(Solved) Files Not Showing in Folders on Windows PCs | 7 Ways

Why are files not showing in folder?

Have you ever encountered files suddenly disappearing from a folder on Windows PCs? Or, a folder shows there are files but it is empty? In fact, many users have met the problem of files not showing in folder. There are many possible reasons for this problem, such as:

Whatever the reason, luckily the problem is not difficult to fix. We will offer you 7 easy methods to fix disappearing files below. However, in order to avoid data loss, it's best to recover the files first.

How to recover files not showing in folder 🥇

MyRecover is a perfect tool, offering an intuitive interface and advanced scanning methods, that helps recover deleted or lost files in Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, and servers. It even works for permanently deleted files. The files can be documents, images, videos, emails, compressed files, etc.

Click the download button below to get started now!

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• Has a high success rate and fast recovery speed.
• Quickly retrieve files lost due to virus attacks, accidental deletion, quick format, etc.
• In excess of recovering 1000 data types.
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• Selectively restore files (e.g. recover Word documents, Excel files, PPT, PDF, etc.) instead of all.
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3 simple steps to recover files not showing in folder on Windows PCs:

Step 1. Select the drive to scan. 

Run MyRecover after installing. Hover the mouse over the drive saved deleted files before, and click Scan.

Step 2. Select files to recover. 

It will perform a thorough scan of the disk. The Quick Scan search for deleted files and the Deep Scan for other missing files. Once found, it will list all missing or deleted files and folders.

You can preview them, or directly use File Search or File Filter to locate the desired files.

• File Search: Type the file or folder name or extension in the search box.
• File Filter: Specify a data type (e.g. Documents), date modified, or size to narrow the range.

Step 3. Recover files not showing in folder. 

Select the files you want to recover and click Recover Files > select a new location to save them safely. Restoring the recovered files to original location might cause file corruption or data loss.

How to fix files not showing in folder 

After recovering files not showing in folder, you can feel free to try the following methods.

Way 1. Try some easy fixes 

Sometimes, the "files in folder not showing up" may be due to loading errors. Try some easy fixes below to fix it: 

• If your folder is opened on a local hard drive, try pressing F5, or right-clicking on a blank space and clicking Refresh.
• If your folder was opened on an external hard drive, try re-plugging it to the computer with another port. 

Way 2. Show hidden files

It's likely the files in folder are hidden, so you cannot access them. To show hidden files, follow the steps below.

Step 1. Press Windows + E to open This PC page.

Step 2. Click View and tick Hidden items.

To get more file/folder viewing settings, you can click Options, click View, and check Show hidden files, folders, and drives to hit Apply.

Way 3. Run a malware scan

If you can't see files in folder not hidden, they may be deleted or modified by malware or a virus. You can use the anti-virus software that comes with your computer or third-party anti-virus software you installed on your computer to perform a full anti-virus to make sure your PC is safe.

Here take Windows Defender as an example. 

Step 1. Press Win + S to open the search box and type in Windows Security. 

Step 2. In the Windows Security window, click Virus and Threat Protection.

Step 3.  Then, click Scan > select Full Scan, and click Scan now.

Way 4. Relaunch Windows Explorer

Files not showing up in folder can be caused by the wrong Windows Explorer. You can restart it to have a try.

Step 1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc simultaneously to run Task Manager.

Step 2. Then, choose Windows Explorer and click Restart. Open your folder again to see if files come back.

Way 5. Check your hard drive

If the file system of the hard drive is damaged, your files may not appear properly in the folder, causing saved files not showing up in folder. Here's how to repair your hard drive and recover missing files in folder.

Step 1. Right-click the hard drive that contains your missing files, and select the Properties option.

Step 2. On the Tool menu, go to Error-checking section and click Check to check your drive for file system errors.

Step 3. Then, click Scan drive. If there are errors on your hard drive, you can click Repair drive to fix it.

Way 6. Run hardware and device troubleshooter

Running the hardware and device troubleshooter is also an efficient method to repair hardware errors and fix Document/Word/Excel files not showing in folder.

Step 1. Click Windows Start, select Settings, and tap on Update & Security.

Step 2. Click on Troubleshoot, then hit Run the troubleshooter under Hardware and Devices.

Way 7. Search for files

There are times when you can't see files in folder not hidden, they are not deleted but moved somewhere else. You can search your computer and check for missing files.

You can directly type your filename in the Windows search box to check if there are the wanted files.

If not, try to rebuild the search index as there are corrupted entries in the database. 

• Press Win + R to open the Run window. Then, type control /name Microsoft.IndexingOptions and press Enter. 
• In the Indexing Options window, click Advanced.
• Then, go to Indexing Settings > Troubleshoting and click Rebuild > OK to confirm it.

The bottom line

File missing is a common problem that all computer users may meet. There are many reasons for this situation, such as file system corruption, hidden files, etc. Don't worry about it much and we collect 7 effective methods to help you. 

But before that, you need to restore files not showing in folder with a professional recovery software like MyRecover. Any operation may cause further data loss. Why not download it to have a try?