doing several searches through other drives and my whole computer to see if I accidentally moved the folder someplace else (while leaving the empty shell behind somehow), nothing. I’ve checked for drive errors, after I’m done doing yet another Recuva scan I’m going to try doing a complete drive test with the WD drive utilities.
I’ve looked inside of this folder and used files from it in the past, I have no idea what has happened. Any suggestions?
Sometimes due to virus or malware infections the folder show empty but files are there. The virus hides the files and make the folder shows empty but has size. Other probable reasons are improper removal of the external hard drive/USB flash drive/memory card, system update, or hard drive corruption that prevents data from proper viewing.
To fix “the folder is empty” issue and to recover lost/missing data you can try the below methods:
Show hidden/lost files in an empty folder in File Explorer
Show missing files in an empty folder from Command Prompt
Recover hidden/lost files in an empty folder with Data Recovery software
As you already tried Recuva but didn’t get the desired results, now I suggest you to try Stellar Data Recovery software that can surely help you recover lost data from your storage device.
