How to Unhide Hidden Files in Windows 7

November 25, 2021

How to show hidden files in Windows 7

February 1, 2009
Read 3,722,171 times

Windows 7 hides certain files so that they are not able to be seen when you exploring the files on your computer. The files it hides are typically Windows 7 System files that if tampered with could cause problems with the proper operation of the computer. It is possible, though, for a user or piece of software to set make a file hidden by enabling the hidden attribute in a particular file or folder's properties. Due to this it can be beneficial at times to be able to see any hidden files that may be on your computer. This tutorial will explain how to show all hidden files in Windows 7.

To enable the viewing of hidden and protected system files in Windows 7 please follow these steps:

Close all programs so that you are at your desktop.
Click on the Start button. This is the small round button () in the lower left corner of your screen that has a Windows flag on it.
Click on the Control Panel menu option.
When the control panel opens you will see a screen similar to Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Windows 7 Control Panel
Click on the Appearance and Personalization link.
You will now be in the Appearance and Personalization control panel as shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2. Windows 7 Appearance and Personalization screen

Now click on the Show hidden files and folders option as shown by the red arrow in Figure 2 above.
Under the Hidden files and folders section select the radio button labeled Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide extensions for known file types.
Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).
Once this is done, your Folder Options screen should look similar to the following image.

Figure 3. Folder Options screen
Press the Apply button and then the OK button.

You will now be at your desktop and Windows 7 will be configured to show all hidden files.

If you have any questions about this tutorial please feel free to post them in our Windows 7 forums.

Users who read this also read:

How to see hidden files in Windows

By default Windows hides certain files from being seen with Windows Explorer or My Computer. This is done to protect these files, which are usually system files, from accidentally being modified or deleted by the user. Unfortunately viruses, spyware, and hijackers often hide there files in this way making it hard to find them and then delete them.
How to remove a Trojan, Virus, Worm, or other Malware

If you use a computer, read the newspaper, or watch the news, you will know about computer viruses or other malware. These are those malicious programs that once they infect your machine will start causing havoc on your computer. What many people do not know is that there are many different types of infections that are categorized in the general category of Malware.
How to see hidden files in Windows 8

Windows 8 hides certain files so that you are not able to view them while exploring the files and folders on your computer. Windows has two types of files that Windows will classify as hidden and hide from the user. The first type are actually hidden files, which are ones that are given the +H attribute or specified as Hidden in a file or folder's properties. The second type of file are System ...
How to create a new user account in Windows 7 and Windows Vista

Windows 7 allows you to have multiple users sharing the same computer under their own individual accounts. This allows each individual user to have their own location on the computer where they can store their personal documents, pictures, videos, saved games, and other personal data. This also allows the owner of the computer to assign certain accounts the ability to perform administrative tasks ...
How to start Windows in Safe Mode

Windows Safe Mode is a way of booting up your Windows operating system in order to run administrative and diagnostic tasks on your installation. When you boot into Safe Mode the operating system only loads the bare minimum of software that is required for the operating system to work. This mode of operating is designed to let you troubleshoot and run diagnostics on your computer. Windows Safe Mode ...