Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
In an effort to avoid confusion, Windows will hide certain files and folders by default. Naturally that often leads to more confusion.
I often use Windows XP search to find a file that is somewhere on my computer. The search query will give the path of the specific file, but then if I go into Windows Explorer and try to find the path myself, I can only find part of the path, and then a dead end. Why is this?
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Windows is trying to be helpful, of course! It's "protecting" you from seeing things that it thinks might confuse you or somehow it thinks just "shouldn't be seen".
Of course in helping to avoid confusion it just confuses more. I know I don't want Windows to "help" me like this, so there are a couple of options I turn off every time I configure a new machine.
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The issue here is what are called "hidden" files. There's a simple setting for each and every file or folder on your system that you can set that says "hide this from everyday view":
By default hidden files are not displayed in Windows Explorer.
That's what I change.
Fire up Windows Explorer, and then:
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Click on the Tools menu
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Click on the Folder Options... menu item
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Click on the View tab
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In the Advanced Settings list, scroll down until you see both Hidden files and folders, and Hide protected operating system files.
You should be looking at something like this:
Make sure that Show hidden files and folders is selected. I also uncheck Hide protected operating system files - for much the same reason: I just don't want Windows hiding files from me.
Now as you navigate to the path that the search results gave you I think you'll find that a few more files and folders are visible along the way.
Article C3114 - August 12, 2007
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
I am familiar with the "switches" shown above to show hidden files, but every time I set the "show hidden files" checkbox, it gets reset immediately, and so I am unable to view these files in order to eliminate a file buried in my "Local Settings" folder, which is causing a virus to attempt to change data in memory. Is there another way to set this parameter so I can fix my system? (Norton has been unable to eliminate the threat so far, even in Safe Mode.)
Posted by: Russ Lucas at February 2, 2008 10:47 AMI have tried the usual stuff and no dice, icluding everything you mentioned in this answer here. I could see them a few days ago and can still see them by doing a global search. If I just search the main directory they are in, Ithe search will not see them. I have to do it at the Drive level for the search to work.
Posted by: Paul at July 3, 2009 9:55 AMThis might be off-topic a little - it's more like "Why can't Windows find a file that Windows search tells me is there?"
Posted by: Bob at July 15, 2010 8:10 AMIf I use Windows Search, or even navigate to the directory directly and double-click on the file, most of the time it opens OK. But sometimes (always - if I open the application first, and use the in-program 'browse' to find the file in it's directory), it tells me that "Windows cannot find the specified file. Check if you have spellt the name correctly".
Sinse I'm not typing anything, simply selecting the file from a list that Windows presumably generates for me from the directory contents, how can it get it wrong?
@Bob, there's a decent chance that the file is inside a zip archive, and while it can be seen it can't be executed from there. Check the path. If there's no drive letter, it's probably the results from a zipfile. I think there's a way to turn off Windows treating zipfiles as directories, if this is a problem.
Posted by: Dale at January 14, 2011 2:08 PMIn response to Dale:
Posted by: Bob at August 12, 2011 7:25 AMI am still experiencing the problem. I'm not trying to "run" a program, i'm trying to open a file. The file definately isn't in an archive.
If I double-click on a file to open it with it's default program, I get the error. if I then double-click again (whether or not I close the program first) it opens normally.
I don't know if this is related, but I sometimes see the contents of a directory disappear (i.e. the open folder window goes blank) only to reappear again a few seconds later. I also sometimes get windows of folders close themselves (though I think this only happens to network folders - I'll have to do some more investigations)