operating room windows system allows a huge variety of actions related to technical processes. Today we will talk about hiding folders and files on your computer. About why this is done and how to find them.
Let's start with the fact that in some cases hiding certain documents provided by the developers of this system. Default some important elements are hidden so that the user cannot accidentally delete and to harm normal functioning systems. Sometimes users hide them to hide personal data from prying eyes or simply important information. In any case, sometimes it becomes necessary to find them, let's look at how to do this.
Display folders in Windows 7
First you need to find the label " My computer", in the window that opens, select the menu item" streamline"by opening this menu, click on the section " Folder and search options» and click the left mouse button.
After that a new window will open. You need to go to the section View", scroll through the menu to the very bottom, where to find the item" Hidden files and folders". Then just switch to the item where the hidden files will be shown, apply and click " OK«. 
All non-displayed documents will be displayed after this operation. They will stand out in a slightly dimmer color. 
Hidden Folders in Windows 8
A similar operation must be repeated in Windows 8. First, you should open the same shortcut " My computer", and then find the checkmark at the top and open an additional section if it is not open by default. 
In the menu that opens, select " View» and click on the icon « Options« 
In the window that appears, repeat the same steps as in the previous algorithm, and you can also uncheck the box “ Hide protected system files"if you need it for specific purpose. After that, all undisplayed folders will become visible, but differ in color. 
Display in Windows 10
The actions are exactly the same as in Windows 8, all sections and items are saved in their places, so it is unnecessary to paint.
Show hidden folders in Total Commander
Much easier, in my opinion, to display hidden documents with third party program, for example, Total Commander. In the program find in top panel chapter " Configuration". In it, select the item " Setting«. 
In the menu that opens, select the subsection " Panel content"and then just check the boxes" Show hidden files
' and, if necessary, ' Show system files«. 
Apply and click OK". All documents are displayed, which is what we wanted.
It is worth mentioning that developers do not just hide system elements. Removing, modifying or damaging them may result in crash and errors in the system, so they should be treated with particular care and caution. If you are trying to find hidden files on someone else's computer, there is a question of morality. The user hid these files for a reason, which means that it is wrong to watch them - respect the privacy of everyone.
As you know, Windows is configured by default so that some of the folders are hidden from the user's eyes. As a rule, these are folders containing various service files. Since all users have different operating systems (hereinafter referred to as OS) installed on their computers, we will consider this process from the very beginning - from the search for information. Consider, using the example of Windows7, the process of finding such folders. In an article, the figures usually do not show the entire page, but only its necessary part - so that it can be seen better.
First we need Windows Help. In all operating systems, it is located in different places but is always visible. It is usually located in the Start menu:
Click to open the Help page:
Fig.2
At the top is a search box. We enter our query "Hidden folders" there and press the "Search in Help" button (magnifying glass icon, right arrow). The results page opens.
You can read the information presented there, or you can return to it later. We need to make the hidden folder visible, and for this we need to change its properties. Click on the line "Change folder properties", the page of the same name opens:
If we now click on the line "Click here ..." (shown by an arrow), then we will have a dialog box:
We need the "View" tab (located at the top, shown by the arrow). Let's click on it:
We need to work in the window " Extra options". We lower the scrollbar slider down and see the settings we are interested in:
We need to click on the radio button (circle) “Show hidden files, folders and drives” and the “Apply” button will immediately activate (it will become bright, compare with the following figure):
Fig.8
Click on the "Apply" button, it will again become inactive. Now you need to click on the OK button.
Fig.9
If you now look at the liver of the folders located in the User folder, you will see that we have new folders, for example, AppData, which are shown more pale than others - this indicates that the folder was previously hidden. If you click on it, you will see all its contents, i.e. it behaves like a regular folder.
Now in this folder you can find desired folders and files and work with them.
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The Windows operating system supports the function of hiding objects on the computer. Thanks to this feature, developers hide system files, thereby protecting them from accidental deletion. In addition, hiding elements from prying eyes is available and ordinary user. Next, we will take a closer look at the process of finding hidden folders on a computer.
There are two ways to find hidden folders on a computer - manually or using special program. The first is suitable for those users who know exactly which folder they need to find, and the second - when you need to view absolutely all the hidden libraries. Let's take a look at each of them in detail.
Method 1: Find Hidden
Find Hidden's functionality focuses specifically on finding hidden files, folders, and drives. It has a simple interface and even an inexperienced user will understand the controls. To find the information you need, you only need to follow a few steps:
Now you can go to the place where the folder is located, edit it, delete it and perform other manipulations.
It is worth noting that the removal of hidden system files or folders can cause system crashes or stop Windows completely.
Method 2: Hidden File Finder
Hidden File Finder not only allows you to find hidden folders and files on the entire computer, but also, being in the on state, constantly conducts scan hard disk for threats disguised as hidden documents. The search for hidden folders in this program is carried out as follows:
Method 3: Everything
When you want to perform an advanced search for hidden folders using certain filters, then it is best to suitable program everything. Its functionality is focused specifically on this process, and setting up a scan and running it is done in just a few steps:
Method 4: Search manually
Windows allows the administrator to access all hidden folders, but you will have to find them yourself. Performed this process It's not difficult, you only need to follow a few steps:
It remains only to search for the necessary information on the computer. It is not necessary to view all sections for this. hard drive. The easiest way is to use the built-in search function:
Unfortunately, this method only suitable if the user knows the name, size, or modification date of the hidden folder. If this information is not available, it will take a lot of time to manually look through each place on the computer, it will be much easier to search through a special program.
Finding hidden folders on a computer is not difficult, the user only needs to follow a few steps to get necessary information. Special programs simplify this process even more and allow you to complete it much faster.
The Windows operating system supports the so-called hiding of folders and files. This was done for several reasons. First, in this way the manufacturer operating system hides important system files that the user can inadvertently delete. And secondly, with the help of this function, the user himself can hide the files he needs from prying eyes. In general, the function is very convenient and very popular.
Suppose you are using a relative's PC who, for example, hid photos from you, and you would really like to see them. And you know for sure that they are on the computer, but, having reviewed all the folders, they could not find the photos. It is possible that they are in one of the hidden folders. Let's try to find her.
Option number 1
Using the first method, we can open files and folders hidden for viewing. This is easy to do, it will take you literally a minute of your time. I will show an example on Windows 7.
We are looking for the shortcut "Computer" on the desktop or in the "Start" menu and click on it. A window will open in front of you. In its upper left part there is a menu item called "Organize". Click on it, then select "Folder and Search Options". Click on the last one.
You will now see a new window in front of you called Folder Options.
Switch to the "View" tab, and then scroll to the very bottom of the menu. Here you will see the subsection "Hidden files and folders". Check the box next to Show hidden files, folders, and drives. Be sure to click Apply or OK to save your changes.
After this procedure, all hidden files and folders will become visible. How to distinguish them? They will be slightly less bright than the rest of the files.
Option number 2
You can use a little more in a simple way. For this you will need file manager, for example, the well-known Total Commander. Launch the application. At the top of it, you will see a menu. Select "Configuration" - "Settings". A window with program settings will appear. Here, select the Panel Contents tab and check the box next to Show hidden/system files, then click OK.
Now you can navigate through the disks with Total Commander and find hidden materials.
By the way, there is an option to open hidden folders and files using, but I believe that this method is not necessary for the average user. In addition, when working with the registry, it is easy to break such firewood that after changing it, the system may not start at all.
Searching
So, now all folders and files are open, which means that you can start searching. This is quite problematic for the sole reason that no one can tell where to look. Well, if there are only a few folders on the disk, and one of them turns out to be the one you need. But if there are a great many files, then you will have to review everything that was once hidden with your hands (remember that such folders and files stand out with their less bright shade).
If you are looking for, say, photographs, you can try using the disk search. To do this, type in the search bar.jpg (in this case, this is the file format) and press the Enter key.
The system will show all files with such an extension that are on the disk. There may be a lot of them, but among them, it is quite possible that there will be exactly the photos that you are looking for. Good luck in your search.
Everything hidden sooner or later becomes clear. If you have a suspicion that someone is hiding something from you on your computer, then you can try to find the cache. Most often, users hide folders or files containing various information from prying eyes. How to find a hidden folder on a computer? For example, once, under the guise of working files, a forbidden video was planted in one of the distant folders. And then they also tried to accuse him of recording there. Military "fathers-commanders" indulge in similar pranks.
First, consider what a hidden folder is. A hidden folder (or directory or container) is a folder that, like any explicit one, is present on the hard drive (or other drive), but at the same time has the "Hidden" attribute. When simply viewing files, this directory is not visible to the user, which means that its contents are “inaccessible” to an outside observer, and he cannot see its presence in the directory.
There are several ways to see a hidden folder with its contents, we will consider the most common of them in order from simple to complex.
Method one
A simple hidden folder. In order to see hidden folders and files on your computer's hard drive, you need to follow a few steps.
Hidden files and folders will now be displayed in the directory, but will have a transparent icon, making it easy to distinguish from the rest. The disadvantage of this method, perhaps, is the need to know exactly the location of the hidden files, which is not always possible, the user can hide his data deep enough, otherwise you will have to spend a lot of time to find the data of interest.
Method two
We use search. By Windows default does not search for hidden folders and files, but here you can find a way out. In order for hidden files and folders to be displayed during the search, you must enable the display of hidden files and directories, following the instructions described in the first method, and then search. Compared to simple browsing, searching for folders and files has a number of advantages, it is enough to know at least a little what we will be looking for.
If the names of hidden files or at least part of them are known, this can be entered in the search bar. If you know the type of files you are looking for, this will also help, just specify the type of files in the search. Hidden directories will be displayed as a transparent icon in the results. The main disadvantage of this method is the need to know something about hidden files, their content or format, or name.
Method three
For advanced. In order to make all directories and files on a disk visible (for example, on a flash drive), you can use this method. To do this, open the "Start" menu and write "Run", run the found application (Windows + R). Next, write in the line "cmd" and click "OK". Before us opens the console. Next, we write “cd” with the d key and the path to the folder where all hidden files should be opened (in our example, let it be “C:\MyDocuments”). The first command will look like this: “cd / d C:\MyDocuments”, using it, we will go to the desired directory, where we will execute the second command.
The second command looks like this: "attrib -s -h *.* /S /D". This will change the "hidden" attribute to normal for all files and folders in the desired directory. This method should be used with caution and, as described above, only by knowledgeable users, as changes made to the system may become irreversible. The method is not simple and if you want the user hiding the data not to suspect anything, then you will need to do the reverse procedure for hiding the folder.
The methods described above will allow you to find hidden files or directories if the user has not restricted access to them, otherwise it will hardly be easy to view their contents. The most important thing to remember when carrying out operations with files is not to touch those files whose purpose you are not sure. Changing system files can lead to the operating system as a whole not working.
And finally, if one login is used to enter the system, you can not bother searching for hidden files and folders, just view the recent documents that the previous user worked with. To do this, in the Start menu (Windows + F), enter "Recent Places" and you can see those directories that the user has recently visited. Under Windows 10, you need to go to the explorer and search within the entire computer. There will be two labels:
- recent documents.
- Recently used folders.
But there are no hidden objects here. Therefore, you must first change the attributes, and then search.
