Fix: 'This folder is empty' on a USB drive on Windows 10 & 11

This step-by-step tutorial will show you what to do when you see 'This folder is empty' when opening a USB flash drive or external hard drive on Windows 10 or 11.

How to fix: 'This folder is empty' on a USB drive on Windows 10 and 11

  1. Right-click on the Windows start menu button.
  2. Click on Command Prompt (Admin) or Terminal (Admin).
    Open Windows Terminal as administrator
  3. If the 'User Account Control' window appears, you click Yes. Depending on your settings, you may need to enter your administrator password first and then click Yes.
  4. In the Command Prompt or Terminal window, you type the command below, but replace the letter f with the drive letter of your USB device. 
    
attrib -h -r -s /s /d f:\*.*
    Fix This folder is empty problem in Windows 10 and 11
  5. Press the Enter key on your keyboard.
  6. Close the Command Prompt or Terminal window.
  7. Check if your USB device is displaying files.

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

USB drive letter

Windows

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