3 Options on How to Show Hidden Folders on Windows 10, 11

How do I find hidden folders in Windows 10?

“I can’t find the folders I’ve created on my E Drive. I can ensure that I haven’t deleted them. Are they been hidden? How do I find hidden folders in Windows 10?”

Sometimes, you can’t find your files or folders on your computer because they may have been hidden. But don’t worry, there are methods for you to find hidden folders. For example, you are able to recover hidden files using the attrib command, from File Explorer, via Registry, etc.

How to show hidden folders on Windows 10, 11 [3 options]

Here in this section, we provide you with 3 options on how to show hidden folders on Windows 10, 11.

Option 1. Show hidden folders from File Explorer

Step 1. Right-click Start and then choose File Explorer.

Step 2. Go to View > Hidden items. Then your hidden folders will appear.

Step 3. If you need more file viewing options, select Options > View > tick Show hidden files, folders, and drives option > Apply.

Option 2. Show hidden folders via Registry

Step 1. Press Win + R to open the Run box, then type in “regedit” to open Registry.

Step 2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer > Advanced > Folder > Hidden. Set the value for Hidden to 1 to show hidden files, folders, and drives.

Option 3. Recover hidden folders using the attrib command

Step 1. Open the Windows search box and search for cmd. Locate Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.

Step 2. Type in “attrib -h -r -s /s /d drive letter:\*.*”, for example, “attrib -h -r -s /s /d G:\*.*”.

(Replace G with the drive letter of your hard drive where you lost files.)

Tips: What are the meanings of these attrib command parameters?

• -h: It applies the Hidden attribute to the files specified.
• -r: It stands for the read-only attribute.
• -s: It assigns the System attribute to the files specified.
• /s: It tells the system to look for the specified path.
• /d: It is composed of process folders.

Step 3. When the Command Prompt returns to the original location, the process is complete. Then you can proceed to the destination location to examine these folders. If the attrib command is not working, it is possible that the folders have been deleted rather than hidden.

Bonus tip: Recover deleted folders via data recovery software

After learning how to show a hidden folder or hidden folders, we’ll guide you through how to recover accidentally deleted folders via the professional data recovery software MyRecover, just in case your files are deleted instead of hidden.

Easy-to-operate. Within 3 simple steps, it enables you to recover lost or deleted files from Windows.

All-inclusive. It applies to various file loss scenarios in Windows, including recovering files from formatted drives, corrupted partitions, after system crashes, virus attacks, etc.

High-speed. It recovers lost files at high speed.

High recovery rate. It recovers your files with a high recovery rate, even if it was permanently deleted.

Widely-compatible. It supports NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS in Windows 11/10/8/7 & Windows Server.

Comprehensive. It can recover lost/deleted texts, pictures, videos, audios, emails, compressed files, etc., in original format.

Download, install and launch MyRecover on your computer.  

Step 1. Hover the mouse over the drive, and click Scan.

Step 2. Then the scanning process will start automatically. You don’t need to wait for the process to complete if you find the files you want to recover.

Step 3. Choose the files or whole folders that you want to recover. Click Recover xx files and choose a destination path to save the restored files and folders.

The Bottom Line

This post has provided you with 3 options on how to show hidden folders on Windows 10, 11. If you can’t find the folders because they are not hidden but deleted, you can use MyRecover to get back your files with ease.