WD my passport 1 TB doesnt show all the files on mac and windows but fully accessible when connected to my TV via WDTV. HELP!

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vaphe

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Feb 11, 2014
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I connected the harddrive to a windows pc and some files were missing. i thought the files got accidentally deleted. but when i checked the available space on the harddrive it was obvious the files were still there but not visible. i connected it to my macbook air and the same happened. as a last resort i connected it to my tv via the WDTV and all my files are visible. please help!
 
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Thank you for the response. But how can I right click on an invisible file? Its only visible on my tv and controlled using the WDTV remote only. Cant right click on that.
 
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If you 'deleted' them then they got moved to the 'recycle bin' of the WD and waiting to have the trashcan emptied. So the files are there 'pending' deletion and Windows/Mac are smart OSes that understand this, your TV is a DumbOS, and all it sees is 'there is files, here files... ug". Check Windows Trashcan when you have the WD plugged in and look for the files, if you see them, simply right click and 'RESTORE' the ones you wanted to keep.
 
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Its not in the trashcan. And when I check the storage space available its the same as when the files were visible. if they are deleted then obviously there will be a lot of free space left. And I dont think the TV can read files that are not there ( deleted ).
 
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When you 'delete' a file in Windows or MAC, your not ERASING (different word) the file, your moving it to the TrashCan till you 'empty' the trashcan (then all it does is right the very first BIT of the file as a 0, that the 'space' the file occupied can is 'empty' when it isn't). So a smart OS (Win/Mac) would see these as in the trashcan and 'not' there to access, but they still consume the same amount of space (normal files PLUS unempty trashcan).
 
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I have checked the trashcan on the windows pc and macbook. Both Trashcans haven't been emptied recently and the files missing from my WD my passport is not there.
I don't let anyone else borrow my passport except for when I gave it to my nephew to copy some movies and tv shows. I have a huge collection. It was during that time the files went missing. He couldn't copy them on the first try ( there was a problem with his external HDD to which he was trying to copy) so I know the files wasn't "cut". On a different day I gave it to him to try again and thats when he couldn't find the files anymore on my passport.
 
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See now this is different. The problem maybe simply permissions and how your nephew access/stored the files (assuming he isn't using a Linux/Android based computer). In Windows Explorer, click Tools>Options>View and make sure Show Hidden Files, Folders and Drives is selected, and uncheck (for now) Hide Protected Operating System Files. Click OK and then plug in the WD, can you now 'find' the missing files?

If this succeeds go back to the same View option and turn ON Hide Protected Operating System Files. If you do NOT, since VISTA numerous file changes were made and if you mess with them they cause Windows to corrupt and would require a reload. Many times they are just 'link' files to point to the 'new' location of where something used to be (for example a program looks for MY Documents, but now it is just called Documents, the link would be there for the program to point to the right location automatically).
 
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I'm trying but windows explorer keeps shutting down as soon as I open it saying "Internet Explorer is has stopped working". "A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available"
Mozilla Firefox is used as a browser in this pc. What do I do now?
 
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Uhmmm you apparently don't seem to understand. "Windows Explorer" is NOT "Internet Explorer". Windows Explorer is the 'exploring' you do when you open MY COMPUTER or the C drive to look at FILES. If your having IE problems as well that is a different matter completely.

To resolve THIS matter, as I said, open Windows Explorer (the FOLDER looking ICON or double click on MY Computer), and follow the steps.
 
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I FOUND THEM! 😀

I read these steps below from another forum and it worked! Hope this helps for anyone else having the same problem.
And thank you Tom Tancredi for your help! :)
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May be the files are in hidden mode.

Click on "Start" -->Run-->type cmd and click on OK.

Here I assume your external hard drive as G:

Enter this command.

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

You can copy the above command --> Right-click in the Command Prompt and

paste it.

Note : Don't forget to replace the letter g with your external hard drive letter.

Now press "Enter".

Now check for your files in external hard drive.

 
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Yes I totally confused windows explorer and internet explorer at first. Dumb me. But later I did follow the steps you suggested and it only showed the hidden files that were in the pc not on the external HDD.
Writing the command which i've posted in this thread on 'run' made the hidden files in the WD my passport visible.


 
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