How to show system folders that are hidden within Microsoft WindowsXP & Server

By default, system folders within Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Server will be hidden. There may be instances where you will need to access these folders, and the steps are as follows :

1. Go to 'My Computer'.
2. Select 'Tools' and then 'Folder Options' from the drop down menu.
3. Go to the 'View tab'
4. Under 'Advanced settings' untick the option that says 'Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)''.
5. Click 'Apply' and click 'OK'

The folders will now be visible.

How to show the extensions of files within Microsoft Windows XP & Server

By default, within Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Server file extensions will be hidden i.e. if you have a text file called 'Testing' it will show as that rather than 'Testing.txt'. In order to show these file extensions do the following :

1. Go to 'My Computer'.
2. Select 'Tools' and then 'Folder Options' from the drop down menu.
3. Go to the 'View tab'
4. Under 'Advanced settings' untick the option that says 'Hide extensions for known file types'.
5. Click 'Apply' and click 'OK'

Display hidden files and folders on your PC

Windows XP

Go to My Computer>Tools>Folder Options>View tab and put a marker next to 'Show hidden files and folders.

Windows Vista

Go to Computer>Tools>Folder Options>View tab and put a marker next to 'Show hidden files and folders.

What to do when a USB drive won't show up in My Computer

Sometimes when you plug a USB storage device such as a pen drive or hard disk into your PC you may notice that it doesn't show up in 'My Computer' as you would expect. This is normally caused by one of two things. The first is that the PC is trying to assign an existing drive letter to the new device and as a result the new drive cannot be displayed or there are no more available drive letters.

To check what the problem may be you will need to look at 'Disk Management' section of the 'Computer management' snap in. You can do this in the following way :

Start>Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Computer Management>highlight 'Disk Management'.

Your new device should show up here with a drive letter that is already in use. To resolve the issue

'Right click the device and select 'Change drive letter and paths' from the menu.
Select 'Change' and then choose a drive letter that is not currently in use.

Now when you go to 'My Computer' it will be there for you to access !.

If you have no available drive letters you will need to 'Right click' an existing drive in 'My Computer' and select 'Disconnect'. This will free up the drive letter.