Files Missing from Hard Drive But Still Taking Up Space in Windows 10, 8, 7

External hard drive brings lots of convenience in daily work by storing the data outside the system. Although, there are very high chances when a user plug-in the drive and find that folders and files are missing from hard drive. However, the hard-drive properties show used space by the lost files and folders. For such instance where files missing from external hard drive but still taking up space, we have come up with some techniques that everyone can use to resolve external and internal hard drive empty but shows used space without losing a bit of data. It is going to be a multi-solution for reliable data recovery. So, let’s get started!

Real-Life Case Where Files Disappeared From External Hard Drive in Windows 10

“Help! I am in trouble. Recently, I purchased a new laptop and when I connect my old external Segate hard drive into it I found my folders are missing. Actually, it does not contain any file except 5 files that saved outside the folder. Moreover, the volume shows 700 GB of used space. It means my files not showing in hard drive but still there. Please help me fix Seagate external hard drive files disappeared but still taking up space issue. I need them urgently.”

Workarounds to Fix ‘Files Are Missing But Taking Up Space on Hard Drive’ Issue

There are many simple tricks using which users can resolve external and internal hard drive files / folders disappeared. If you want to access files not showing in external hard drive, then follow the below-mentioned fix sequentially:

Solution 1. Check Whether Files Are Hidden Or Not

Many times data files are in the HDD and user cannot view it because they are hidden. As a result, users think files and folders missing from external hard drive but still taking up space. Thus, one can show the disappeared folders using the below steps:

1. Open the external hard drive volume on the Windows 10.
2. Click on File tab >> Change folder and search options.
3. A new Folder Options dialog box pop-out on the screen.
4. Now, click on View tab >> Show hidden files, folders and drives option. Make sure that Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) is also uncheck.
5. Click on OK button.
6. Now, check that hidden files are appearing on the drive or not.

Solution 2: File Systems Error Cause Hard Drive Empty but Shows Used Space Error

Due to problem in a file system, the hard drive such as Seagate, Kingston in in Windows 10, 8, 7 etc. will not showing files in external hard drive. To resolve this glitch, go through the below-instructions carefully and fix users folder not visible in Windows hard drive:

1. At very first, right-click on external hard-drive volume and select Properties option from the list.
2. Click on Tools which is available in between General and Hardware tab.
3. Under Error checking heading, click on Check.
4. Once the Scanning completed successfully, click on Close >> OK.

Note: This workaround is performed on Windows 10 operating system.

Solution 3: Check Registry Value Suffered by Virus to Fix User Folder Missing Error

If external hard drive shows used space, but empty folders, then it might be the case of virus. There is a fix available to troubleshoot hard drive shows used space but no files issue:

1. Go to Windows Start icon in Windows 10.
2. Type Run and hit the Enter.
3. Now, type ‘regedit’ in the text box.
4. A User Account Control pop-out on the screen. It shows the message ‘Do you want to allow this App to make changes to your device?’ Click on Yes to continue.
5. As soon as you click on Yes, A Registry Editor opens on the system.
6. Now, track this following path in Windows Registry Editor:

‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced \ Folder \ Hidden \ SHOWAL’

Solution 4: Files Missing from Hard Drive But Show Used Space Due to Corrupted Mirror Image

Many times users create Mirror image of their system data. As we know that Mirror image takes backup of all entire data including registry entries. It increases the size of a backup file. That is why people prefer to save the Clone copy of data on the external hard drive. However, if this mirror image is corrupted, then the already saved data on external drive also gets damaged. As a result, all the files become inaccessible. The manual solution to fix external hard drive shows used space but no files there issue is to restart the system and again plug-in the external hard drive.

If any of the above-workaround has not helped you to fix files missing from external hard drive but still taking up space issue, then go for the reliable third-party solution. So, here we suggested a reliable tool that provides 100 % missing file recovery. Keep reading to know more about this.

Best Way to Show Missing Files From External Hard-Drive on Windows 10, 7, 8

If no above trick retrieves the missing files that occupied space in external hard-drive, then click on Hard Drive Missing File Recovery Tool. This software scans the users drive and loads all the deleted or hidden files that present inside. Here, users can clearly see all the files on software panel. Also, one can save the recovered file on any desired location.

The software is a secure way to access the lost or disappeared files/folder from the external hard disk with ease. No matter which type of file is missing, it can recover all of them in a few clicks. Besides this, the software supports recovery from other storage devices like SATA, IDE, etc.

Bottom Line

Nowadays, external hard drives used for multi-purpose, such as for data backup, files transmission and so on. However, users frequently asked ‘files missing from external hard drive but still taking up space’ questions on many technical forums. Hence, in this write-up, we have summarized all the possible techniques to resolve external hard drive shows used space but no files issue.