Hi, Paul.

Now, what do you see with a simple Dir? How about Dir /a?

When I opened an Administrator:Command Prompt window and tried your
attrib -h *.* (I had to add a space after the -h, as Bob instructed.) in my
C:\Windows\System32 folder I got hundreds of lines of "Access denied..."
because I was (unintentionally) telling Vista to remove the Hidden attribute
from all those system files.

So I switched to C:\ and tried it again. This time, I got just two lines:
C:\attrib -h *.*
Not resetting system file - C:\hiberfil.sys
Not resetting system file - C:\pagefile.sys

That's because Vista was refusing to reset the Hidden attribute for those
two system files. But now there are no hidden files on C:\ and I can see
all files and folders in C:\ by using the simple Dir command.

But if I use Dir /a, the /a shows me not just files and folders, but
Junctions, too - AND those two .sys files from which Attrib wouldn't clear
the Hidden attribute. Dir shows 1 File and 12 Directories; Dir /a shows 3
files and 16 Directories, including the Recycle Bin and System Volume
Information, which don't show with the simple Dir - even after the Hidden
attribute is removed from *.*.

So, in an Administrator:Command Prompt window, cd to the folder that holds
your hidden files. Enter Dir /a. What do you see?

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)

"PAS" wrote in message
...
Hello R. C. White,

I have just rebooted my computer, I have the Administrator Command Prompt
on
my screen, at this point before when I typed attrib -h*.* the screen just
flashed, I now have text within the black screen.

There are nine lines of text all starting, Not resetting system file....

Paul

"R. C. White" wrote:

Hi, Paul.

tried the below,

You tried WHAT below?

At what point does:
a black screen flashes onto the screen but not long enough

Step by step, HOW to you open the Administrator:Command Prompt. I do
this
often and it never just "flashes". The window stays open until I dismiss
it. And any command I run in this window "runs elevated".

In an earlier post you said:
Yes I am logged on as Administrator,

Just to be clear: Start | All Programs | Accessories, right-click on
Command Prompt, then Run as Administrator. You'll need to furnish
Administrator credentials to get past here.

Even if you are already running as AN administrator, this is what you
need
to do to open the Administrator:Command Prompt as THE Administrator. In
Vista, there really are two levels of administrator; only THIS one is
GOD.

You shouldn't really need THE Administrator credentials to run the Attrib
command, but there may be some restrictions that you might not know about
or
might have forgotten about. But the window should stay open as long as
you
want, plenty of time to see whatever you need to see.

RC

"PAS" wrote in message
...
Hi Bob,

tried the below, a black screen flashes onto the screen but not long
enough
to read any thing, but still no luck in viewing the folder and its
contents.

I have retrieved the files using Search and copied them to another
folder.

I have run every type of Anti virus, Malware, Spyware program, I have
tried
all the system restores. the only other thing I can think of is running
the
recovery program.

But any other ideas before I go for that.

Paul

"Bob" wrote:

Try this.
Open an administrator command prompt and navigate to the folder. Type
attrib -h *.* and press Enter.

Or open an administrator command prompt. Type [path] attrib -h *.* and
press
Enter.


"Bob F." wrote in message
...
"PAS" wrote in message
...
Hello Bob F.
Yes I am logged on as Administrator, and I have followed the link
and
followed the instructions, the icons in the Control panel disappear
briefly
when I click Apply but when I go to the folder where I know there
are
hidden
files there is nothing, If I copy this folder to an external hard
drive
and
then connect it to another computer I can view the files.
Paul

I am out of ideas. I've never had these steps fail. Maybe someone
else
can help.
Bob F.


"Bob F." wrote:

"PAS" wrote in message
...
Hi Bob F.
The box you indicated is greyed out.

Paul
See:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tuto...torial130.html
Note items 6 and 7.
Bob F.


"Bob F." wrote:

"PAS" wrote in message
...
Hi Bob F.

I can not uncheck the Do Not Show Hidden files or folders it
just
highlites
the text, if I click on the line below Show hidden files and
folders
the
blue
marker moves to show it has been selected but when either I
click
apply
or
ok
I get the same result I can not view hidden files.


Ok you are about there. You are right. Just click on "Show
hidden
files
and folders" Then what I left out was:
Hit the first rectangular box, in the View Window, above that
says
"Apply
to
Folders".
Bob F.