{"id":80351,"date":"2026-02-27T19:59:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=80351"},"modified":"2026-02-27T19:59:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:29:50","slug":"unable-to-hide-programdata","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/unable-to-hide-programdata\/","title":{"rendered":"[Fix] Unable to Hide the ProgramData folder"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ProgramData folder is hidden by default. Some users may inadvertently unhide the folder using Explorer, but are unable to hide it again.<\/p>\n

Reenabling the Hidden checkbox in the folder’s properties, selecting “Apply changes to this folder only” in the “Confirm Attribute Changes” dialog, and clicking OK may not work.<\/p>\n

\"hide<\/p>\n

Cause<\/h2>\n

Your antivirus driver or a file system filter driver may be blocking attribute changes to folders, such as ProgramData and the Users folders.<\/p>\n

Hide the ProgramData folder again<\/h2>\n

The best way to temporarily disable third-party filter drivers is to boot into Safe mode.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong>\u00a0How to Start Windows 10 or 11 in Safe Mode<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Please boot into Safe mode and enable the hidden attribute via the folder properties.<\/p>\n

Or, while in Safe mode, open a Command Prompt (admin)<\/a> window and run the following command to enable the Hidden attributes for the ProgramData folder.<\/p>\n

attrib +h \"C:\\ProgramData\"<\/pre>\n
(There may not be any output unless the command encounters and access denied error.)<\/em><\/p>\n
To check if the hidden attribute is applied, run:<\/p>\n
attrib \"C:\\ProgramData\"<\/pre>\n
That should resolve the issue!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The ProgramData folder is hidden by default. Some users may inadvertently unhide the folder using Explorer, but are unable to hide it again. Reenabling the Hidden checkbox in the folder’s properties, selecting “Apply changes to this folder only” in the “Confirm Attribute Changes” dialog, and clicking OK may not work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,869],"tags":[106],"class_list":["post-80351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows-10","category-windows-11","tag-command-prompt"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1543,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/desktop-ini-automatically-opens-at-startup\/","url_meta":{"origin":80351,"position":0},"title":"Desktop.ini file automatically opens when you start Windows","author":"Ramesh","date":"March 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"When you start your computer, the desktop.ini file may automatically open in Notepad. It may have the following contents: [.ShellClassInfo] LocalizedResourceName=@%SystemRoot%\\system32\\shell32.dll,-21787 Desktop.ini is a configuration file which can be used to customize folder icons, caption, etc., on a per-folder basis. The desktop.ini file (in your the Startup folder)\u00a0 may open\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"desktop.ini opens at login","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/desktop-ini-opens-startup.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/desktop-ini-opens-startup.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/03\/desktop-ini-opens-startup.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3465,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/error-cannot-find-script-file-programdata-folder\/","url_meta":{"origin":80351,"position":1},"title":"[Fix] Error “Cannot find Script file” in C:\\ProgramData Folder","author":"Ramesh","date":"July 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When you log in to your computer, the following error or a similar one may appear every time. Can not find script file C:\\ProgramData\\{793391F4-29B5-4072-9833-30F048B1E37E}\\1.9.3.1\\rolo.txt This entry was added by malware, where the {GUID} string and the script file names are random and vary for each system. In the aftermath of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Utilities"","block_context":{"text":"Utilities","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/utilities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1592,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-10-shell-folders-paths-defaults-restore\/","url_meta":{"origin":80351,"position":2},"title":"Windows 10\/11 User Shell Folders Restore Default Paths","author":"Ramesh","date":"February 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This post provides you with the list of User Shell Folders in Windows 10\/11 and their default paths. If you've moved a shell folder earlier, you can restore it to the default location via the folder properties Location tab in most cases. However, there are situations where the Location tab\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"user shell folders - local machine","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/w10-11-user-shell-folders-system-registry-full.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/w10-11-user-shell-folders-system-registry-full.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/w10-11-user-shell-folders-system-registry-full.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/w10-11-user-shell-folders-system-registry-full.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54263,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-script-host-error-run-vbs\/","url_meta":{"origin":80351,"position":3},"title":"Windows Script Host error in AppData\\Local\\Updates\\Run.vbs. The System cannot find the file specified","author":"Ramesh","date":"June 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"When you login to your account,\u00a0you may see a Windows Script Host error similar to the following: Windows Script Host Script: C:\\Users\\{username}\\AppData\\Local\\Updates\\Run.vbs Line: 31 Char: 1 Error: The system cannot find the file specified. Code: 80070002 Source: (null) Additionally, on some systems, you may see a WindowsService.exe popup window that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"windowsservice.exe malware","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/windowsservice-exe-pop-up.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/windowsservice-exe-pop-up.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/windowsservice-exe-pop-up.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/windowsservice-exe-pop-up.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":171,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/show-hidden-files-and-folders-option-missing-or-does-not-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":80351,"position":4},"title":"Show Hidden Files and Folders Missing or Does Not Work","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 9, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The Folder Options dialog's View tab allows you to show or hide hidden and system (protected) files in Explorer. The hidden files have the HIDDEN attribute. Protected files (aka, \"super-hidden \" files) have the SYSTEM attribute. There have been many support incidents lately where the File Explorer does not show\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"show hidden files and folder does not work","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/folder-options-show-hidden-files.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10301,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/how-to-enable-command-prompt-autocomplete-path-if-it-stops-working\/","url_meta":{"origin":80351,"position":5},"title":"Fix: Command Prompt Tab to Autocomplete not working","author":"Ramesh","date":"July 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Command Prompt has a handy little feature that lets to change directory paths using autocomplete. To change to a directory or type a directory name, you can type the starting letters of the directory and press the TAB key to autocomplete the file or folder path. (To learn how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"autocomplete path characters in command prompt","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/cmd-autocomplete-path.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/cmd-autocomplete-path.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/cmd-autocomplete-path.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80351\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}