Lost Files?

I recently installed a software called Free Hide Folder, which helps in superhiding files and folders. Well, after my crisis for confidentiality had subsided, I uninstalled the software. I forgot all about hidden files, till I tried to find one.

They weren’t there.

I guess I should explain what hidden files are first, just for the sake of some n00bs (sorry Nik). In Windows, there is an option to ‘show’ or ‘hide’ hidden files. It just means that certain files, marked as ‘hidden’ will either will/will not show up in the Explorer window.

So coming back to the point, I couldn’t see them. Even after setting ‘Folder Settings’ to ‘Show Hidden Files and Folders’, I couldn’t see them in Explorer. I ended up spending a good part of a few months, just guessing the names of hidden Windows files, and trying to access them through the ‘Run’ dialog and through the Explorer address bar.

Then, I googled around, and found a solution. I had tried editing the registry (I will explain this bit of Windows for noobs later) before, and had found the key to edit, but couldn’t make out what to do! I found it on the CNet Forums. The solution is simple:

• Open Notepad.
• Copy and past this:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvancedFolderHidden]
“Text”=”@shell32.dll,-30499″
“Type”=”group”
“Bitmap”=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,
00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,53,00,
48,00,45,00,4c,00,4c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,34,00,00,
00
“HelpID”=”shell.hlp#51131″
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvancedFolderHiddenNOHIDDEN]
“RegPath”=”SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvanced”
“Text”=”@shell32.dll,-30501″
“Type”=”radio”
“CheckedValue”=dword:00000002
“ValueName”=”Hidden”
“DefaultValue”=dword:00000002
“HKeyRoot”=dword:80000001
“HelpID”=”shell.hlp#51104″
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvancedFolderHiddenSHOWALL]
“RegPath”=”SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvanced”
“Text”=”@shell32.dll,-30500″
“Type”=”radio”
“CheckedValue”=dword:00000001
“ValueName”=”Hidden”
“DefaultValue”=dword:00000002
“HKeyRoot”=dword:80000001
“HelpID”=”shell.hlp#51105″

• Save it as anything.reg, making sure that filetype is set to ‘All Files’.
• Run this file.

This file just created is a registry chunk, that will be added to the registry when  executed. The first chunk creates the ‘Hidden’ key in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvancedFolder in case it doesn’t exist. The other 2 chunks create the important keys used by Explorer when it comes to hiding or showing files.

The ‘CheckedValue’ in both of these is basically what matters the most. But, I had changed it earlier, without much success, so I just used the above method to rewrite my Hidden file settings with ones provided by someone on the CNet forums.

DISCLAIMER:  Especially for n00bs. Please pay attention. If you are unsure of what the Registry is, you shouldn’t be using it. That is exactly why I haven’t included the method to open it. Get it. Can crash you PC, can corrupt Windows, can cause you to re-install it, and since n00bs like to keep all their data on only one hard disk/volume/whateva…, you better go boil your head.