Member Avatar for abhigna.pebbati

Hi,

I have a 1 TB external harddisk. I guess I have virus on it. The files are being shown as .exe files, none of them are opening. I tried scanning the HD, it had no effect what-so-ever. Is there anyway in which i could retrieve the data. Please help.

Thank you

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by razib8bd

Dani AI

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Symptoms reported by — a 1 TB external drive whose folders disappear and many entries show up as .exe that do not open — fit the classic USB “shortcut/autorun” malware pattern. That aligns with ’s hidden-file observation and ’s suggestion to use Malwarebytes. ’s registry point is relevant for installed programs but not for simple file-hiding behavior, and ’s hardware angle is unlikely when filenames have been changed rather than the drive failing.

A safe, practical workflow: avoid executing any .exe on the external disk; use a clean, fully updated machine, a VM, or boot a Linux live USB so the malware cannot auto-run. Scan the drive with at least one up-to-date antimalware engine (for example, Malwarebytes) and an offline scanner (Windows Defender Offline or equivalent) and remove clearly malicious files such as autorun.inf and the small shortcut executables. After threats are removed, reveal hidden/protected items in Explorer and clear hidden/system/read-only attributes so original folders reappear. A commonly used Windows command for that (run from an elevated prompt, substituting the actual drive letter) is:

attrib -s -h -r E:\*.* /S /D

If originals are still missing or appear corrupted, create a bit-for-bit image of the drive before any further writes (use ddrescue or a commercial imager). Run recovery tools (PhotoRec/TestDisk or Recuva) against the image rather than the original device. Do not write recovered data back to the same physical disk until the image is secured. For highly valuable data, consider professional recovery services.

Once files are recovered, reformat the external disk and restore from clean copies. Disable autorun for removable media, keep endpoint protection current, and adopt a routine backup strategy to prevent repeat loss.

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Member Avatar for JorgeM

What did you try scanning with? You may want to download MalwareBytes and scan that drive for malware.

Member Avatar for Dragennd

If there are .exe files on your harddrive then you might check to make sure they do not require any registry files to run. Most software writes vital pieces of itself to the registry and if those files are not available then the software won't run.

Member Avatar for np complete

I had this virus too.

  1. Go to file/folder option. ( If you are using win 7 then : organize -> folder and search option )

  2. Click on view tab.

  3. Then unhide all files, and unmark "Hide protected operating system file (Recommended) ".

  4. You will see you old folders and files ( Yahoo ! :-) )

  5. Delete those .exe's.

  6. In Command prompt or by right clicking, change these folders attributes to normal. You can google it for the command to do it.
    Example : c:\filename -s -h
    It clears the attribute for that file/folder.

If its an windows OS, check this link.

This virus changes each of your folder attributes and makes them an important system file, thus OS hides it from us, and it hides as a protected system file.

Member Avatar for razib8bd

it is possible that ur usb port is not in working mood. check computer
with a good anti-virus.

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