How Can We Unhide the Folders & Subfolders in DOS?

Unhide folders on your hard drive by using simple commands.

Viewing a directory listing in Windows Explorer or with the DOS "dir" command won't give you a complete picture of the files and folders on a drive. By default, many critical files are hidden from casual view by the operating system. Hiding files and folders is a simple way of protecting them from accidental deletion. Changing the visibility in a folder or subfolder in DOS is done with a simple command.

Instructions

1. Click the "Start" button.

2. Open a DOS window. Type "cmd" in the run window and click the "OK" button.

3. Navigate to the folder containing the hidden folder. For a hidden folder on the root of the C: drive, type "cd\" and press the enter key. Otherwise, type "cd\directoryname" and press the enter key.

4. Type "attrib hidden_directory --h" and press the enter key. Attrib is a DOS command used to set file and folder attributes. The "-h" switch at the end of the command removes the hidden attribute from the folder.

Tips & Warnings

• To get a list of valid switches available for the attrib command, type "attrib /?" at the command prompt and press the enter key. A list of switches and the proper command syntax are displayed on the resulting help screen.

References

• Computer Hope: Microsoft DOS Attrib Command