How to view Hidden Files and Folders in Windows 10, 7

How to View Hidden Files and Folders

Windows XP, Windows vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, 10

How to show hidden files & folders on windows 7, Vista , Windows 10

This is a very simple process, just follow the instructions below.

Windows 8 covers specific files so that you can’t view them while browsing the files and folders on your pc. Windows has two kinds of files that Windows will identify as hidden and hide through the user. The initial kind are in reality hidden files, which can be ones which are because of the + H attribute or particular as Hidden inside a file or folder’s properties. The 2nd kind of file are System files, that are files that are necessary for the proper operation of Windows 8 as hence are hidden so they aren’t changed or deleted accidentally.

Steps

There are different steps for different operating systems. Check out the steps for your operating system below:

For Windows Vista / Windows 7

1. Click on “Start”
2. Click on “Control Panel”
3. Click on the “Folder option”
4. A “Folder option” popup will appear, Click on the “View” tab
5. Tick mark the option “Show hidden files, folders, and drives”
6. Click on Apply and it’s OK to complete.

For Windows 10, 8

How to find hidden files in Windows 10, 8

1. From the Windows 8 Start Screen, click on the Control Panel app.
2. Click on “Control Panel“
3. Click on the “Folder option”
4. A “Folder option” popup will appear, click on the “View” tab
5. Tick mark the option “Show hidden files, folders, and drives“
6. Click on Apply and it’s OK to complete.

Another Method

You can open the explorer (my computer) drive area, then click on View Menu2. Find the options Hidden Items and tickmarks to view the hidden Items (as per screenshot).

To see hidden files in Microsoft Windows, do the steps below. If you want to enable it, you will be able to view a hidden file using files by exploring the icon. Hidden files will look just as if they’re grayed out. Additionally, you can consider the file attributes to find out whether it’s a hidden file.

If you’d like use of files beneath a hidden folder, you need to be competent to view that hidden folder. You may even have to view a hidden file so it’s possible to delete it, when it comes to a specific problem you may be getting.

Automatically Windows hides specific files from getting seen with Windows Explorer or My Computer. This can be done to guard these files, that are normally system files, from unintentionally getting changed or deleted through the user. However viruses, spyware, and hijackers usually hide their files by doing this which makes it difficult to find them and after that remove all of them.

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How to view hidden folders in windows

By default Windows hides certain files from being seen with Windows Explorer or My Computer. This is done to protect these files, which are usually system files, from accidentally being modified or deleted by the user. Unfortunately viruses, spyware, and hijackers often hide there files in this way making it hard to find them and then delete them.

By following the steps below for each version of Windows you will be able to change the operating systems behavior so that you can see hidden and protected files. In this way you will be able to delete or replaces files for troubleshooting purposes.

Windows 95

To enable the viewing of Hidden files follow these steps:

1. Close all programs so that you are at your desktop.
2. Double-click on the My Computer icon.
3. Select the View menu and then click Options.
4. After the new window appears select the View tab.
5. Scroll down until you see the Show all files radio button and select it.
6. Press the OK button and close the My Computer window.
7. Now your computer is configured to show all hidden files.

Windows 98

To enable the viewing of Hidden files follow these steps:

1. Close all programs so that you are at your desktop.
2. Double-click on the My Computer icon.
3. Select the View menu and then click Folder Options.
4. After the new window appears select the View tab.
5. Scroll down until you see the Show all files radio button and select it.
6. Press the Apply button and then the OK button and close the My Computer window.
7. Now your computer is configured to show all hidden files.

Windows ME

To enable the viewing of Hidden files follow these steps:

1. Close all programs so that you are at your desktop.
2. Double-click on the My Computer icon.
3. Select the Tools menu and click Folder Options.
4. After the new window appears select the View tab.
5. Under the Hidden files and folders section select the radio button labeled Show hidden files and folders.
6. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide file extensions for known file types.
7. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide protected operating system files.
8. Press the Apply button and then the OK button and shutdown My Computer.
9. Now your computer is configured to show all hidden files.

Windows NT

To enable the viewing of Hidden files follow these steps:

1. Close all programs so that you are at your desktop.
2. Double-click on the My Computer icon.
3. Select the View menu and then click Options.
4. After the new window appears select the View tab.
5. Scroll down until you see the Show all files radio button and select it.
6. Press the OK button and shutdown My Computer.
7. Now your computer is configured to show all hidden files.

Windows 2000

To enable the viewing of Hidden files follow these steps:

1. Close all programs so that you are at your desktop.
2. Double-click on the My Computer icon.
3. Select the Tools menu and click Folder Options.
4. After the new window appears select the View tab.
5. Under the Hidden files and folders section select the radio button labeled Show hidden files and folders.
6. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide file extensions for known file types.
7. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide protected operating system files.
8. Press the Apply button and then the OK button and shutdown My Computer.
9. Now your computer is configured to show all hidden files.

Windows XP and Windows 2003

To enable the viewing of Hidden files follow these steps:

1. Close all programs so that you are at your desktop.
2. Double-click on the My Computer icon.
3. Select the Tools menu and click Folder Options.
4. After the new window appears select the View tab.
5. Put a checkmark in the checkbox labeled Display the contents of system folders.
6. Under the Hidden files and folders section select the radio button labeled Show hidden files and folders.
7. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide file extensions for known file types.
8. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide protected operating system files.
9. Press the Apply button and then the OK button and shutdown My Computer.
10. Now your computer is configured to show all hidden files.

Windows Vista

To enable the viewing of Hidden files follow these steps:

1. Close all programs so that you are at your desktop.
2. Click on the Start button. This is the small round button with the Windows flag in the lower left corner.
3. Click on the Control Panel menu option.
4. When the control panel opens you can either be in Classic View or Control Panel Home view:

If you are in the Classic View do the following:

1. Double-click on the Folder Options icon.
2. Click on the View tab.
3. Go to step 5.

If you are in the Control Panel Home view do the following:

1. Click on the Appearance and Personalization link .
2. Click on Show Hidden Files or Folders.
3. Go to step 5.

Under the Hidden files and folders section select the radio button labeled Show hidden files and folders.

Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide extensions for known file types.

Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide protected operating system files.

Press the Apply button and then the OK button.

Now Windows Vista is configured to show all hidden files.

Windows 7

To enable the viewing of Hidden files follow these steps. Please note a guide with images that shows the same steps can be found here: How to show hidden files in Windows 7

1. Close all programs so that you are at your desktop.
2. Click on the Start button. This is the small round button with the Windows flag in the lower left corner.
3. Click on the Control Panel menu option.
4. When the control panel opens click on the Appearance and Personalization link.
5. Under the Folder Options category, click on Show Hidden Files or Folders.
6. Under the Hidden files and folders section select the radio button labeled Show hidden files, folders, or drives.
7. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide extensions for known file types.
8. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).
9. Press the Apply button and then the OK button..
10. Now Windows 7 is configured to show all hidden files.

Windows 8

To enable the viewing of Hidden files follow these steps. Please note a guide with images that shows the same steps can be found here: How to see hidden files in Windows 8

1. From the Windows 8 Start Screen, click on the Control Panel app.
2. When the Control Panel opens scroll down to the bottom and click on the More Settings option.
3. The traditional Windows 8 Control Panel will now open. When it is open, click on the Appearance and Personalization link.
4. Under the Folder Options category, click on Show Hidden Files or Folders.
5. Under the Hidden files and folders section select the radio button labeled Show hidden files, folders, or drives.
6. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide extensions for known file types.
7. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).
8. Press the Apply button and then the OK button..
9. Now Windows 8 is configured to show all hidden files.

Windows 10

To enable the viewing of Hidden files in Windows 10, please follow these steps:

1. From the Windows 10 Start Screen, click on the File Explorer buttonon the task bar.
2. When File Explorer opens, click on the View tab and then select Options.
3. When the Folder Options screen opens, click on the View tab.
4. You will now see various settings you can select.
5. Folder Options category, click on Show Hidden Files or Folders.
6. Under the Hidden files and folders section select the radio button labeled Show hidden files, folders, or drives.
7. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide extensions for known file types.
8. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).
9. Press the Apply button and then the OK button..
10. Now Windows 10 is now configured to show all hidden files.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to see all hidden files on your computer, malicious programs such as viruses, spyware, and hijackers will no longer be able to hide their presence from you or people helping you.

Please note that you will now see icons that were not previously visible. One of the most common concerns is that you will see a file called desktop.ini throughout your computer. These are legitimate hidden files and can be ignored.

If you have any questions please feel free to post them in our computer help forums.

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