I did a Windows search on my Passport Ultra. The folders supposedly containing the files did not exist when I simply viewed the folders, not searching. In the image, a sample of the search is on the right. The alpha-sorted folders are on the left. You can see that those folders are not there.
Not surprisingly, when I did those searches and tried to delete files, I got the message that the files were no longer there. I thought it might be using an old search index. (Just a guess, not my area of expertise.)
Another thought is that it’s pulling from a backup created with some other software. I didn’t think those were searchable. I did a brief review of what’s in the backup (EaseUS) and didn’t see those folders.
Is there a way to accurately search?
Hi @elaine745,
Have you opened a Support Case? If not opened, for more information, please contact the WD Technical Support team for the best assistance and troubleshooting:
https://support-en.wd.com/app/ask
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Replying to Keerti_01 –
Thanks. I just did that.
The first support reply was not something I could use to solve the problem. It seemed to be generic advice about searching in subfolders rather than the root folder because of long path names. I could not tell if this was specific to my problem or just good practice. I generally make an effort to keep the full path name short. I have not received a second reply.
This is a recap/clarification: with some new info.
I perform a search on J:/ (the whole Passport) by size (for example, “huge”) or by a name frequently used. This is because I don’t know which subfolder to check. (WD support suggested that I search subfolders because of possible long path names, which I usually check for and correct, specifically to avoid backup problems.)
In the results, some are files I can open or delete. I am trying to delete unwanted large files. In some cases, I get an error message about the files no longer being at that location. The names are visible only if I perform a search. The files and folders do not show up when simply viewing the folders (not searching). While in the search results window, the properties (right click) show a size of zero for the files it can’t find.
Windows My Computer shows 615 GB used and 315 remaining on the drive overall. I opened the Passport to view the folders and files, then selected everything. I used Windows Explore file manager to show the properties, and the total was 518 GB (the amount used on disk, which was only 3 GB more than total size of the files). So, that leaves around 100 GB not accessible or visible unless I see them in the search results. I would like to remove many of those files, but I can’t figure out how.
