You may want to hide some of your private files and folders from friends or parents, it is easily done using softwares like Folder Lock. But if you want to do it without using any kind of softwares then you can use Command Prompt. Let us do it step by step, for e.g I want to hide Movies folder on my pc.
Step 1: Click on ‘Start->Run’ or Press ‘Windows Button + R’.
Step 2: Now enter ‘cmd’ in it. And Press OK to open Command Prompt window.
Step 3: Enter the path to your file or folder which you want to hide. As it can be seen by default the command prompt window shows ‘C:\Users\home’ in Windows 7. In our case it is ‘E:\Movies’ which we want to hide, so first we enter the drive it is located as ‘E:’ .
Step 4: You can view the directory and sub-directories entering ‘dir’ command.
Step 5: Now final step to hide the file, enter ‘attrib +s +h’ followed by the name of your folder or files and press enter, in our e.g the final code to enter is ‘attrib +s +h Movies’ and it is done.
Understanding the codes used:
- attrib : It changes the attributes of the file or folder.
- dir : It displays files and folders in the directory.
- attrib +s +h : It adds System and Hidden attribute to the file or folder.
Only ‘+h’ attribute is enough to hide a file/folder but that file would be visible when ‘Show Hidden files folders and drives’ option is checked in Tools->Folder Options in My Computer. ‘+s’ adds system attribute so even if the above mentioned option is checked your file would still not be seen.
However you can view your folder/file by directly typing the address of file in address bar in My Computer; In our e.g it is ‘E:\Movies’, typing it in address bar would show me its contents.
How to Unhide Files/Folders:
Enter ‘attrib -s -h’ followed by file/folder name and enter, so in our e.g it would be ‘attrib -s -h Movies’.
Have Fun hiding your private files 😉
Hi, it is a very useful information as I’ll have to work from home also and my pc is shared by all of my room mates and these room mates are my office colleagues which means I am residing with my core competitors. thanx for sharing this information….
Hey Kaxil,
You are fit to be spy :-).useful command because nowadays it has become necessary dude.
I tried, but if we search the folder name(not exactly) in search box, it is showing the entire details.
Is there any other option to block to show the search results..?
Please send a mail to arr@myself.com
Thanks for sharing boss..
The folders do not show after this attributes. You might have done something wrong. Or if it does than use Folder Lock and password protect it
Thanxxx …..Kaxil Naik
Dear Brother,
Thanks for your helpful information, But at the end it’s showing me this message
(Parameter Format not correct -).
What it mean ?
Thanks
Ahmad Fayaz
Can I know which Operating system are you using ?
this is a good system
i guess you should install KrojamSoft FilesSearch and see if it can help