Question Not all files showing in File Explorer

Aeacus

Titan
Ambassador
Hi

So, at long last, i finally upgraded my W7 to W10 and i had an issue with W7 that i hoped W10 would fix but it didn't.

Full specs in my sig, Skylake build.
OS: W10 Pro 64-bit, version 2004 (build 19041.450)

The issue i have, is that in one specific folder, some of the *.mp3 files doesn't show up in File Explorer but do show up in Folder Properties and in WinDirStat as well.

Screenshot:
kxhvpKs.png


Note the 52 files showing in File Explorer but 61 showing in Folder Properties. And thanks to WinDirStat, we can see that the missing files are *.mp3 files, e.g "Uutai - Gravitation" or "Initial D - Deja Vu".

Does anyone have an idea why this is happening? And how to fix it?
Also, in Folder Options, i have Enabled the "Show hidden files, folders or drives" option. So, the issue isn't in there as well.

Note: the issue 1st appeared roughly a year ago, when i was still using W7 Pro SP1 64-bit OEM OS.

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Thanks in advance,
Aeacus
 

Aeacus

Titan
Ambassador
So, i checked the file properties and Details tab, and only thing that i can see being different is that all files that doesn't show up, have "Attributes: AT" while those that do show up, have "Attributes: A".

Screenshot:
rSX6w08.jpg


I have no clue what it means.
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
Here are the tags that can show on an MP3 file
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-au/windows/win32/wmformat/id3-tag-support?redirectedfrom=MSDN but i feel these are about contents, not the actual file itself.

According to this A could mean Archive - https://serverfault.com/questions/34692/windows-file-and-folder-attributes-a-or-c
AT appears to be mean Archive temporarily - https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...-at-to-a/5bf6a28e-e43c-4e70-b62f-0e6b2af1f724

The Archive tag is used mostly for backups
A = Archive: This is a special bit that is used as a "communications link" between software applications that modify files, and those that are used for backup. Most backup software allows the user to do an incremental backup, which only selects for backup any files that have changed since the last backup. This bit is used for this purpose. When the backup software backs up ("archives") the file, it clears the archive bit (makes it zero). Any software that modifies the file subsequently, is supposed to set the archive bit. Then, the next time that the backup software is run, it knows by looking at the archive bits which files have been modified, and therefore which need to be backed up. Again, this use of the bit is "voluntary"; the backup software relies on other software to use the archive bit properly; some programs could modify the file without setting the archive attribute, but fortunately most software is "well-behaved" and uses the bit properly. Still, you should not rely on this mechanism absolutely to ensure that your critical files are backed up.
https://superuser.com/questions/44812/windows-explorers-file-attribute-column-values
link also shows Temporary and explains tag combos are possible, so AT = Archive, temporarily

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_attribute

FILE_ATTRIBUTE_ARCHIVE
A file or directory that is an archive file or directory. Applications typically use this attribute to mark files for backup or removal .

FILE_ATTRIBUTE_TEMPORARY
A file that is being used for temporary storage. File systems avoid writing data back to mass storage if sufficient cache memory is available, because typically, an application deletes a temporary file after the handle is closed. In that scenario, the system can entirely avoid writing the data. Otherwise, the data is written after the handle is closed.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-au/windows/win32/fileio/file-attribute-constants?redirectedfrom=MSDN

I was the one who found the fact they showed in windirstat but not exploder. Still unsure why exploder doesn't show them.

above doesn't mention T
 
Last edited:

Aeacus

Titan
Ambassador
Thanks for explaining what those Attributes are. However, i have hard time following what these mean (too complex for me) and knowing what they are doesn't necessarily mean the issue is there. Moreover since my main music library is on D:/ drive and on there, they all show up in File Explorer. Though, checked them and *.mp3 files Attributes on my D:/ drive are either "AI" or "ATI".

What i did with *.mp3 files (and which i also talked on Discord) was that i copy/pasted the select files from D:/ to C:/ and into that "music" folder, so i can listen those tracks in-game. For some reason, some of the *.mp3 files disappeared from File Explorer view after copy/paste.

Some time ago, i even deleted the entire "music" folder since i wasn't able to see the missing files in it (didn't think of checking WinDirStat back then) and manually created the "music" folder again, in hopes of fixing that issue (i was assuming it could've been due to folder corruption). But it didn't help. Some of the files still disappeared after the copy/paste.
Sadly, i don't recall if the files that disappeared for the 2nd time around were the same ones that disappeared for the 1st time around or not.
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
I don't know what "I" would be, its not on the list... i spent an hour or so working out what A & AT were. I am not interested that much to figure out I.

I would ask on Tenforums as there are guys over there that know more about windows than I do. Someone will be able to tell you why they show in windirstat and not exploder.
 
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