Home > Windows > Show Hidden Files and Folders not working?

Show Hidden Files and Folders not working?

December 10, 2007 Leave a comment Go to comments

A few days back, a client came to me and told me that he was having trouble with his Windows XP. The show hidden files and folders was not working at all. If he selected the radio button “Show hidden files and folders”, and then press Ok .. the changes would just disappear upon opening the dialog again. It was probably some virus attack after which the Windows registry was not being updated properly. So here is what I did to restore it back.

Go to registry editor by running regedit in the run box.
Go to this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

In the right hand area, double click hidden and change the value to 1.

Now you’re all set to go. Check it in your tools menu if the changes have taken effect. Mine have already been fixed :-). Please spare a few moments from your precious time and tell us about your experiences.

Categories: Windows
  1. Saad
    May 16, 2008 at 7:45 pm
    Reply

    Still i am unable to get the hidden folders

    • john
      September 19, 2009 at 3:11 am
      Reply

      i don’t know what specific data im goin to input T_T

  2. Khats
    May 25, 2008 at 12:24 pm
    Reply

    Thank you very much Iam able to show the hidden file but in the tools-folder option it cant be the default show hidden file or hide files it will ne unkown (not marked).

    thanks again

  3. Vicky
    May 27, 2008 at 10:13 am
    Reply

    I tried changing the value in regedit, it worked for 1st time… But now its not working even after changing the value many times. But i noticed that for 1st time the radio button was not selected on neither of the options…
    Any i get any other solution for this “Show Hidden Files and Folders” problem.

  4. suresh kumar
    May 28, 2008 at 12:11 pm
    Reply

    Still i am unable to get the hidden folders

  5. Satish
    May 29, 2008 at 7:04 am
    Reply

    I am facing exactly the same problem, but this solution didn’t worked…

    Pls help.

    Thanks
    Satish

  6. Satish
    May 29, 2008 at 7:16 am
    Reply

    Just for the benefit of other, I tried below solution and it worked:

    1. Go to Start –> Run, then type Regedit
    2. Navigate to the registry folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
    CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL
    3. Find a key called CheckedValue.
    4. Double Click CheckedValue key and modify it to 1. This is to show all the hidden files.

    Now you should be able to view all the hidden files…

    Anyway, Thanks for guidance and help.

    • pinoy_charles
      April 28, 2009 at 4:15 am
      Reply

      I tried your solution and it worked for me, thanks. Do you know how to remove virus through cmd?

    • dinnu
      May 3, 2009 at 8:41 am
      Reply

      hey, thanx a lot. But i have a problem i am unable to open my local drives. It is asking to “choose a program to open this file”. please help me.

      thanx in advance….

      • Yossi Kanner
        July 23, 2009 at 9:06 pm

        right-click the drive and click Explore.
        It does not resolve the problem but it will give you access to the files there

      • Lokesh_india
        October 2, 2009 at 10:10 am

        choose program to open this file,
        Which program?
        choose c:\windows\explorer.exe and your problem will be solved. Click – always use this progem to opebn the file.

  7. yuki
    May 30, 2008 at 7:51 am
    Reply

    I tried this but it’s still the same.
    Please, is there any other way to fix this problem?

  8. Shubham
    May 30, 2008 at 2:26 pm
    Reply

    well this trick worked perfectly fine for me
    and i am very grateful for this
    I just wanted to say THanksssssssssssssssss!!!!!!

  9. ankit tyagi
    May 30, 2008 at 6:43 pm
    Reply

    not working for me either .. the radio button is is unselected for the both options.

  10. reymon
    June 2, 2008 at 5:31 am
    Reply

    still not working well…its just the same.. i can click the hidden or hide and then apply

    but then again it doesnt work.. when i open again the folder option it just keep returning on the default mode..

  11. Manny
    June 3, 2008 at 9:15 pm
    Reply

    Thanks, it works just fine! However I´m still curios about the root cause, regardless the version or the service pack level, even no having no polices in place.

  12. Subha
    June 4, 2008 at 6:42 pm
    Reply

    I changed the value in register, the value changed and the solution worked for only the first time, from then onwards it never worked…the value goes to 0 no matter how many times i change it to 1…

  13. yuki
    June 9, 2008 at 4:36 am
    Reply

    I just found another way to enable the show hidden files, since the steps above don’t work for me.
    So here it is, just in case anyone’s interested.

    1. Go to Start –> Run,
    2. Type Regedit
    3. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
    Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL
    4. In the right pane, look for “CheckedValue” and change the value to 1
    5. Also look for “DefaultValue” and change the value to 2

    I tried this and it worked.

  14. Anonymous
    July 27, 2008 at 9:44 pm
    Reply

    Thanks dude i tried and it works but i have a new problem now. My hidden files and folder is mess up, when i click do not show hidden files and folder, the hidden folders would be unhidden and when i click on show hidden files and folder and the folder would be hidden. So what should i do ? Thanks for the help

  15. Senthil
    August 1, 2008 at 11:44 pm
    Reply

    Thanks guys, its really useful tips for me………..

  16. Aybuk
    August 2, 2008 at 9:44 am
    Reply

    If you dont clear virus no vay to change value

  17. Aybuk
    August 2, 2008 at 9:45 am
    Reply

    Please help how we can remove virus
    Thanks

  18. Shaik rizwan
    August 4, 2008 at 4:22 pm
    Reply

    It didn’t work for me

  19. aaron
    August 12, 2008 at 3:42 am
    Reply

    Below is much working than the first one stated above. This is from Satish…
    Thanks a lot Satish

    Just for the benefit of other, I tried below solution and it worked:

    1. Go to Start –> Run, then type Regedit
    2. Navigate to the registry folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
    CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL
    3. Find a key called CheckedValue.
    4. Double Click CheckedValue key and modify it to 1. This is to show all the hidden files.

    Now you should be able to view all the hidden files…

    Anyway, Thanks for guidance and help.

    Comment by Satish — May 29, 2008 @ 7:16 am

  20. aaron
    August 12, 2008 at 3:45 am
    Reply

    to Aybuk.. my boss is using some program to delete the virus.. commonly it is the autorun.inf, BPU.exe, and sometimes included the UT.com.. u can check via command prompt, hoping u know how to use cmd prompt.. ..tnx

  21. Mitu
    August 12, 2008 at 1:21 pm
    Reply

    Comment 13 by yuki worked for me. Thanks yuki! Thank you all!

  22. ZEE
    August 13, 2008 at 4:40 am
    Reply

    DUDES
    Thanks A lot To both the solution providers.

    the 2nd solution worked for me

  23. VERNA
    August 13, 2008 at 7:36 am
    Reply

    hi I have tried all but have no luck. its not working in my laptop, what are the possible reason. please email me or chat. verna_57@yahoo.com

  24. umesh
    August 15, 2008 at 5:40 am
    Reply

    hi
    i have tried all the solutions but 😦 still it is not showing me hidden files 😦
    please help !!

  25. Rachelle
    August 24, 2008 at 7:13 am
    Reply

    I tried the first version, didnt word, but the second one did.

    Thanks a mill!!

  26. haveit
    August 24, 2008 at 9:54 am
    Reply

    thanx a lot it works fine. now my lap. is working fine
    thanx a lot

  27. Raghavendra Varma
    August 25, 2008 at 1:24 am
    Reply

    Hi This Is Raghavendra Varma (video Editor)
    I Have Tried the Solution But Still It’s Not Showing Hidden Files, Please Help Me By Give Suggest.

  28. Moiz
    August 25, 2008 at 3:19 am
    Reply

    Thanks a lot guys.
    It worked for me. Keep up the good work.

  29. rana
    August 27, 2008 at 9:16 pm
    Reply
  30. Prasanth
    September 9, 2008 at 12:59 pm
    Reply

    thank u very much this worked for me n i am out of that problem.

  31. jaffer
    September 18, 2008 at 7:00 am
    Reply

    sir/mam,
    my pc working in windows xp professional, suddenly windows explorer in search (files &folder option)not visible in files & folder search,how to get this can u help me…
    by
    jaffer

  32. satish.mmiyyapuram
    October 15, 2008 at 6:33 am
    Reply

    very good help

  33. Pratik
    October 20, 2008 at 6:55 am
    Reply

    Thanks…
    It worked perfectly…

  34. Prasenjit Ghosh
    October 21, 2008 at 7:20 am
    Reply

    my pc working in windows xp professional, suddenly windows explorer in search (files &folder option)not visible in files & folder search,how to get this? can u help me…
    is it virus problem?

  35. fishy
    October 23, 2008 at 12:10 am
    Reply

    this worked, i had to do both in order to be able to see the file, ( i couldn’t edit it, but i changed the properties of the hidden file i had lost to non-hidden so now im able to see it again… for now i can also see any other hidden files.

  36. Willy
    October 24, 2008 at 3:00 am
    Reply

    Thanks a lot satish,i tried editing registry and its work …thanks again …..

  37. Ganesh
    October 25, 2008 at 9:32 am
    Reply

    I tried the 2nd one but the CheckedValue is not changing to 1.

    Should I restart.

  38. kannan
    October 31, 2008 at 6:39 am
    Reply

    thanks,
    still i’am facing that problem in regestry editer also. regestry editer value automaticaly go to ‘0’

  39. kannan
    October 31, 2008 at 6:46 am
    Reply

    1. Go to Start –> Run, then type Regedit
    2. Navigate to the registry folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
    CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL
    3. Find a key called CheckedValue.
    4. Double Click CheckedValue key and modify it to 1. This is to show all the hidden files.

    Now you should be able to view all the hidden files…

    Anyway, Thanks for guidance and help.

  40. Ravi
    November 4, 2008 at 9:12 am
    Reply

    thank man great work ..thankss..

  41. mansi
    November 8, 2008 at 3:30 am
    Reply

    heyyy thx soo much……….i was breaking my head for over 1 hour on this issue…i wished i had checked the second message on google first………neways thx for ur valuable help

  42. Irfan
    November 8, 2008 at 7:27 pm
    Reply

    Satish, I also want to say thanks.

    Irfan

  43. ayhan genc
    November 10, 2008 at 10:26 pm
    Reply

    hi folks,

    the second solution worked fine.
    one small notice: clean the viruses first.

    thanks everyone

    ayhg

  44. Euse
    November 13, 2008 at 10:48 am
    Reply

    Hi PPL try dis it worked

    1. Go to Start –> Run, then type Regedit
    2. Navigate to the registry folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
    CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL
    3. Find a key called CheckedValue.
    4. Double Click CheckedValue key and modify it to 1. This is to show all the hidden files.

    Now you should be able to view all the hidden files…

  45. saurabh sibal
    November 20, 2008 at 3:13 pm
    Reply

    not working after changing the check value also please help me great man.
    thanking you
    saurabh sibal
    please mail the Ans to my email:- sibalsaurabh@gmail.com

  46. satish
    December 3, 2008 at 5:27 am
    Reply

    thank you very much, we done it successfully with u r help.

  47. MANSOUR
    December 17, 2008 at 11:38 am
    Reply

    Thanks for the Help..

    i have same problems and i have tried all the above, but all of them are not working!!

    So, kindly: if you have other solution for me 🙂

    Cheers

  48. maselguart
    December 23, 2008 at 9:29 am
    Reply

    thanks….. satish your the best!!! i tried it and it works!!!

  49. jont
    December 24, 2008 at 8:32 am
    Reply

    i still cannot open hidden folder .. each steps that you all give cannot solve the problem

  50. G.P. Sharma
    December 24, 2008 at 5:40 pm
    Reply

    Dear Sir/Ma’am,
    The technic posted here to correct the not working show hidden files & foleders is really useful for the people using computers with partial knowledge.

    I am really thankful to to those who posted these guidelines. It really worked. I could find my hidden folders & files after completing this process.

    Thanks & Regards

  51. Shehan
    December 28, 2008 at 7:02 am
    Reply

    thanks a lot. it was simple and amazing. it worked.. thanks again

  52. Narayan
    January 1, 2009 at 7:00 am
    Reply

    oh it’s not working

  53. naveen
    January 2, 2009 at 2:28 pm
    Reply

    its fixed….thanks

  54. ruriko
    January 11, 2009 at 5:13 am
    Reply

    I’ve tried it all, and still nothing happened.i still cannot view the hidden files..i even downloaded a good anti virus but the files still won’t show up. Do I have to reformat my laptop? but the hidden files are important. Kindly send a response on my e-mail address. Thank you.

  55. jovelmar
    January 13, 2009 at 4:59 am
    Reply

    Hi !!!

    THANKS FOR THE HELP !

    i FOUND THE HiDDEN FILES

  56. sharath
    January 15, 2009 at 8:40 am
    Reply

    even i had appled all chnges wat u people told but stil same no chng in hidden files
    can u plss help me

  57. Z
    January 20, 2009 at 10:07 pm
    Reply

    Thank You saved me!!

  58. Juergen Buche
    January 30, 2009 at 11:13 pm
    Reply

    Great help!
    This fixed my “invisible system files” perfectly!
    Many thanks!

    J.

  59. Prashant N Parab
    February 2, 2009 at 1:55 pm
    Reply

    Thank you so much. it worked. i m your fan/ Student

  60. shaik suhail
    February 5, 2009 at 4:25 am
    Reply

    till now my problem is not solved but its good to have this

  61. naveen
    February 7, 2009 at 1:49 pm
    Reply

    successfull.cheers dear

  62. shouishiro
    February 8, 2009 at 6:21 am
    Reply

    man this sux… it turn like opposite on the option :D.. i messed up my hidden files option.. hehe 😀

  63. Sugesh
    February 8, 2009 at 7:50 pm
    Reply

    This problem still exists in my system. stil same no chng in hidden files

    can u pls help me

  64. venu
    February 13, 2009 at 8:13 am
    Reply

    Thank You very much for the solution give above. Now its working fine.

  65. rakesh
    February 13, 2009 at 1:15 pm
    Reply

    Thanks Satish and Yuki, well I have tried both and the solutions offered by you and know wat?? it did the trick.
    Thanks a bunchhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

  66. sandeep
    February 14, 2009 at 3:43 pm
    Reply

    Thanks a lot friend…
    Cheers

  67. FAS7BLAS7
    February 16, 2009 at 6:01 pm
    Reply

    WRKS PERFECT!

  68. Scot
    February 17, 2009 at 5:55 pm
    Reply

    Didnt work for me either. It keeps defaulting to DO NOT SHOW HIDDEN FILES.

  69. shyam
    February 18, 2009 at 7:00 pm
    Reply

    sir the solution u mentioned has not worked but instead the solution mentioned by satish worked i.e going to Hkey_local_machine is working.
    thank u satish.

  70. Suhail
    February 21, 2009 at 4:53 am
    Reply

    i dnt hav any subfolder under “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\” as u explained ealier about the registry editing .please help

  71. masari
    February 22, 2009 at 7:36 am
    Reply

    all thanks for you Satish

    my proplem feixed all file and folder show

    GREETING

  72. james watson
    February 22, 2009 at 9:20 am
    Reply

    Just for the benefit of other, I tried below solution and it worked:

    1. Go to Start –> Run, then type Regedit
    2. Navigate to the registry folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
    CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL
    3. Find a key called CheckedValue.
    4. Double Click CheckedValue key and modify it to 1. This is to show all the hidden files.

    Now you should be able to view all the hidden files…
    thanx for help I try this and this is properly work

  73. hhguler
    February 22, 2009 at 10:23 am
    Reply

    In my case, not having a ‘Show hidden files and folders’ option in “viev tab”.
    Went to regedit SHOWALL folder and noticed that it has not a CheckedValue key in it. Is it possible to repair?

  74. Dan
    February 28, 2009 at 7:24 pm
    Reply

    Satish is king, all my hidden files are back, thank you.

  75. Ramaz
    February 28, 2009 at 11:03 pm
    Reply

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
    CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL
    3. Find a key called CheckedValue.
    4. Double Click CheckedValue key and modify it to 1.

    This version helped me. Thank you all who offered support.

  76. chooku
    March 2, 2009 at 1:19 pm
    Reply

    it didn’t work yaar

  77. viren
    March 3, 2009 at 4:56 pm
    Reply

    Thanks. Its working.

  78. shubham
    March 9, 2009 at 10:41 am
    Reply

    mine is not workin plz help me:(
    i tried all the three tricks..
    in the second trick i m not able to change the checked value to 1 neither i m able to delete that entry 😦
    tried downloading that smart virus but its also not working…
    when i double click the downloaded file it flashes and disappear:(
    please help..
    i need to check some hidden files
    god its very important…

  79. santosh
    March 9, 2009 at 12:28 pm
    Reply

    Thanks…….

  80. Chandan
    March 12, 2009 at 2:19 pm
    Reply

    thanks Satish for your nice post Show Hidden Files and Folders not working? i suucesfully show my folder in windows xp. thanks its working fine…..

  81. anu
    March 16, 2009 at 6:26 pm
    Reply

    I have hacked the radio button on(show hidden file & folders),and apply but but it will remain off(don’t show hidden file &folder). how could I overcome this problem. Is this the error occurs for effecting virus?

  82. Amer
    March 16, 2009 at 7:03 pm
    Reply

    Thanks alot Satish,it works well 🙂

  83. Dusepm Nurfauzi
    March 19, 2009 at 2:15 am
    Reply

    Just 4 word… THANK U VERY MUCH

  84. gin4a
    March 20, 2009 at 9:22 pm
    Reply

    nice, thanks!

  85. Varun
    March 23, 2009 at 10:25 am
    Reply

    Recently i have installed AVAST antivirus software in my system and after installation i performed boot scan completely and logged in. Suddenly i am unable to see all the contents present in my another drives..only 1 or 2 files and folders are shown.
    If i search the drive using search machine..i am able to see all my files in hidden…if i change the settings in the view to show hidden files those settings are not being saved and i am unable to view all my content present in that drive.
    can any one help me out in this to retrive my data back?

  86. Varun
    March 23, 2009 at 10:27 am
    Reply

    i need all my data present in those drives with out losing single file or folder.
    I have already uninstalled the antivirus software toom but still the problem is same, that i am unable to view my data..

  87. SHO
    April 5, 2009 at 2:58 am
    Reply

    hey raghupathy

    thanks for your gimmicks it worked for me very well appreciated it very much .

  88. umesh shelke
    April 8, 2009 at 8:16 am
    Reply

    thanks

  89. sunny
    April 14, 2009 at 4:48 am
    Reply

    Hi PPL try dis it worked

    1. Go to Start –> Run, then type Regedit
    2. Navigate to the registry folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
    CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL
    3. Find a key called CheckedValue.
    4. Double Click CheckedValue key and modify it to 1. This is to show all the hidden files.

    Now you should be able to view all the hidden files…

  90. Utsav
    April 17, 2009 at 2:26 am
    Reply

    Thanks!
    Help Was Very Useful…..

  91. praveen
    April 21, 2009 at 4:18 pm
    Reply

    Thank you Satish, your solution worked for me.

  92. sharath
    April 26, 2009 at 6:21 pm
    Reply

    thnx….it worked……

  93. abilash
    May 3, 2009 at 4:57 am
    Reply

    Thanks a lot its working for me

  94. Hadi
    May 12, 2009 at 6:40 am
    Reply

    I tired both of solutions and they both worked for me. But the second one is better because the first solution won’t give you the option to hide your files again unless you change the value from the registry. Thanks a lot for your help.

  95. Amin
    May 14, 2009 at 10:37 pm
    Reply

    Yeh its working for me 2 !

  96. Syed
    May 15, 2009 at 10:53 am
    Reply

    worked for me. Thanks

  97. ebda
    June 6, 2009 at 5:18 pm
    Reply

    which key is this 😦 😦 ,i dont know how to do it

  98. Narender Kumar
    July 13, 2009 at 2:15 pm
    Reply

    aapka sukriya ada karne ke liye, I just want say thankssssssssssssssssssssssssssss a lot.

  99. HEMANTH
    July 17, 2009 at 10:49 am
    Reply

    hey frnd i was banging my head 4 two days to view my hidden files but no use… finallly i tried ur trick it really worked … thanks a lot……………!

  100. PatG
    August 3, 2009 at 4:19 pm
    Reply

    Wow … nice one

  101. elemeNt
    August 12, 2009 at 3:28 am
    Reply

    Thanx man,it`s working.

  102. Diganta Nath
    August 17, 2009 at 2:25 pm
    Reply

    Thanks a lot for this sugestion.

  103. Paritosh
    August 24, 2009 at 8:17 am
    Reply

    i had tried with stipu;lated path and results have shown dramatically .

    thanks for help

  104. amber
    September 10, 2009 at 12:19 am
    Reply

    thanx 4 ur help. it’s working

  105. sandrar
    September 10, 2009 at 2:37 pm
    Reply

    Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. 🙂 Cheers! Sandra. R.

  106. buzzard
    October 7, 2009 at 7:28 pm
    Reply

    This worked and thanks.I can see my hidden files but if I modify a hidden file it just reverts back to the way it was, and I have to follow the steps again.
    Can you suggest how i can get rid of the virus or bug permanently

    Cheers

  107. buzzard
    October 7, 2009 at 7:53 pm
    Reply

    Hi me again and the second one worked
    Thanks so much

    GREAT SITE

  108. Ezhil
    October 25, 2009 at 1:08 pm
    Reply

    It worked 🙂 thanks

  109. kamesh
    January 9, 2010 at 6:18 am
    Reply

    Still i m unable to view the hidden files yaar

  110. Marius
    February 10, 2010 at 10:09 am
    Reply

    It worked. I had to close the already opened windows explorer windows. When opening a new window, the hidden files were there.
    The value in the registry was set to 2.

  111. Gurpreet Singh
    February 10, 2010 at 1:16 pm
    Reply

    still not able to open hidden files

  112. mari
    February 16, 2010 at 4:53 am
    Reply

    It worked thanks a lot. 🙂

  113. mari
    February 16, 2010 at 4:56 am
    Reply

    What interested me was disrupting that

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