I've got a folder on an external HD with a bout 2.7TB worth of various files on it that I've accumulated over the years. It's formatted inas a journaled HFS+ partition. Here's the rub... recently I went to check to look for a file and found that the folder was nearly empty. Where there should have been hundreds of files, there were only a few totaling less than 1TB. The folder still shows 2.7TB worth of data though. I've run a ton of diagnostics, up to and including file recovery software and it all comes back with no problems because there's nothing to recover. The only thing I can think of is that the files were somehow hidden, but I don't know how to access them. Any suggestions?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Folder with missing files... but the data is still there?
- Thread starter venom600
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Did you check the trash? If the files were accidentally placed in the trash the used space doesn’t change until the trash is emptied.
Yeah. And to be clear I don’t mean the files are just taking up space on the disk… the folder itself still shows the data is there. I just can’t see it.
Pressing CMD+SHIFT+. (period) shows hidden files and folders in all Finder windows.
Pressing that shortcut again will hide the files again.
Pressing that shortcut again will hide the files again.
THANK YOU! they were all hidden. I ran a script to try and clean up some of the file names and that must have altered them to some degree.