In this article, I would like to show you how to see hidden files and folders in windows 7. In windows given feature is disabled by default. The fact is that users can inadvertently change the contents of the file or even delete what is hidden, and allows the OS to work, as a result of which windows can be disrupted.

For system security purposes, this is useful, but this function is used by attackers, in writing malware that harm your computer and prevent them from being detected. But we will talk about this a little later. From this it can be concluded that the visibility hidden files and folders have their advantages. And even more so if your computer has your hidden folder, you need to learn how to turn on the hidden folder.

There are several ways to get to the folder settings, where you can enable hidden files and folders in windows 7, let's look at them.

Enable hidden packs through my computer

We open My computer, click on the dropdown menu Organize > Folder and search options

AT open window My computer, press Alt key and select from the context menu Service and beyond Folders settings

In the Folder Options window that opens select View, from the list of Additional parameters we go down the list, we are looking for Hidden files and folders, check the box Show hidden files, folders and drives and click OK.

Folder settings via control panel

Click Start > Control Panel, Further Choose Appearance and Personalization, the following select Show hidden files and folders

The Folder Options window will open, in this window you also need to go down the list, find hidden files and folders, and check the box next to the item Show hidden files, folders and drives and press OK.

After doing these manipulations, hidden files and folders will be displayed on your computer.

show system files in windows 7

In order to show system files You need to uncheck the box next to the item in the folder options window. Hide protected system files (recommended).

WARNING: For the stable performance of the windows 7 operating system, it makes sense to uncheck this box only for experienced users. Otherwise, you risk disrupting performance by inadvertently deleting system files or system folders.

How to enable display of hidden files?



By Windows default hides important system files so that the user does not delete them by mistake. However, sometimes it becomes necessary to look at them, and in our article we will tell you what should be done in this case.

Windows XP

To enable the display of hidden files in Windows XP, you will need to open the Control Panel. You can find it through the Start menu. In the Control Panel, find the "Folder Options" icon and double-click on it. In the dialog box that pops up, you will need the "View" tab. Look for "Hidden files and folders" in the list of options, check the "Show hidden files and folders" option, and then click "OK".

Windows Vista

To see hidden files and folders in Windows Vista, you will also need to open the Control Panel, but you should look for another section in it - “Appearance and personalization”. It will contain the already familiar item "Folder Options". When the window of the same name appears, open the "Show" tab and in the "Advanced Options" list, check the "Show hidden files and folders" box. To apply the changes, click OK.

Windows 7

In Windows 7, the procedure and option names are almost the same as in Windows Vista. In the Control Panel, go to the "Appearance and Personalization" section, select "Folder Options", in the pop-up dialog box open the "View" tab and in the "Advanced Options" list check the "Show hidden files, folders and drives" option. Don't forget to click OK to apply the changes.

Windows 8

In Windows 8, it's a little easier to see invisible files. You do not need to go to the "Control Panel" - just open the "Explorer" on any folder. Select "View" from the top menu bar. When the panel with a set of options opens, find the item "Hidden items" on it and check the box. Nothing else needs to be done.

Finally, we note that not only system files can be hidden. If you wish, you can hide a folder or file yourself to hide them from prying eyes. Read our articles on how to do it.

Do you know that not all files and folders are shown in Windows 7 Explorer? Some of them are hidden. This is done, first of all, for security reasons, because a user with administrative rights can accidentally or unknowingly delete, move, rename something ...

However Windows protection 7 method of hiding files - a double-edged sword: on the one hand, the user will not see them and will not be able to damage them, and on the other, it creates additional features malware masking.

So which is better? Make hidden files visible or leave them as they are? Optimally, according to the author, so:

  • if you would not classify yourself as an experienced user - let the hidden files remain hidden, their visibility will still mean nothing to you;
  • if you are well versed in the structure of the system, are able to “by eye” distinguish a malicious file from a legitimate one, turn on the display of hidden files.

How to display invisible files in explorer?

For Windows users 7, the whole procedure is carried out as follows.

  • Open Control Panel via Start Menu

or the “Run” program, to launch which you need to press “Windows” + “R” on the keyboard and enter the command in the “Open” field: control.

  • Open Folder Options.

  • Go to the "View" tab. Scroll all the way down the "Advanced options" list. Open “Hidden files and folders”, then check the box next to “Show hidden files, folders, drives”.
  • Here, a little higher, there is another parameter responsible for showing invisible files: “Hide protected system files”. By default, it is selected, that is, protected files are not shown to the user. Uncheck this item and click OK.

  • After you uncheck "Hide protected system files", Windows 7 will ask you if you have thought well and if you foresee the possible consequences of such a choice. If you are sure of the correctness of your actions, click "Yes".

Now on the desktop, as well as in other directories, you will see some translucent elements:

These are the files marked with the “hidden” attribute (a few words about attributes will be discussed below).

How to remove the visibility of hidden files

To restore the original file visibility settings, you need to open “Folder Options” - “View” again and click the “Restore Defaults” button.


How to hide your file or folder?

Hidden from prying eyes can be not only Windows 7 files, but also user files. And you yourself can make any of your documents invisible, but on condition that the display of hidden files in the folder options is disabled. How to do it?

File Attributes

Files created in Windows can have attributes, which are characteristics that give them special properties. Here are the most important ones:

  • "Only for reading". This attribute marks files that are read-only by the operating system. They must not be modified as this may break the functionality of Windows.
  • "System" - files marked with this attribute have a higher degree of protection than "read-only". System files are critical to Windows work, so they don't show up in File Explorer.
  • “Hidden” - files and folders with this attribute are also not shown in Explorer. Hidden files are important to varying degrees for the functioning of Windows, often they are invisible only for the convenience of browsing data in directories.
  • “Archived” is an obsolete attribute, inherited file system NTFS from FAT's predecessor. In early Windows versions they marked the data for backup.

When you checked “Show hidden files, folders and drives” in the folder options settings, you made files with the “Hidden” attribute visible.

When you unchecked the "Hide protected system files" option, you made files with the "System" attribute visible.

Compare what the “Drive C:” directory looks like with showing only hidden files:

and like this - hidden and systemic:

So, to hide your custom file or folder, you need to change its attributes accordingly. For this:

  • click the General tab and in the Attributes section check the Hidden box, then click OK.

The same action can be performed using the command line by executing the command in it: attrib +h “C:UsersUser_1DesktopMoya_Papka” /s /d

  • attrib– launching the system utility attrib.exe, which sets the attributes of files and folders;
  • +h– setting the attribute “hidden” (hidden), the sign “+” means “assign the attribute”, and “-” means to remove it;
  • “C:UsersUser_1DesktopMoya_Papka”- the path to the folder or file whose attributes we are changing, if there are non-Latin characters or spaces in the path - quotes are required;
  • parameter /s means “apply action to all nested files and subdirectories of the folder”;
  • parameter /d means "process files and directories".


Other programs for working with hidden files

You can also view hidden and system files through alternative file managers - Total Commander and its analogues.

To do this, in the settings of Total Commander, as well as in the properties Windows folders 7, the option “Show hidden and system files” should be active. In Total Commander, this is located in the menu “Configuration” – “Settings” and “Panel Contents”.

To make a file hidden or, conversely, visible using Total Commander tools, you need to open the “Files” menu, select “Change Attributes” and set the appropriate settings in the window of the same name.

Another file manager- console FAR Manager, by default shows all hidden and system files of Windows. Here, what is not visible in the explorer is displayed dimmed.

At the bottom of the table is command line, with which any file or directory can be assigned the desired attributes:

There are other tools for working with hidden Windows files, but what we have covered here is enough in most cases.

In Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 and Vista, for security and safety reasons, you can hide important files and folders so that other users do not accidentally delete / change important data, or simply from prying eyes. If necessary, these same files are quite easy to display, which we will discuss later in this article.

Also, recently, a case has been very often observed when all files and folders become hidden for users, as if everything that was deleted, and shortcuts with the same names are created instead of them, which is a consequence of a virus infection of a computer / removable media.

It can also happen after installing or checking the computer with an antivirus. If you have just such a case associated with a virus, the instructions below will also help you to display hidden files and folders. But to completely remove the virus, read the article How to remove a virus with shortcuts.

The first and easiest method I always use is with Total Commander. Open the program, select the desired drive and just click the "Hidden items" button and you will see everything that was hidden (marked with a red exclamation point).

If you do not have the program installed, also use quite simple ways described below.

Show hidden files and folders in Windows 8.x or 10

Use the View tab and click the Options button.

On the View tab, check the "Show hidden files, folders and drives" option at the very bottom. If you want to get to the hidden system Windows files, uncheck the "Hide protected operating system files" option

Hidden files will appear semi-transparent. If you want to completely remove the "hidden" attribute from a file or folder, click on it right click mouse and select properties. On the General tab, clear the Hidden option.

In most cases, this helps, but sometimes it happens that the checkbox cannot be removed from the option, because. the hidden attribute is inactive. If so, scroll down a bit and follow the instructions.

Windows 7 or Vista

Open any folder and select "Folder and Search Options" from the Organize menu.

As in the previous example, check or uncheck the required options and click OK.

What to do if the hidden attribute of a folder is inactive

In case you cannot remove the attribute hidden folder by the above method, the code below can help you in this situation. Just copy it, paste it into notepad and save it as folder with extension .vbs instead of txt to make it folder.vbs. Then copy and paste the file to the drive you want ( USB flash drive, SD card or HDD) where you want to display hidden files and launch it with a standard double-click.

Don't forget to change "d:" to your drive letter.

‘ Reset file attributes for all folders within a specific drive
‘Change d: to the drive letter where the script will be applied
cDrive="d:"
Set FSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
ShowSubfolders FSO.GetFolder(cDrive)
WScript.Echo "Done with fix."

Sub ShowSubFolders(Folder)
str = ""
For Each Subfolder in Folder.SubFolders
str = str & » » & Subfolder.Path
subFolder.Attributes = 0
ShowSubFolders Subfolder
Next
end sub

After running the file, you should see everything hidden folders, but not files (note) as this method only applies to folders. And for files, use the following method:

  • Open the Run dialog box, type cmd and press Enter.
  • Enter your drive letter, for example d: and press Enter.
  • Then enter the following command:

attrib d:\*.* /d /s -h -r -s

Now, all hidden files should show up.

These are folders that have the Hidden attribute set. Typically, folders with this attribute are not displayed in Explorer. In order for hidden folders to start showing, you need to make changes to the operating system settings. In this article, you will learn how to show hidden folders in Windows 7.

In order to force the Windows 7 operating system to show hidden folders, we need to open any folder and press the ALT button on the keyboard.

After clicking on ALT key, a series of drop-down menus will appear below the address bar: File, Edit, View, Tools, and Help. Here we need to open the "Tools" drop-down menu and select the "Folder Options" item.

After that, a small window called "Folder Options" will open in front of you. In this window, you can configure all the basic settings that relate to the display of folders, files and drives in Windows Explorer 7.

It should be noted that if you are unable to open the "Folder Options" window through the drop-down menu, then you can use the search in . To do this, open the start menu and type "Folder Options". After that, the operating Windows system 7 will find desired program and offer to open it.

So, you have opened the "Folder Options" window, in order to show hidden folders in Windows 7, you need to go to the "View" tab and find the options that are responsible for showing hidden folders.

You need two parameters:

  • "Hide protected system files" - it must be disabled;
  • "Show hidden files, folders and drives" - you need to enable it.

After making changes, close the window by clicking on the “OK” button in order to save the changes. After that, you will be able to see hidden folders and files. Now, if there is such a need, you can remove the "Hidden" attribute and the folder will become normal. To do this, right-click on the folder and select "Properties". After that, turn off the "Hidden" feature and close the window.