How to hide files and folders in Windows XP – The easy way
Posted on July 15, 2007 at 11:32 am
Make sure to read other posts from the Hide Files and Folders series!
- How to hide files and folders in Windows XP – The easy way
- How to create a secured and locked folder in Windows XP
- Another way to hide files and folders in Windows XP
- How to create an "Invisible" hidden drive in Windows
Ok, so here’s a quick little tip for those people who want to hide a particular file or folder on their computers, but don’t feel like spending $40 on a piece of software for that one single purpose! This method of hiding files and folders in Windows XP is quite rudimentary, which means that if someone knows what they are doing with computers, it could be found pretty easily. However, it’s a great way to hide folders from people like your parents or people who only know how to check their email and that’s it!
First of all, if you have a folder you want to hide, don’t create the folder in some obvious place such as My Documents, instead put it in a location that someone would typically not look into. For example, create a new folder under C:\Program Files. Creating a folder there doesn’t hurt anything at all and not many people go browsing through their anyway since it’s mostly just system installation files.
Now that you have your folder created in a strange location and your files stored in that folder, we can make it hidden. Setting a folder to Hidden in Windows XP is simply changing one of the properties of the folder, i.e. 0 means not hidden and 1 means hidden. Windows Explorer reads this property and appropriately shows or hides the folder. However, there is an option in Windows Explorer called “Show hidden files and folders” that will display all folders no matter what the hidden property value is set to.
We need to change that setting so that hidden files and folders are not to be shown. In order to do this, click on My Computer from your desktop and from the menu click on Tools and then Folder Options.
Click on the View tab and under the Hidden Files and Folders section, choose the radio button that says “Do not show hidden files and folders”.
Click OK to save the changes. Usually this option is already set by default to hide files and folders, but it’s good to check anyway just to make sure. Ok, now to hide the folder itself, go into the folder that has the folder you want to hide, right-click on it and choose Properties.
On the General tab, check the box in the Attributes section named Hidden.
Click OK and your folder should no longer be visible in the current window you have open. It’s hidden and you won’t be able to see it unless you do the same procedure as mentioned above and change the option back to Show Hidden Files and Folders. Now if you want to save anything into the hidden folder, you could un-hide it and then save the file and then re-hide it, but that’s really not necessary.
In order to save a file to a hidden folder, all you need to do is specify the entire path in the File Name box. Fox example, if you’re saving a Word document, you could save the files to the hidden folder by typing in C:\Program Files\Secret\filename.doc and click Save.
And that’s it! A very simple and easy way to hide a folder that will probably work on most people unless they are computer geeks!! Any more suggestions, leave a comment!
[tags]hide file and folders, how to hide files and folders, windows xp[/tags]
» Filed Under Computer Tips
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Comments
46 Responses to “How to hide files and folders in Windows XP – The easy way”
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How to create a secured and locked folder in Windows XP Says:
[...] a previous post, I wrote about how you can hide a folder in Windows XP using a rudimentary built-in feature. This method is useful if you want to hide a folder or file [...]
August 20th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
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Another way to hide files and folders in Windows XP Says:
[...] sure to read other posts from the Hide Files and Folders series!How to hide files and folders in Windows XP – The easy wayHow to create a secured and locked folder in Windows XPAnother way to hide files and folders in [...]
November 7th, 2007 at 8:06 am
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Hide and lock text files in Windows Says:
[...] Hide Files and Folders in Windows [...]
August 27th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
thanks alot
This method is quite flimsy and wouldn’t want my job (or spouse/children finding bad stuff) to depend on it. I would spend the $40 on FileLocker (lockyourfiles.com)
But how do hide photos that are in “My Pictures”?
Ha! this thing is way 2 old now!I know a much powerful trick 2 hide a folder!Follow these steps—-
1.Right click on the folder u want 2 hide.
2.go on 2 “Rename” option on the list.
3.Now press this combination—
Alt+2,5,5
Note—–The 2,5,5 numbers r 2 b used from the number pad on the right side of the keyboard and not from the horizontal pad provided just below the F1,F2,F3……..keys.
This will erase out the name of the folder.
4.to hide the picture of the folder. right click again and this time….select properties on the menu.
5.After the dialog box appears..click on the “customize”tab {the last tab at the top}, and click on “change icon” at the bottom of the dialog box,which is written at the left of a folder picture.
6.After the appearance of the “change icon” dialog box….click on any area within the dialog box,which seems “blank” and press ok.
7.come back 2 the dialog box { 2 the 1 from where u started..:p} and then select apply and then ok.
8.Happy playin’ hide-and-seek wid your foldrs!
9.2 unhide, refresh the screen.
10.u may see the hidden folder blinkin’ everytime the screen is refreshed.
11.go to the place where u see the folder blinkin’ and press right mouse button.
12.Again select “rename” and rename the folder.
13. Again go 2 properties and repeat step 4 to 6 but……instead of selectin’ a blank space,select ne other pic. a nd press ok..!!!
i am using presariov3000 i dont have numeric keypad on my rightside.how can i hide filenames by alt+255 method.alt+255 from the numericpad on top is notworking.
koma9, you have double function keys in the regular keyboard for your numeric keypad. I have a Presario, too.
Why not just create a New User in Windows and assign specific rights to that folder for that person ALONE. as long as it is NTFS and no one else is an admin account they can’t view the files.
You should also be able to “share this folder” and “log into it” by referencing you own pc like this: \\MYPC\SecretFolderName
It will then ask for login credentials. Specifically only allow the OTHER user (your non regular account) access to it and just type in the name/password. Bingo!
thank you
hey man…, i follwed u r process to hide the folder…but my folder was locked…it has no folder name..it shows…as empty…when i try to open the folder..it gives ..label syntax error…what happend…hw to open the folder..plz ..its imp…
those ways and method are very useful. Thanks.
My files and folders do not hide even after the attribute is set to HIDDEN and the OPTION menu is set to “Do not show hidden files or folders”.
Please help me.
Thank you for this tutorial!!!
I was searching for this for years!!!
THANK YOU!!!
Okay, to hide single files like one or two pictures in My Pictures,
1. Go to control pannel and click on folder options
2. go to the advanced tab and under the view tab you should see an option that says hide extension for file types
3. uncheck that option and apply
4.find the single or multiple picture you want to hide and rename them to another file type.
ex: if your picture is named “omgporn.jpg” rename it to “unknown artist – track 6.mp3″ and put it in my music
If your friend or family member finds it just say it downloaded wrong/
Hi, i don’t have Folder Options in my Tools menu..how can i hide my files??
Another way to completely hide a folder or a file – Lock Folder XP or Universal Shield from Everstrike Software – http://www.everstrike.com/
Really, the easiest way to hide your files and folders is using of BDV DataHider 3.1: http://www.bdvnotepad.com/datahider_en.htm
It is much safer than way described.
Wow! BDV SecretFolder 2010 just released! It is freeware app for hiding of folders on USB Flash Drives. Hidden folder not visible under DOS, Windows and Linux OS!
http://www.bdvnotepad.com/secretfolder_en.htm
I tried BVD’s secretfolder and it doesn’t work. Furthermore the website as well as help “instructions” appear to have been written by an illiterate. Don’t waste your time
Why? I use BDV DataHider on SanDisk mp3 player. It works well on my home win xp computer and on old win 98 se laptop. Also I use it on my work on win 2003 64-bit server without any problems.
Hav you realy tried it?
How to enable folder options from tools menu , if it is disabled.
Follow this path
start -> run type gpedit.msc, open the following sections:
User Configuration, Administrative Templates->Windows Components ->Windows Explorer.
Double click on “remove folder options from tools menu ” and click on disable! thats it.
That is inspirational stuff. Never knew that opinions can be this speckled. Thanks for every bit of enthusiasm to put forward such useful information here.
Do not download from bdvnotepad.com/secretfolder_en.htm
Norton Antivirus says its a very high risk file. Who knows what it does……
1) Use Truecrypt and create a encrypted file which when mounted using the right password, creates a virtual drive of your choice.
2) Going into the security settings of a folder and setting it to deny, this will also prevent administrators.
Thanks for great tip! This is how I solve this problem. I got a free license of Hide my Folders (mykeylogger.com/hide-files/hide-folders/) during Giweawayoftheday promo. Solution is not perfect and needs additional features. I even sent feature request to them, but this tool does its job great, I recommend it…
OK, I am far from a geek, that is why I look up things like this. Sooo, NOW I am thoroughly confused, and afraid to try any of these suggestions for fear of losing something or messing up my pc. I once found a method whereby one could make a folder invisible. That worked for awhile until my granddaughter found the folder on the desktop. She plays a lot of games on my pc. I moved it to an obscure folder in My Computer and no more probs. This one had a code like OO6 or something. I have now forgotten the instructions and/or hidden them somewhere. Anyone aware of that one? BTW its only my personal musings that I want to hide, like journals, etc
UPDATE: Found the method I was asking about—
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Hidden-Icon-on-Windows-XP
thanks
This is amazing software for hiding files.
thanks
(King of the Ring)
Great tutorial thanks!
I found another way which is even more secure.
I won’t do a step by step but here’s the general guide lines:
Create another Administrative User Account name and set a password for it.
Reboot your computer in safe mode.
Go to the folder you want to make secret. Click on it and right-click Properties. Select the Security tab and in there, go to Advance and change the ownership of the folder to the Account name you’ve created and delete all other owners.
Now the only way to access those files is to log in as that new Account name – no one else can access it – DONE!
I cannot find Folder Options under the Tools menu. How can I hide files now?
Remember the name and location for the folder you wan to hide. Then click start then run, type cmd after clicking one black screen will come then enter the location after that .
Write code (for hide): attrib foldername +h +s
for view :attrib foldername -h -s
for example:
d: then enter,
d:attrib foldername +h +s
There is a FREE Tool available at concealfiles.com . It can hide any number or type of files inside a single JPEG. Also data is fully encrypted with 256 bit AES
Hey thanks a lot. I needed to know how to hide files in Windows……
Run these in Coomand Prompt.
attrib +s +h +r folder name
attrib -s -h -r folder name
thanks, I tried this and it worked on Windows XP. now my files are well hidden.
thanxxxxxxxxxx a lot. now i m able to hide the files n folders from my parents. thank u so much.
This is certainly precisely what I seem to have been hunting for. Exactly how long did it take to produce this?
Thanks very much for this amazing information.
Wow guys, bet there isn’t one woman going to such great lengths to figure out a way to hide any of her files…..what a bunch of perverts you all are.
Al these options are very handy!
But there is a thing I don’t get,…I have hidden my folders.
There not visible anymore.
But when I use the search function in Windows 7, I stil find the folder/files.
How come?
Thank you very much. This is very useful to me.
hey ppl if u wanna hide some pic or vdeo or song just rename it to .doc therefore from now it it will be opened from notepad . to change back delete the “.doc” . or just right click , open with , notepad
gud luck guys
use folderlock software. it is easy otherwise we can find out which folders are locked by using the alt++255 method..
i need to know how to lock a folder on my PC. can anyone help meeeeeeeeee?