How to show / hide files, folders on Windows computers

Suddenly one fine day you open your computer and panic to realize that your documents did not fly, don't be afraid, chances are it will be hidden, not going anywhere. * 7 * And this article will show you how to display files that have been hidden by someone, as well as hide files you don't want to show to others.

How to display hidden files

There are usually two situations when a file is hidden: hidden by others and due to viruses .

If someone did it, you can easily display it again. If your computer is infected with a virus, you may need to use software to help.

1. Use the function to display hidden files available in Windows

- For Windows XP and Windows 7

First, go to Control Panel by going to Start> Control Panel .

If you use Windows 7, you may need to adjust the View by section in the upper right corner to Large icons or Small icons, but for Windows XP, it is not necessary.

Choose Folder options

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After opening Folder options , navigate to the View tab and select Show hidden files, folders, and drives .

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Finally click OK to save. That's it, all hidden files will be displayed

- For Windows 8

If you use Windows 8, you may have a bit of trouble accessing the Control Panel, so you can use the following method, just a little different:

Open any folder, go to View tab > Options> Change folder and search options.

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Switch to the View tab , select Show hidden files, folders, and drives

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Click OK , that's it. * 4 *

If later, you do not want to see these hidden files anymore, do the same thing as above, but the final step select Don't show hidden files, folders, and drives .

2. Display hidden files with the command line

In addition to the above, you have another option that is fairly easy to implement.

First open the command window by going to Start> run, type ' cmd ' and press Enter .

Then, type the name of the partition you want to show the file to, such as drive F.

First enter F: (or E:, .) and press Enter

Then type attrib -s -h / s / d and press Enter, wait a while until the command is executed. That's it, now all the files and folders in that partition are displayed.

3. Display hidden files using FixAttrb tool

This is also a very simple way when you can not do it manually due to virus cases . First, you must download the software developed by BKAV here:

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Then run the downloaded file, click Select a folder and point to a folder to display the files in that folder (or select an entire partition if desired), finally click Show hidden files and wait a while. is done.

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After you have successfully performed the above steps, you should install an antivirus software and scan the entire system to make sure your computer is completely virus-free.

Hide a file on the device

If you want to hide files you don't want others to see, just right-click, select Properties , check the Hidden box, and click Apply .

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And from now on, this file will be marked as a hidden file, and if in Folder options select Don't show hidden files, folders, and drives as mentioned above, you won't be able to see this file. again.

Have fun and hope it helps you.