Fix: “This folder is empty” on a USB drive in Windows

This tutorial will show you step by step what to do when you see “This folder is empty” when opening a USB flash drive or external hard drive.

1. Open the Windows Command Prompt as administrator.

Three ways to open Command Prompt as administrator:

Type cmd or command in the Windows search box. Right-click on Command Prompt and then click on Run as administrator.
Windows 10: right-click on the start menu button and then click on Command Prompt (Admin).
Press the [Windows] + [R] keys on your keyboard to open the “Run” box. Type cmd into the box and then press [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [Enter] keys on your keyboard.

2. Enter the following command:

attrib -h -r -s /s /d f:\*.*

Note: Replace the letter f with the drive letter of your USB device.

Fix This folder is empty problem in Windows

To find out the drive letter of a USB device; open Windows Explorer, click on This PC (Windows 10) or My Computer, under Devices and drives, you will see the drive letter (e.g., (E:), (F:), etc.) next to the name of the USB device.

3. Press the [Enter] key on your keyboard.

4. Close the “Command Prompt” window.

5. Check if your USB device is displaying files.

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Reference:

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