Hidden files in Windows. How to find, open and configure access. How to View Hidden Files and Folders in Windows
Sometimes there is a need to make available hidden files or folders, display them, make them visible. Let's look at how to do this in the operating room Windows systems XP and Windows 7 (in Windows Vista and 8 similarly). The "Folder Options" window itself in all Windows versions the same, only the method of opening this window is different.
How to show hidden folders and files in Windows 7, Vista
Let's go to Control Panel (via menu Start). Select an item Folder Options . If you haven’t found it, then in the right top corner Control panels have a word "View:" and next to it you can select a display option: "Category", "Large Icons", "Small Icons". Choose one of the last two options. Now you will definitely find the item you need Folder Options .
After this, in all operating systems a window will open in front of you where you can configure display hidden folders and files. Further, the procedure will be the same, despite slight differences in the appearance of the windows.
Go to the tab View. Under the inscription Additional options there is a list of parameters that can be checked. Scroll this list down to the end. We put a point opposite "Show hidden files, folders and drives" , uncheck "Hide protected system files» (here the system will issue a warning, we answer Yes). Click "Apply" And "OK" .
Everything is ready. Now that's it Hidden and system folders and files are displayed like ordinary ones. When the need for this disappears, you can go to Folder Options and on the tab View press "Restore defaults" .
How to show hidden folders and files in Windows XP
Method 1. Opening Conductor(or My computer ). In the upper left corner we look standard panel menu (File, Edit, View...). Click Service - Folder properties... .
Method 2. Opening Control Panel (via menu Start), select Folder properties . If you do not find this item, then on the left you need to click "Switch to Classic View".
In the title, we specifically focus on standard means of hiding files and folders, since all the others require more detailed familiarization. Why does a user need to hide a file or folder? There could be many reasons for this. Someone wants to hide from prying eyes sensitive data such as passwords or numbers. In many cases, it is necessary to hide intimate photographs or important text files. And situations often arise where it is necessary to hide entire directories containing dozens or hundreds of files. So let's look at ways to hide files and folders standard means Windows.
The easiest way to hide a file in Windows is to open the properties window (right click on the file and select Properties).
In the properties window, check the box Hidden. As a result, the file should not appear in Explorer.
Applied to a folder this procedure is supplemented by one more action: after enabling the option Hidden and pressing a button [Apply] the system prompts us to choose which objects will be hidden.
Select an option Only to this folder to hide only the folder itself, or check the box To this folder and to all subfolders and files so that Windows will automatically assign the attribute Hidden to all files located in the selected folder.
After hiding files or folders using this method, they should no longer appear in Explorer or in the My Computer window. What should I do to see hidden files again? To do this, open Explorer, go to the menu Tools – Folder Options- tab View and on the list Additional options find the option Show hidden files and folders.
Please note that hidden files and folders in the list can be easily distinguished from regular ones by the icon, since it has more noticeable transparency.
To return to the mode where hidden files and folders are not displayed, repeat the procedure and select the option Don't show hidden files and folders.
This is the easiest way to hide data from other users. However, this will be useful only if it is known for sure that the owner of these same “prying eyes” does not know how to display hidden files. In addition, many file managers ( Total Commander, FAR and others) hidden files may be displayed despite the corresponding system settings.
An additional measure is not only hiding, but also moving the file to another folder. The best place for this is Windows folder in which the system is installed. The fact is that it contains so many files and folders that it is very difficult to visually identify our file. So, copy the file or folder somewhere further away (in the sense of “deeper”), for example, into the folder Windows/System32. This is the first stage. Now we rename our file, giving it some system name similar to what other files in the folder have.
Here is a small part of the list of files contained in the Windows/System32 folder:
As you can see, there are many files of the same type with names starting with the letter “c” and with a different set of numbers. Why not rename our file something similar, for example, с_29905.nls. The main thing is to make sure that the selected name is not already used by another file. Select the file, right-click to open the menu and select Rename. If the file extension is not displayed in Explorer, open the menu in Explorer Tools – Folder Options- tab View and on the list Additional options check if the option is enabled Hide extensions for registered file types. For greater convenience, we recommend performing all operations in a file manager, such as Total Commander.
Once the file takes on a faceless name and the extension changes, finding it among hundreds of other files will be problematic. The main thing is not to forget where the file is located and what it is called.
Now let's look at additional measures to protect the file. First of all, this is such a simple way as archiving a file with a password. You can also specify in the parameters so that the list of files in the archive is not displayed ( Encrypt file names). It is advisable to use Rar archiver. Next steps We have already covered moving a file and renaming it.
Another procedure will allow you to change the file header, or, in other words, the first bytes. Typically, the first bytes store information about the file type. For example, Rar archive contains header Rar!(to view press the key F3 in Total Commander and in the menu Options choose Hexadecimal):
After this, in any hexadecimal editor (for example, ) we replace the first bytes with any other characters, for example MZ and zeros. As a result, the system will display the file icon as a library. The only inconvenience is that each time you have to return the original bytes of the file to open it.
Sometimes, when setting up a system, you need to have access to hidden system folders, which are hidden from inexperienced users. Namely, they hide them so that they are not accidentally deleted or moved, because this could affect the operation of the system.
But every day various viruses appear that can hide your files and folders, which you can only see in by enabling the display of hidden folders and files. But removing viruses is not the only situation in which you will need to open access to display such folders. Just recently, I described solutions to a problem where it was necessary to copy a file to a folder that was system and was invisible to the average user.
Of course, it’s better not to go into these folders, but sometimes you can’t do without it, so now you’ll find out how to open hidden folders and files.
How to open hidden folders in Windows XP
Let's start with Windows XP. Open " Start" and click on " Control Panel».
So, as we will open invisible files, we will need to go to “ Folder properties»
Also, you can use alternative way folder settings. To do this, go to any window and top menu select " Properties» –> « Folder properties».
In any case, the settings window will open. Here we go to the tab “ View" and in the additional parameters go down to the very bottom to the item " Hidden files and folders" We note “ Show hidden files and folders" and click " Apply».
In some cases, even after setting to show hidden folders, some still remain inaccessible. To display them, you can use one more item in the settings: “ Hide protected system files s". Simply by unchecking the box and saving, some more folders will appear that are considered system, perhaps among them there will be the folder that you needed. But, I want to warn you right away, if you come across some unfamiliar folder, do not write to delete it, perhaps it is one of the system ones that is needed for proper operation OS or applications.
How to show hidden folders in Windows 7
In Windows 7, to enter folder settings, also go to “Control Panel” and then “Folder Options”
To enter the settings through the window of any folder, click on “Arrange”, and then select “Folder and Search Options”.
In the window itself, check “Show hidden files, folders and drives” and save the settings.
How to show hidden folders in Windows 8
In the new Windows 8 OS, go to any folder, click on “View”, then select “Options” and then “Change folder and search options”.
In the folder settings menu, as in the examples described above, we simply mark the same item as on other OSes, and then click “OK”
I repeat once again, you will come across a hidden folder with a name unknown to you, you should not delete it, and after finishing working with hidden files, do not forget to return everything back, this is done in the same order, just check the box, do not show hidden files and folders. You may also be interested in the article about setting up extensions for registered file types.
Most often, system files and folders are hidden. operating system makes such files hidden for security purposes, because the user may, through carelessness or ignorance, delete or change any of the files necessary for normal functioning system as a whole, which can lead to serious consequences: from errors to complete system collapse. By hiding files, Windows protects itself from preventing the user from ever having such a temptation.
Some applications and programs sometimes hide their files from users for the same reason. Hiding own files both folders and users themselves, when they do not want anyone to find this data.
Hidden file by appearance different from a regular file. When the system displays hidden files and folders, you can see that the icons of hidden folders or the names of hidden files appear translucent.
How to See Hidden Files and Folders in Windows XP
There are two ways to display hidden files and folders - through the “Control Panel” or through “ Windows Explorer».
1. Display via the “Control Panel”. You need to go to the “Control Panel”, this is done through standard menu“Start”: “Start” - “Control Panel”. In the window that opens, click “Tools” in the top menu and click “Folder Options” in the drop-down menu. A properties window will open in which you need to select the “View” tab. In this tab in the window additional parameters select “Hidden files and folders” and check the box next to “Show hidden files and folders”. Save the changes - click “Apply” and “Ok”.
2. Display via Windows Explorer. Go to Explorer: double click open the “My Computer” item, or simultaneously press the Win and E keys. In the top menu of the explorer, select “Tools” and then proceed in the same way as the first point: select “Folder Options”, then “View”, look for the “Hidden files and folders” item ", click "Show hidden files and folders", "Apply", "Ok".
After the manipulations have been carried out, files and folders hidden until this moment become visible to the user and can be worked with in the same way as with regular files. However, there is a way to work with hidden files and folders without making them visible on the system. They can be searched and opened using any file manager, for example using the popular Total Commander.
To do this we open file manager, select the “Configuration” item, click the “Settings” section. A settings window will open, consisting of two parts. On the left side of the window, look for the “Panel Contents” item. By clicking on it, we see a list of options on the right side of the window, among which we look for “Display files” and check the box next to “Show hidden/system files”, then click “Apply” and “Ok”.
Sep 12 2012
Welcome to the blog computer help. If you can't find certain files on your hard drive or flash drive after virus attack, do not despair and forget about this data.
In this article I will tell and give specific examples how to show hidden folders or show hidden files on your computer that have been lost or simply disappeared. While reading, you can watch videos on this topic.
Looking at hidden folders
On personal computer There are two types of displayed information - visible and hidden. Some data from the developers software systems are hidden intentionally so that young or inexperienced users the computer did not do any unnecessary things, namely, deleted or changed necessary files for stable system performance.
How to show hidden folders in Windows 7 | website
How to hide a folder or file
Select the file or folder we need.
Right-click on it, go to the very bottom of the displayed menu and go to Properties.
Go to the very bottom of the General menu, Near “Attributes” >>> “Read Only”, click the checkbox next to Hidden.
When finished, click Apply and OK.
We close all the windows we open. Again we go to the location we need on the computer and this information should disappear or become translucent if you have the system function to show hidden files.
In order to bring everything back and do the desired folder or file visible. We perform all the same operations, uncheck the Hidden box, apply the settings and OK.
How to hide a folder | website
The hidden files and folders feature is also useful if you use the Torrent program. To create, enable and place an IP filter in the Documents and Settings >>> Local Settings or Application Data folder, which is useful when downloading files.
It does not allow you to download data from foreign sources, thereby working with the internal resources of the country in which you are located. Saves incoming traffic, which is probably limited to everyone by a certain number of Gigabytes for external sources.
What we learned
Today we talked to you about how to display hidden folders or show hidden files on your computer. We learned what hidden files and folders are, where they are located and learned how to make them visible. They were also able to hide the data we needed from unwanted eyes or just strangers.
Perhaps you have questions related to how to display hidden folders on your computer. You can ask them below in the comments to this article, and also use the form with me.
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