EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard 11582 Reviews

4 Ways to Show Hidden Files Using CMD, Control Panel and Software

When files and folders get hidden on a USB flash drive, external disk, and computer hard drive due to the careless operation or virus infection, virtually you have 4 options. You can show hidden files using cmd - Command Prompt, third-party tool, Windows control panel, and data recovery software. Follow the guide to show hidden files.

 Download for Win Recovery Rate 99.7%
 Download for Mac Trustpilot Rating 4.7
 

Table of Contents

Page Content: How to Show Hidden Files in 4 Ways

When your files are missing from your USB drive or hard drive, you may wonder "Is there a command on the Windows command-line that can list hidden folders?" Yes, there is a command to show hidden files. Besides, there are some other practical ways to unhide hidden files. The following table shows the outlines, go to check the details.

Workable Solutions Step-by-step Troubleshooting
Fix 1. Use data recovery software Use EaseUS data recovery software to find all files and folders that were hidden somewhere...Full steps
Fix 2. Show hidden files CMD Press Windows + X keys and select Command Prompt as an Administrator. Type attrib -h -r -s /s /d G:\*.*...Full steps
Fix 3. Run third-party software Start EaseUS CleanGenius, choose "File Showing" on the left pane. Next, choose the target drive...Full steps
Fix 4. Use Windows control panel Open Windows Control Panel and navigate to File Explorer Options. Find the View tab, and tick the option...Full steps

How Do I Make Hidden Files Visible

Suppose that you don't actually delete anything off from a storage location, but files and folders disappeared from the computer hard drive, USB flash drive, or external hard disk mysteriously. What will you do?

If you have the same question of "How do I make hidden files visible" or "How do I see all hidden files", don't panic. Normally, files might be hidden by a virus, or simply because you don't have permission to see all hidden files and folders in Windows. 

The four most commonly applied approaches - Attrib CMD (Command Prompt), show hidden files CMD tool, Windows Control Panel, andEaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to show hidden files on a Windows computer are available here to help.

Method 1. Show/Recover Hidden Files with Data Recovery Software

Reliable data recovery software should also be an ideal choice to find all files and folders that were hidden somewhere by a virus or improper file option settings.

Here, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can help you find all hidden files on your computer or external storage devices and works effectively in deleted file recovery, formatted hard drive recovery, raw drive data recovery, and so on. Mac users can also download the Mac version of this software for restoring hidden and lost files with ease.

 Download for Win Recovery Rate 99.7%
 Download for Mac Trustpilot Rating 4.7

Let's see how to bring your hidden files back by using EaseUS data recovery software:

Step 1. Select the virus infected drive to scan

Run EaseUS virus file recovery software on your Windows PC. Select the disk attacked by the virus to scan for lost or hidden files. Note that:

  • If it's an HDD where files were hidden or deleted by virus, it's better to install the software on a different volume or an external USB drive to avoid data overwriting.
  • If the infected device is an external hard drive, flash drive or memory card, it doesn't matter to install the software on the local drive of the computer.
select a location to scan

Step 2. Check all scanned results

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard will immediately start a scan process to find your deleted or hidden files on the virus infected hard drive. To quickly locate the wanted files, you can use the Filter or type grouping feature to display only the pictures, videos, documents, emails, etc.

filter deleted or hidden files

Step 3. Preview and recover deleted/hidden files

When the process finishes, you can preview the scanned files. Select the files you want and click the "Recover" button. You should save restored files to another secure location on your computer or storage device, not where they were lost.

Restore virus infected files

Method 2. Show Hidden Files Using Attrib CMD

This command will show up all hidden files from manual file hidden methods or virus infection. The attrib command can also be applied to show hidden files on USB, SD cards, etc. external storage devices.

Step 1. Press Windows + X keys and select Command Prompt (CMD) as an Administrator. Or you can click the Windows icon, select "Search" and type the command prompt. Right-click on it and select to open Command Prompt as Administrator.

Open Command Prompt as Administrator.

Step 2. Determine the drive or storage device where the files are hidden and you want to recover.

Step 3. Type attrib -h -r -s /s /d G:\*.* and hit Enter. (If it's drive D, then replace G: with the drive letter for your device). 

Attrib syntax explanation

  • –h clears the Hidden file attribute.
  • –r clears the Read-only file attribute
  • –s clears the System file attribute.
  • /s applies attrib and any command-line options to matching files in the current directory and all of its subdirectories.
  • /d applies attrib and any command-line options to directories.

Method 3. Run CMD Alternative to Show Hidden Files

Manual execution of the command line is suitable for computer professionals, since incorrect commands can do more harm than good. Therefore, for security and usability, we strongly recommend you try an automatic command line alternative - EaseUS CleanGenius. It is a practical tool that enables you to check and fix file system errors, enable/disable write protection and update your system with one-click instead of typing intricate command lines.

Follow the simple steps below to show hidden files with this 1-click-fix software. 

Step 1. DOWNLOAD EaseUS CleanGenius for Free.

Step 2. Start EaseUS CleanGenius, choose "Optimization" on the left panel. Next, click "File Showing" on the right panel. 

show hidden files - step 2

Step 3. Select the hard drive and click "Execute".

file fixing - step 2

Step 4. After the operation completes, click the here link to check the hidden files. 

show hidden files - step 3

Method 4. Unhide Hidden Files Using Windows Control Panel

When you can't see some saved files on your computer hard drive or external storage devices but 100% for sure that these files are still there, follow tips here for help.

Step 1. Open Windows Control Panel and navigate to File Explorer Options in Windows 10, 8.1, and 8.

Step 2. On the File Explorer Options window, navigate to the View tab, under the Hidden files and folders section, tick the option of Show hidden files, folders, and drives.

Step 3. Re-open your local hard drive or device to check the hidden files and folder on your PC again.

show hidden files using control panel

If the hidden files fail to show up after trying Method 1 and Method 2, it's highly possible that your files saved on the hard drive or external storage device were lost.

What Is the Best Way to Show Hidden Files

It's a smart choice for you to take a deeper view of all file unhiding operations and choose the most applicable one for your own case.

Comparison Attrib CMD CMD Alternative Control Panel Settings Data Recovery Software
Situations Unhide files from virus or false operations Unhide files with simple steps Show hidden files from Windows File Explorer Revive hidden files from virus or permission issues
Devices Windows hard drive, USB, SD, external hard drive, etc. Windows hard drive, USB, SD, external hard drive, etc. Windows hard drive and partitions Windows hard drive, USB, SD, external hard drive, etc.
OS Windows only Windows only Windows and Windows Server OS Windows, Windows Server OS, and macOS

Command Prompt with Attrib command works 100% to find hidden items on PC as well as external storage devices. However, it requires higher-level computer skills. To unhide files with Control Panel Settings is easy to start but doesn't support the case of virus infection.

While data recovery software offers both easy-to-use and powerful features in finding hidden documents, pictures, and all types of files for you. Let's go through each file unhiding guide and make all your hidden files and folders visible again.

Notice:
If your hidden files were saved on an external storage device, connect it to your PC in advance. Then you may continue with the following solutions to make the computer display those hidden files.

Bottom Line

This page includes four practical methods to help you restore and show hidden files from Windows computer hard drive or external storage devices. Attrib command, Control Panel, and EaseUS data recovery software can all be applied to help you get rid of this issue on Windows 10/8/7/Vista and XP. 

Here, we have collected some top questions and answers that you may also want to know such as how to remove viruses from PC, storage devices, or how to protect your valuable files. Check out and hope these answers can help:

Question 1: Why my hidden files are not showing?

If the Hidden files settings are no longer available after a scan, you only need to perform a reboot, after which they will be available once again.

Question 2: How do I show hidden files?

Open Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Folder Options > View > Under Advanced Settings, select Show hidden files, folders and drives > OK.

Question 3: Which command is used to display hidden files?

CMD attrib command - attrib -h -r -s /s /d G:\*.* is used to show the hidden files. 

Besides, reliable data recovery software also enables you to clearly view and revive all missing files with ease. All the detailed steps have been listed on this page and you go back to find the best solution anytime.

 Download for Win Recovery Rate 99.7%
 Download for Mac Trustpilot Rating 4.7

If you have further questions about finding missing or hidden files on your PC, use the Search option on the EaseUS website or go to the How-To directory page to find more answers. 

Was This Page Helpful?

Updated by Brithny

Brithny is a technology enthusiast, aiming to make readers' tech lives easy and enjoyable. She loves exploring new technologies and writing technical how-to tips. In her spare time, she loves sharing things about her game experience on Facebook or Twitter.

Read full bio

Written by Jean

Jean is recognized as one of the most professional writers in EaseUS. She has kept improving her writing skills over the past 10 years and helped millions of her readers solve their tech problems on PC, Mac, and iOS devices.

Read full bio

Product Reviews

TrustScore 4.7 | 323 reviews
  • EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is a powerful system recovery software, designed to enable you to recover files you’ve deleted accidentally, potentially lost to malware or an entire hard drive partition.

    Read More
  • EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is the best we have seen. It's far from perfect, partly because today's advanced disk technology makes data-recovery more difficult than it was with the simpler technology of the past.

    Read More
  • EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Pro has a reputation as one of the best data recovery software programs on the market. It comes with a selection of advanced features, including partition recovery, formatted drive restoration, and corrupted file repair.

    Read More