Some Folders don't show up in the Explorer

A few days ago i noticed some folders showing up in the "Open Map"-dialogue of the Warcraft 3 World Editor but not in Windows Explorer. Searching with cmd and the "dir" command didn't show these folders either.

"C:\Program Files (x86)" in Windows Explorer:


"C:\Program Files (x86)" in Warcraft 3 World Editor (Open Map):


All of them appear with a lock-symbol in their icon and all of them don't grant permission to normal users. When i try to change permissions or the owner (via the "Open Map"-dialogue), i get the following error message:
"Unable to change the owner of [Foldername].
The System cannot find the File specified."

Most of the folders were created during the installation of software wich i have uninstalled up to now.
Another example is the "Download" folder of Warcraft 3 itself. Not showing up in the explorer, but perfectly visible (and usable) in Warcraft 3 and the Editor.

Is there any option to make those folders visible in the Explorer?
"Show hidden files, folders and drives" didn't help.

What about Hide protected operating system files [Recommended]?

Doesn't help, the folders still don't show up.
If it were just a few folders, i would think something really wants to hide (rootkit?)
But it seems those folders and files just don't exist for Windows Explorer (and cmd)...

You could try booting a live Linux CD like Puppy and see what it finds.

Also, what do these command from a Elevated Command Prompt show?

attrib "C:\Program Files (x86)\TabletPlugins" /d
attrib "C:\Program Files (x86)\Team17 Software Ltd" /d

Finally the Solution:
Folders didn't show up under "C:\Program Files (x86)", but under "C:\Users\****\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)"...
I have heard of the "Virtual Store" before, but i don't really know what it does and when...
I assume there is a way to deactivate that behavior...?
And thanks for your help :)

Rollum78 said:

Finally the Solution:
Folders didn't show up under "C:\Program Files (x86)", but under "C:\Users\****\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)"...
I have heard of the "Virtual Store" before, but i don't really know what it does and when...
I assume there is a way to deactivate that behavior...?
And thanks for your help :)

IIRC, the Virtual Store is used to provide compatibility for XP programs.

Anyways, my thread-starting question is solved.
Thanks for your help :)

@mc77coy
You could start your own thread with that topic...
(if it's a folder containing several GB, for example the folder of a User at "C:\Users", it might take a while to display the proper size)