Windows 10: Empty folders disappearing

Hi,

OS: Windows 10 build 1082.
Issue: Empty folders (randomly) disappear.

This happened at least 2 times (of which I am sure). I do not recognize a pattern.

When it happens, all the sub folders (within one "main folder") that did not have files in them just vanish. The other sub folders who contained files remained intact. I checked outside the "main folder", I found empty folders on the hard drive.

The first time I put it on the account of user manipulation. I recently bought an external hard drive and I have been transferring and organizing a lot. I also activate the option of not moving files to the Recycle Bin. Although I never made a mistake in the past ten years, this could have been my first time.
There was a second time after that but I could not remember for sure if I did create the folders.
This past 24 hours, on the other hand, it happened again, and this time I am positive it s not a user mistake: Empty folders are missing, other folders are fine.

I do not think it is malware or virus related.

There is no software, to my knowledge, that is supposed to interact directly with that "main folder".
I do not use a cleaning software. I did defragment my hard drives lately, but after testing it today the problem did not occur (maybe I should re test it after creating a hundred empty folders...).

I did not find a relevant thread about this issue, and I have no idea where this is coming from.

If there is a need for additional information, please let me know, I ll try to answer as soon as possible.



P.S In case someone is wondering, an empty folder still has a name, and it is an useful data to me.

:)

 

Disappearing folder

I've encountered a strange problem in windows 10 where I tried to delete a file in a folder, but ended up deleting the whole directory. It did so without the usual pop-up to confirm delete or say it was too big for the recycle bin. It was my Videos folder, so pretty big, but the disk allocation has also remained the same.

I've always had a problem with 'double icons' for the different user folders, including videos, and so I'm thinking it could have something to do with the whole thing, especially as now one of the two video folders has disappeared from the users folders.

The first thing i tried was 'Undo delete', but it just bought the folder back with non of the contents. Then, I went straight to Recuva, but it came up blank (there must have been over 50 videos in the folder)

I'm at a little bit of a loss as where to start looking for this disappeared folder and was hoping someone might have some suggestions?

Screenshots below:

 

Disappearance of the list of folders.

Hi Thomas,

There are various factors why your folders may disappear. It is possible that your folders were deleted, hidden, or move where they are saved before. To assist you better, kindly answer the following questions:

• Have you made any recent changes prior to this issue?
• What troubleshooting steps have you done so far?
• Do you allow someone to use your computer?
• Have you tried checking if those folders are hidden?
• Have you tried checking your Recycle Bin?

Any response will be highly appreciated.

 

Picture folders mysteriously disappearing


Hi I'm back. None of the things you suggested helped to resolve the issue. This is a very strange thing....folders just disappearing into thin air. I know they must be somewhere. Do you have any further suggestions?