Use this simple trick to reveal hidden files and folders in Windows.

Windows, by default, hides system files and some other important files for security reasons. Which means you won’t be able to see those hidden files using Windows Explorer. That doesn’t mean you cannot see those files forever. All you have to do is to tweak a Folder setting to reveal those hidden files.

Launch Windows Explorer and click on the “Organize” menu. Then click on the “Folder and search options” item. If you are using Windows XP then you might want to use the “Tools”  menu “Folder Options” item.

Navigate to the “View” tab and locate the “Hidden files and folders” item under “Advanced Settings”. Choose the “Show hidden files, folders and drives” option and hit the OK button.

From now on you should be able to see all hidden files and folders using Windows Explorer. If you are looking for a file that you know it exists for sure but couldn’t locate it then you might want to turn this option on and see if you can locate it in your computer. Make sure to turn this off when you are not using it. If you leave this option on forever you might accidentally delete files that are important to your system. So use this option only when needed.