Resolved USB drive folder becomes invisible after pressing Alt+Del

This was a dumb accident. I was trying to check the size of a backup folder on my outboard 500GB WD Elements USB drive, so I selected the folder in Windows Explorer, but instead of hitting Alt+Enter to see its Properties, I hit Alt+Delete by mistake. The folder disappeared! I thought I deleted it. I tried Edit > Undelete but nothing happened. I panicked and ran Recuva, DiskDigger and testdisk_win, but they didn't show it. I ran a Google search on "Alt+Delete keys" but got no hits.

Bottom line: I finally found out that the folder is still there because in MOBZHunt (http://www.mobzystems.com/tools/mobzhunt/), which shows folder sizes in Windows 7, it shows up normally. What a relief!

Can anyone tell me what happened and how I can get this folder to display again in Windows Explorer? Thanks!

Frank D

 

Alt+Delete doesn't do anything over here. Could you be running some utility which hides folders/files when you hit Alt+Delete ?

 

Are you sure you didn't hit [Shift]+[Delete] instead of [Alt]+[Delete]?

Pressing [Delete] sends the object to the Recycle Bin, which you then have to empty to delete the object.

Pressing [Shift]+[Delete] skips the "send it to the Recycle Bin" step and deletes the object.

 

No I'm not running any utilities like that. Here's what I'm running:
Acronis Nonstop Backup
Avast! Antivirus
PopTray E-mail Notifier
QTranslate
Realtek HD Audio Manager
Thunderbird
Wallpaper Slideshow LT
Waterfox
Windows Explorer
Windows Task Manager
WinPatrol System Monitor
Zentimo Storage Manager

I've been running Windows versions since 1991 and never ran into this before (but never pressed Alt+Delete before).

I should note more odd behavior. When I use MOBZHunt to get the folder to open in Windows Explorer, the folder is shown to be empty. Yet it contains an active (Acronis nonstop) backup that's ~65 GB in size. Acronis doesn't mind that it's invisible.

Very weird behavior.

Frank

 

Thanks, rsinfo and SpywareDr for your replies.

No, I didn't hit Shift+Delete. I know from experience that deletes files or folders without sending them to the Recycle bin. I use it a lot. That's why after checking the Recycle Bin I ran those file/folder/partition recovery programs. But they all showed that the folder had not been deleted, and Acronis agrees.

Here's what I plan to do: I'll delete the folder using MOBZHunt and start a new Acronis Nonstop Backup, which will create a new, visible folder. I'll be missing only 3 or 4 days' worth of backup and get out of this unworkable situation.

Update: I just did it.

Unfortunately, the new folder (created by Nonstop Backup with the same name, "Time Explorer Storage ") is invisible again, meaning that whatever I did seems to be permanent and undoable. It's not a show-stopper, however, since I can see the folder and its contents in MOBZHunt, and I can see the folder and its contents using the browse function in Acronis TrueImage Home, Nonstop Backup, from which I can restore files, folders and the whole C: drive if needed. So there is no real disadvantage here, as far as I can see, except the inability to see the folder and its contents in Windows Explorer.

BTW: I opened a cmd window and did a dir of the drive, and the invisible folder is invisible there too.

A really weird situation!

Frank

 

Resolved: Invisible drive is now visible :-D

The mystery is solved. There is a very simple answer to why the folder was invisible. It's something I don't think anyone would have expected.

An anti-malware procedure that is now being run on another thread on WindowsBBS: http://www.windowsbbs.com/malware-v...orer-into-audacity-wmp-window.html#post580309 returned my folder view settings in Windows Explorer to "factory" status.

It was just a coincidence that the anti-malware procedures changed my own settings (to show hidden files and folders) back to the MS default of hidden, at the same time I noticed Acronis's Nonstop Backup "Time Explorer Storage" folder had disappeared when I pressed the Alt+Delete key combination. I didn't realize that this Acronis folder is a system-hidden one. I thought the keypress I made and the disappearance were related, but now I can see that they weren't.

The proof was when I opened the Tools > Folder Options > View dialog box in Windows Explorer and saw that "Hidden files and folders" was set to "Don't show hidden files, folders or drives." Changing it to "Show hidden files, folders and drives" made the invisible folder reappear.

Everything is back to normal now. Thanks for your help!

Frank D

 

A very simple solution to a complex problem.