One of its common errors is that it shows up on your PC but doesn’t display the files inside of it. Some primary causes behind it can be that the files within are hidden or accidentally deleted. Other reasons can be a corrupted USB driver or simply a damaged flash drive. Is it too old and has broken parts? If the pen drive is somewhat damaged, it may not show files when connected to a PC due to connectivity issues. In such a case, you can view the size and space it occupies, but not the files.
How to Fix USB Drive Not Showing Files on Windows?
Before diving into the solutions, let’s check a few things. USB drives come in many different shapes and sizes. Check if you’ve properly connected the drive to your PC. Then, you can also try restarting your computer.
Check USB Drive in Disk Management
Some USB drives can act abnormally for no reason. For instance, some USB drives might show up on your PC but might not show up on the disk management and vice versa. Here’s how you can check your disk management. If you can see the USB drive in the list above but not in the Explorer window, it means that you’ll need to assign a drive letter. Here’s how to do it:
Unhide Files and Folders
You might not find the files from your USB drive on your PC if they’re hidden. So, there’s a way you can unhide them and erase their hidden property. Here’s how you can do it: For more options, follow these steps:
Search for Files through Folder Path
When you can’t find a file, you can search for it from the folder path on the Explorer address bar. Here are the exact steps:
Using Command Prompt
Command Prompt is another method you can look for files in your USB drive. Here’s what you’ll need to do:
Enable USB Driver
If your USB drive is still not showing up, you can restart your Driver. Here’re the steps:
Update/Reinstall USB Driver
If you’re still not seeing any files on your USB drive, you can check its further details in Device Manager. From there, you can try different remedies like updating or reinstalling your USB drive. To update the driver, follow these steps:To reinstall the driver, follow these steps:
How to fix USB Drive Not Showing Files on Mac?
If you’re a macOS user and are facing the same problem of incompatibility with your USB drive, here are some remedies.
Unhide Files
Similar to Windows, you can also unhide the files on your USB drive. Here are the steps to do so:
Modify Finder Settings
Sometimes, your Mac may not show the USB drive or its files even if it recognizes it. This can occur if you’ve not allowed the required permission to your Mac. Here’s how you can alter the settings:Similarly, if you’re unable to find the drive or its files within the Finder, here are the settings you can tweak:
Repair USB Drive Using Disk Utility
If you’re still not seeing any files, the USB drive may be at fault as it may have corrupted files. So, you can try repairing it using the Disk Utility on your Mac. Simply, follow these steps:
