Rick's Daily Tips

Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!

  • Home
  • Rick’s Bio
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Rick’s Tip Jar
  • Get My Tech Tips Newsletter
  • Contact Me
You are here: Home / Computer Tips / How to view hidden files and folders in Windows 8.1

How to view hidden files and folders in Windows 8.1

Posted on January 23, 2015

windows-8-1By default, Microsoft Windows hides certain system files and folders from the user’s view in order to keep us from accidentally altering, moving or deleting a file and end up crippling our PCs.

But there are times when it’s necessary to be able to see the hidden files and folders (such as while we’re troubleshooting Windows problems and removing malware).

It has always been possible to temporarily turn off the “Hidden Files an Folders” setting, but the way we do so has changed in Windows 8.1 (and in Windows 8 which preceded it). Follow these steps to display hidden files and folders in Windows 8 and 8.1: 

1 – Press the Windows+S key combination to open the “Search” box.

2 – Type folder into the Search box, then select Folder Options from the list of search results. The “Folder Options” window should open.

3 – Select the View tab.

4 – Under “Advanced Settings”, select Show hidden files, folders, and drives.

5 – Click Apply, then click Ok.

Now all of your system’s hidden files and folders should be visible.

Note: I strongly suggest hiding those critical system and folders again after you have completed the task at hand. Simply follow steps 1-5 again, but select Don’t show hidden files, folders, and drives in step 4.

Click here (#ad) to check out a great resource for learning and mastering Windows 8.1. It’s called Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual, and I refer to it all the time.






Popular…

How do I ask you a tech question?

Step-by-step guide to completely ridding your PC of viruses and other malware

10 reasons why I recommend buying tech gear from Amazon

How to upscale video – Top 4 AI video enhancers in 2023


Advertise

Guest Post Guidelines

Want to ask me a tech question?

Handy Tech Resources

Privacy Policy

Computer Tips
Smartphone Tips
Blogging Tips

Tech Q & A
Reviews
Tech News

Write for RicksDailyTips.com

Scam alerts
Downloads

Copyright © 2025 RicksDailyTips.com

Affiliate Disclaimer


Rick's Daily Tips is hosted by InMotion Hosting. Click here to find out why.

This blog uses cookies to ensure that you receive the best experience on my website. Please click 'Accept Cookies' to continue.Accept CookiesRead our Privacy Policy