How to Show Hidden Files, Folders and Drives in Windows

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After following this guide, you will be able to set Windows to show hidden files, folders and drives.

By default, Windows has these options set not to show hidden items. This is because most users are not tech savvy and working with specific files without proper knowledge can lead to problems with the system or installed programs.

I will show you two ways of doing it. First is the fastest and preferred way.

Option 1 - View Checkbox

  1. Open File Explorer

  2. Click View tab in File Explorer

    File Explorer - main window
    Windows Explorer - main window

  3. Click on File name extensions checkbox in Show/hide group

    File Explorer - View tab
    Windows Explorer - View tab

Option 2 - Folder and search options

  1. Open File Explorer

  2. Click File tab in File Explorer

    File Explorer - main window
    File Explorer - main window

  3. Click Change folder and search options

    File Explorer - File menu
    File Explorer - File menu

  4. Go to View tab

    Folder and Search Options - General tab
    Folder and Search Options - General tab

  5. Click Show hidden files, folders, and drives

    Folder and Search Options - View tab
    Folder and Search Options - View tab

  6. Confirm by clicking OK button

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