How to Show Hidden Files on Windows PC

Many people asked how to see hidden files or folders on my PC. For some reason, they want to know whether there are some ones they need among all the hidden files or check out the hidden system-related files. Whatever your purposes are, here are the 8 ways to show hidden files in Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7, even if they're deleted.

Table of contents

Reasons Why Files are Hidden in Windows PC

Types of Hidden Files and Folders

How to Show Hidden Files in Windows 11/10/8/7

How to Recover Hidden Files in Windows PC

Potential Risks and Precautions for Modifying Hidden Files/Folders

Conclusion

Reasons Why Files are Hidden in Windows PC

Files in your systems are hidden for specific reasons; some of the important ones are:

1. Own negligence or carelessness: Changed the properties of the files when editing them or using file management software.
2. System or program protection: They will hide some critical files or folders to prevent inexperienced individuals from accidentally deleting or modifying them. Any operation on this data may cause the Windows system to crash, the computer to become unbootable, and software programs to stop workable.
3. Organized disk interface: It helps reduce clutter by hiding files in the hard drive rather than the PC’s workspace for clean and organized records.
4. Security of confidential information: It helps maintain the transparency of confidential and sensitive information within the files in the hiding option for security purposes.

Types of Hidden Files and Folders

1. Microsoft Windows system-related data and applications. This type of file is hidden from users by default because it prevents them from deleting or changing it by mistake. Any operation on this data may cause the Windows system to crash, the computer to become unbootable, and software programs to stop workable.
2. Other users' files. If another user or users use your computer, they may hide files from letting you know.
3. Malware files. Some malware files and folders are hidden from you, and you don't realize it until an anti-virus scans your computer and finds them.
4. Your deleted or lost files, including photos, documents, videos, etc. Though you moved them to the trash bin and emptied the trash bin, they are still there. Or you lost files and folders due to incidents, and you can't see them anywhere on your computer or external hard drive.

For types 1 and 2, you can view hidden files and folders using File Explorer, Appearance and Personalization, Command Line, Registry Settings, and more. For type 3, to see hidden files, you need the help of an anti-virus program. For type 4, to reveal hidden files, a data recovery software tool is needed. Let's check the details.

How to Show Hidden Files in Windows 11/10/8/7

Method #1. Using File Explorer

Though after Microsoft released Windows 11, there are some specific changes in the interface compared to the older versions. But anyway, the following steps will help you display hidden files through File Explorer.

Unhide Files in Windows 11

1. Press the "Win" and "E" keys to bring out File Explorer, or you can just go to the folder where you think there will be hidden files.
2. Select "View" > "Show" at the top menu.
3. Check if the "Hidden items" option is selected. If not, please click on it to enable hidden files.

After the system refreshes, you will see files or folders with semi-transparent icons, which are the ones that were previously hidden.

Show Hidden Folders/Files in Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Click the "View" tab to show all options. From there, you can see the "Hidden items". Tick it. After that, you can see the hidden files displayed if there are any.

Display Hidden Files in Windows 7

1. Double-click the "Computer" or "My Computer" icon on the desktop to open your File Explorer.
2. In the menu bar, find "Organize" and click it. Then, select "Folder and search options" in the drop-down menu.
3. Click the "View" tab in the newly opened window.
4. In the "Advanced Settings" list, find the "Hidden files and folders" option and select "Show hidden files, folders, and drives."
5. Click the "OK" button. After that, the system will display all hidden files and folders.

Method #2. Through Appearance and Personalization

As the name implies, Appearance and Personalization allow users to customize the appearance of their PCs, the way files are displayed, and the keyboard according to their preferences. It is also helpful for enabling hidden files on Windows PCs. Here is how:

1. Press the "Windows + R" keys at the same time, then type in "Control Panel" and press Enter.
2. Click "Appearance and Personalization," then find "File Explorer Options" on the right side of the page. Click "Show hidden files and folders."
3. In the newly opened window, click the Radio button in front of the "Show hidden files, folders, and drives."
4. Last, click "OK."

Method #3. Using the Command Prompt

Command prompt easily helps to show the hidden files in Windows 11/10/8/7. Just follow these steps:

1. Type "cmd" in the search bar at the bottom of the Windows PC and press Enter.
2. Give the following commands.

   cd /d [path], the location where you think the hidden items exist, such as "K:\videos."

   dir /ah

Method #4. Use the "For Developers" Option

In order to make it easy for technicians to debug systems and programs, Microsoft has allowed many features in "For Developers" in Windows 11 and later versions. And one of them is "Show hidden and system files." After enabling it, you can see all the files hidden by the system. Here are the steps.

1. Click the Start icon in the taskbar and select "Settings" in the pop-up menu.
2. Select "System" in the sidebar, then find the "For Developers" option in the list on the right and click it.
3. Click "File Explorer," then swipe to enable "Show hidden and system files" in the expanded list.

Though it's the same Windows version, the developer settings differ from different branded Windows PCs. Anyway, you can always find similar options for "show hidden items." Just a little bit of patience, and you will find it.

Method #5. Change Registry Settings

For users who are familiar with registry editing, they can also modify system settings to display hidden files.

1. Press "Win" + "R" to open the "Run" dialog box.
2. Enter "regedit" and click "OK."
3. Copy the following path to the location shown in the screenshot and press Enter.

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

4. In the right window, find "ShowSuperHidden" and double-click it. Change the value to 1 in the pop-up dialog box. It means that the option "show hidden files" will be enabled.
5. Click "OK" and restart your computer to save the change and let it take effect.

Method #6. Directly Access Hidden Folders via the Address Bar

If you know the exact location of the hidden folder, you can directly enter the path in the address bar to view the folder. For example, if it is located in a directory in the C drive, you can enter "C:\path\hidden folder name" in the File Explorer address bar and press Enter.

Method #7. Using Address Bar

Some files that were infected with viruses and have security issues will be managed by anti-virus software. And sometimes, the anti-virus software even hides them from you, preventing any security problems. Here are the steps for unhiding virus-infected files.

1. Install the antivirus software on your PC or open the installed one.
2. Select the Scan option for file scanning.
3. Go for the option of a full system scan to analyze all files.
4. The software will scan and highlight the viruses and suspicious or hidden files.
5. If files are full of threats, you can delete them or take them back to a new folder.

How to Recover Hidden Files in Windows PC

There are a lot of times when we don't want our personal files to be discovered or opened by someone else. So, we keep those files hidden on the computer so that only the administrator can open them when needed. But what if some of those hidden files are accidentally deleted or cannot be found somehow? Will you start to panic or try to find an effective solution? Here in the following, we will take iBeesoft Data Recovery software as an example to show how to reveal hidden files.

1. Download and install iBeesoft Data Recovery on your computer. It's compatible with the majority of Windows PCs.
2. Open it. From the main window, you can set up the filters to look for specific file types quickly.
3. Select the hard drive where you would like to show hidden files and folders. Next, click "Scan" to let the program scan the hard drive, looking for all hidden files for you.
4. In the result window, you can expand the directory in the left panel to show all found files. From the right side, you can preview all the found files.
5. Select the hidden files and click "Recover" to save them on your computer.

Potential Risks and Precautions for Modifying Hidden Files/Folders

The modification of hidden files and folders can be quite risky, since the following reasons may cause you to be unable to do it safely:

Potential Risks

• ⁉️ Uncertainty of system: When you modify the hidden files it leads to a crash and does not allow the operating system to boot properly.
• 😱 Loss of information: If you do not have the proper backup of your data, then modifying it will cause permanent loss of data.
• ⛑️ Accountability of security: Many of your files contain confidential information that can be leaked due to modifying these files.
• ♻️ Recovery challenges: Making an appropriate modification is important because if you do not, your file can face recovery challenges, and you will lose it permanently.

Precautions from Risks

• 🎏 Built powerful backups: You can use various tools to create a strong backup of your data and files before performing modifications.
• 📑 Record replacements: Record every replacement you perform in each hidden file to prevent accidental changes that were not required.
• ✅ Valid purpose before modifying: Undertake the solid purple before changing and modifying the files, because it can lead to accidental consequences.
• 🛟 Use a secure method: You can use safe mode while modifying your hidden files because it allows you to run the basic version of Windows to prevent the PC from booting ordinarily.

Conclusion

In short, showing hidden files in Windows is as simple as opening the book, but there are certain reasons for which files are being hidden; for example, if you keep sensitive files hidden, you prevent them from being irreparably damaged and deleted, and you can organize and secure sensitive information with the help of the hide feature. Finally, regardless of the methods you choose to unhide files on Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7, do not modify hidden files arbitrarily.