Show Hidden Files and Folders not working?

A few days ago, a customer came to me and told me that he was having problems with his Windows XP. The “Show hidden files and folders” feature wasn’t working at all. When he selected the “Show hidden files and folders” radio button and then pressed ” Ok”, the changes simply disappeared when he reopened the dialog. It was probably a virus attack after which the Windows registry wasn’t updated properly. So I did the following to restore it. There are so many methods to restore the registry. If one method doesn’t work, please try another one.

Method 1

Go to registry editor by running regedit in the run box.
Go to this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER>Software>Microsoft>Windows>CurrentVersion>Explorer>Advanced

In the right hand area, double click hidden and change the value to 1.

Now you’re all set to go. Check it in your tools menu if the changes have taken effect.

Method 2

  1. Click “Start” -> “Run…” (or press Windows key + R)
  2. Type “regedit” and click “Ok”.
  3. Find the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SOFTWARE>Microsoft>Windows>CurrentVersion>Explorer>Advanced>Folder>Hidden>SHOWALL
  4. Look at the “CheckedValue” key… This should be a DWORD key. If it isn’t, delete the key.
  5. Create a new key called “CheckedValue” as a DWORD (hexadecimal) with a value of 1.
  6. The “Show hidden files & folders” check box should now work normally. Enjoy! 🙂

Method 3

1. Click Start –> Run –> regsvr32 /i browseui.dll –> enter

A confirmation message will appear like given below

2.  Click Start –> Run –> regsvr32 /i shell32.dll

Wait for the confirmation and click OK.

Method 4

If none of the above methods work, please download our Smart Virus Remover from here:

Smart Virus Remover

Using this Virus Remover please restore your Windows settings and your show hidden files and folders will be set to default.

Please spare a few moments from your precious time and tell us about your experiences.

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