[Resolved] This folder is empty on this computer/USB.

"Checking for Solutions to 'This Folder is Empty'"

"The USB shows 'This folder is empty,' but it actually has size and files. How do I fix this issue? Check out the effective solutions below."

Please provide the English content you want translated, and I'll do my best to translate it into Chinese.

"How do I fix a USB flash drive that shows 'This folder is empty' when it's not? Of course, the folder and my files are there because I never deleted them. These files are very important to me since they allow me to continue with my current school project. Please help me solve this annoying issue."

Overview

When you try to open a folder on an external USB drive, SD card, or USB flash drive on a computer with Windows 10/8/7, you may receive the warning “This folder is empty” as shown in the screenshot below.

This folder is empty.

You might be shouting, "Impossible!" right about now, because you know that your folder contains many pictures, videos, and documents. Chances are, if the files were not manually deleted from the designated folder, then the message is wrong, and your files are likely hidden. Or, you may simply lack the permissions to access the folder. Read on to troubleshoot this issue.

Solutions to Recover Files from Empty Folder in UTF-8 Encoding

We will introduce you to two of the most popular solutions on how to fix “This folder is empty” error and how to use free USB recovery software and attrib command to recover hidden files.

Solution 1: Display hidden files with the Attrib command

To show hidden and invisible items in Windows, first open File Explorer, click the "View" tab, and select "Show hidden files, folders, and drives." Then uncheck the box. This works sometimes. If not, try using the Command Prompt.

Step 1: Click “Start,” type cmd into the search box, right-click “Command Prompt,” and select “Run as administrator.”

Step 2: Type in the command: attrib -h -r -s /s /d g:*.* and press Enter. (Replace "g" with the letter assigned to your USB drive.)

Step 3. Close the Command Prompt window. Your folder should now display the file.

Solution 2: Recover Files from "This Folder Is Empty" with Data Recovery Wizard

Another suggested solution is to use a third-party data recovery wizard to look for files from the folder that appears empty. Quite often, the "This folder is empty" issue is caused by a virus. Fortunately, there are virus file recovery tools that can restore files from a virus-infected hard drive, memory card, or USB flash drive.

So, when you encounter the scary problem of folders showing empty but containing files, don't hesitate to download Tool Data Recovery Wizard to recover the hidden files.

Your first step is to remove the virus or use CMD to remove virus from Windows 10. Then, you can recover files from "This folder is empty".

Step 1: Run the Disk Drill data recovery wizard. Under “Select a location,” choose “Select folder.” Browse to where your lost folder was located and click “Search for lost files” to scan.

Select the folder to scan

You can search for the target folder, or use the “Filter” feature to look for a certain type of file within a folder.

Step 3: You can preview the recovered folders. Then, click “Recover” and select a new secure location on your computer to save the recovered data.