A few days back my “Show hidden files and folders” option was not working at all even if I selected the option Show hidden files and folders from the folder option window, the changes would just disappear upon closing the dialog. It was probably some virus attack after which the Windows registry was not being updated properly. So here is what I did to restore it back.
Method 1: Registry Editing
Click Start > Run… (or press Windows key + R)
Type regedit and click Ok.
Find the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL
Look at the CheckedValue key. This should be a DWORD key. If it isn’t, delete the key. Create a new key called “CheckedValue” as a DWORD (hexadecimal) with a value of 1.
Now open My Computer, on the toolbar go to Tools > Folder Option and click on the View tab.
The Show hidden files & folders check box should now work normally.
Method 2: Application
If you don’t want to apply the above method, download Smart Virus Remover from here. Using this Virus Remover you can restore your Windows settings, your “Show hidden files and folders” will be set to default.
Do let us know in the comments if these methods helped you or not ?
October 11th, 2008 at 9:11 am
STUMBLED!
This blog is turning ito an everything blog, great post.
Reply
October 11th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
This is a real time saver tutorial. I was looking a way to fix this problem for my friend. Now i got it! thanks!
Reply
October 15th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
This has happened to me many times. This is quite a useful website to show you how to easily enable hidden files and folders due to a virus.
Reply
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:34 am
I was thinkin of ways to circumvent the virus effects when i stumbled upon this…thanks!
Reply
October 30th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Guys seriously , you guys r life savers …i was just about to reinstall my windows all over again when i found this site . U guys r amazing .Thanks loads .
Reply
October 30th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Thanks for all your comments. And yea we made this site to save everyone’s life :P
You can check more similar tips and tricks on this site. If you are having any problem and can’t find the solution to the problem on this site, feel free to Contact me and we will do our best to solve it for you. :)
Reply
October 31st, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Hi, I really feel happy to find this tips on this website :) No need to worry anymore with that stupid worm. Thanks a million.
Reply
October 31st, 2008 at 8:15 pm
[...] tak buat backup andaikata jadi apa-apa pada laptop. Lebih kurang sejam tadi, aku discover blog ni http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/how-to-enable-show-hidden-files-and-folders-option-when-di…. Memang ringkas dan info yang berguna dan bermakna. Smart Removal Tool boleh delete malicious code [...]
Reply
November 1st, 2008 at 2:08 am
[...] the error saying that it has been disabled by administrator? Some days back we covered a post on How to enable show hidden files and folders when disabled by a virus, the problem of Disabled Add/Remove program is also a registry tweak caused by some virus and is [...]
Reply
November 1st, 2008 at 6:03 am
[...] How To Enable ‘Show Hidden Files And Folders Option’ When Disabled By a Virus [...]
Reply
November 26th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Dear Sir,
Thank you for this POST. It really helped me out.
Thank you again,
Pakistan, Karachi
Reply
December 1st, 2008 at 10:14 am
Whew! It’s been 2 weeks since I’d had this problem about my Folder Options and it took me a while to search online. And finally, I stumbled upon this webpage, and wham!… problem solved. Thank you sooo much for posting this tip!
Mike. Philippines
Reply
December 15th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
hey…
great post, but…
still not working for me..
the checkedvalue going back to 0 when i closed registry editor..
for info my pc was attacked by sality.y.aa but when i scan with kaspersky it found nothing..
can you solve my problem?..
thx..
Reply