Hidden Files On Windows

The Windows operating system is extremely complex and performs a truly incredible number of tasks. Windows is not a "mere operating system" in that it gives you a complete experience on your computer all on it's own. In fact, you don't need any other application except for the operating system to get useful work done on your system. 

Because Windows tries very hard to be "all things to all people" and fit into many different markets, it often takes extra steps and does extra things that at first glance don't make sense.

For example, if you went into the DOS program on Windows and looked at files that are normally hidden from view, you would see quite a few things that might alarm you. You would find, for example, that every web site you have visited in the last couple of weeks is recorded, and that many files you have deleted are still around.

Some hidden directories and files include the following:

1. c:\windows\history\
2. c:\windows\tempor~1\content.ie5

File #1 is used to story a history of which web sites you have visited. This is not done for nefarious purposes; the intention is simply to allow your browser (and other programs) to perform the "autocomplete" function. In other words, the browser lets you type in part of a web site address and offers to fill in the rest for you. I love this feature as it's very convenient. If you don't like it, you can turn it off (in Internet Explorer, choose the "Tools" menu, select the "Internet Options" item, then click on the "Advanced" tab. Scroll down "use inline Autocomplete" and uncheck the box.) To control this even more, you will also need to set the number of days of history kept to a small number (I think it can go as low as one). This is done by selecting the "General" tab of "Internet Options" and changing the number of days of history maintained.

File #2 is used to store files cached by Internet Explorer. This feature allows IE to download flies from the internet only once, thus saving your bandwidth and making commonly requested pages and images load much faster. You can clear your temporary cache to delete these files, and if you want you can set your browser to not use the cache at all. This is all done from the "Tools" menu, "Internet Options" selection and "General" tab. Click the "settings" button under "Temporary internet files".

Each of these two folders contains an "index.dat" file which is used to make access faster. 

Using Disk Cleanup

The newer Windows operating systems come with a utility called Disk Cleanup which will get rid of quite a few of these hidden and often unnecessary files. To run this, select "Start", "Programs", "Accessories", "System Tools" and then "Disk Cleanup".

This will being up a small box asking which drive is to be cleaned up. Select the desired drive (the C drive is a good place to start) and press OK.

Disk Cleanup will now scan your disk for files which can be eliminated. It has a database of which files are intended for temporary use. Once that scan is completed, you will be presented with a screen, similar to the one to the right, which informs you what can be deleted. All you need to do is select the desired items, then click OK. The temporary files will be permanently deleted from your hard drive.

Viewing Hidden Files

By default, Windows hides files in certain directories, of certain file types and operating system specific files. This is not for any nefarious reasons; it's just that most of these files are used by the operating system for specific purposes and should not be changed by your average user.

To view hidden files, open up "My Computer". Select the "Tools" menu and the "Folder Options" item. Click on the "View" tab.

Set the bullet titled "Show hidden files and folders". If you also want to see the file types (highly recommended), then uncheck that line. If you are interested in seeing operating system files, uncheck that box as well.