All Files Suddenly Disappeared from My External SSD—Can They Be Recovered?
Asked by
MellowPine42
I'm not very experienced with computer troubleshooting, so I could use some guidance. I've used an external SSD for several years to store games and my Steam library without any problems. A few hours ago, all of the files suddenly disappeared. The only thing left is an almost-empty "SteamLibrary" folder, and Steam no longer detects any installed games either. The drive appears completely empty, including hidden files. The only unusual thing I did beforehand was install and uninstall a non-Steam game, so I'm wondering whether that could have caused this. I mainly want to know whether the files and game saves can be recovered, what may have gone wrong, and how to prevent it from happening again.
Answers
The game you uninstalled probably wasn’t the cause. An uninstaller normally removes files from its own installation directory and shouldn’t erase unrelated folders on another drive. The timing may simply be coincidental and could point to partition corruption or an SSD problem. Also, game saves are often stored on the system drive in Documents, AppData, or cloud storage rather than inside the game-installation folder, so they may still be intact.
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Before attempting repairs, check the Recycle Bin and confirm how much space Windows says is being used on the drive. DiskGenius or another reputable recovery utility may also be able to browse files that Explorer isn’t showing. Identify the SSD’s manufacturer with System Information, then use the manufacturer’s official health and firmware tools. If the drive is failing, replace it rather than trusting it with important data.
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Stop using the SSD for now. Don’t reinstall games, format it, or copy anything onto it, since new writes can overwrite data that might still be recoverable. Open Disk Management and check whether the drive shows its normal full capacity. If a large portion is marked unallocated, the partition table may be damaged rather than the files actually being deleted. TestDisk or similar recovery tools may be able to restore the partition. If the partition looks normal, check the drive’s health with CrystalDiskInfo or the manufacturer’s diagnostic utility, since a failing controller or NAND can cause files to suddenly disappear.
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