How to Show Hidden Files Windows 10 (CMD + 4 Ways) [MiniTool Tips]

Windows hide some files and folders related to the OS by default, to avoid accidental deletion or altering from users which may cause the malfunction of system. However, if you are a tech fanatic, and want to make the hidden files visible, you can try the solutions below to show hidden files Windows 10.

How to Show Hidden Files Windows 10 with CMD

You can open Command Prompt in Windows 10 to show hidden files with attrib command. Detailed steps are as follows.

Step 1. Press Windows + R, type cmd, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open elevated Command Prompt in your Windows 10 computer.

Step 2. Then you can type this command line: attrib -h -r -s /s /d E:\*.*, and hit Enter to unhide the files and folders in drive E. You should replace the drive letter with the exact drive letter of your computer. You can open This PC to check the drive letters of your computer hard drive partitions.

To help you better understand this attrib command, below is the explanation of each part of the command line.

• –h: It clears the Hidden file attribute to show hidden files.
• –r: It clears the Read-only file attribute to allow you modify the file after it shows.
• –s: It clears the System file attribute.
• /s: It applies attrib and any command-line options to matching files in the current directory and all of its subdirectories.
• /d: It applies attrib and any command-line options to directories.

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How to Show Hidden Files Windows 10 with File Explorer

You can also show hidden files in Windows 10 with File Explorer. Check how to do it.

Step 1. You can click This PC to open File Explorer on Windows 10. You should expand the menu bar in File Explorer. If you don’t see the menu bar, you can click the ^ icon at the upper-right corner of File Explorer window.

Step 2. Next you can click View tab, and tick Hidden items box in Show/Hide section. This will let you view the hidden files and folders in Windows 10.

If you need to modify more file viewing options, you can click Options.

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How to Show Hidden Files Windows 10 with Control Panel

Another way to show hidden files in Windows 10 is through Control Panel.

Step 1. To open Control Panel Windows 10, you can click the Control Panel desktop shortcut icon, or click Start, type control panel, and select Control Panel to open it.

Step 2. Next you can click Appearance and Personalization, and click File Explorer Options.

Step 3. Then you can click View tab in File Explorer Options window. Find Show hidden files, folders, and drives option under Advanced settings, tick this option and click Apply and OK to reveal hidden files and folders.

If you also want to see the hidden operating system files, you can uncheck the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) option.

How to Show Hidden Files Windows 10 with Registry

Another way to view the hidden files in Windows 10 is to use Windows Registry Editor.

Step 1. You can press Windows + R, type regedit, and hit Enter to open Registry Editor in Windows 10.

Step 2. Next click as follows to find the target registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced, and click Advanced key.

Step 3. Then you can find the Hidden REG_DWORD in the right window, double-click it, and set its data value as 1 to show hidden files, folders, and drives in Windows 10. If you don’t want to show hidden files, folders, and drives in future, you can follow the same operation to change its data value to the default 2.

You can also find the ShowSuperHidden REG_DWORD, double click it and change its data value to 1 to show protected operating system files in Windows 10. The default data value is 2 which will not show protected OS files.

How to Show Hidden Files Windows 10 with Folder Options

You can also follow the same instruction in Way 1 to open File Explorer and expand its menu bar, and click View -> Options.

Then you can click View tab in Folder Options window, and navigate Show hidden files, folders, and drives option under Advanced settings. Tick this option and click Apply and OK to show hidden files and folders in your Windows 10 computer.

>> Quick Video Guide:

Bottom Line

This post introduces 5 ways to provide a full Windows 10 show hidden files guide to you. You can try any of them to show hidden files and folders in Windows 10.

As for recovering deleted/lost files and data from your Windows 10 computer and other storage devices, you can try MiniTool Power Data Recovery, a 100% clean and free data recovery program.

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