I upgraded to windows 7, wiping my hard drive in the process. When I plugged in my external hard drive, it asked to scan the hard drive for errors. I let it get about halfway through before I stopped it. I was impatient. Later, I noticed that two of the folders on the external drive, which I remember having set as "hidden" no longer read as folders. They just read as "file" of 32k size. Everything else on the hard drive seems to be fine. When I plugged the hard drive into my laptop running XP, it reads the same way. I tried to use undelete software and found nothing. I'm scared to use Scan Disk without asking first, because I'm worried it might just delete everything forever. Any suggestions?

Hello,Have you tried to run the 32k files? I have a similar problem as yours: some folders became to EXE files, but the icon of the files still show as a folder and the real folders are set as "protected system files". When I double click the EXE file, the real folder will be opened. This problem is caused by a virus. Try to show protected system files and see if you can find your folders:1. Click start button, type in " folder options" and then press enter.2. In View tab, select "Show hidden files, folders, and drives". 3. Uncheck the option "Hide protected operating system files(Recommended)".Thomas77