Cannot see C:\Users\<username> directory through explorer

[denisl]

Very strange... I can't see my C:\Users\denisl folder through explorer.
My documents/pictures/etc libraries all have the files and through a command prompt I can cd to my home directy and everything is there...

Any ideas why I can't see my home directory anymore?

 

[WindowsStar]

Fake anti-virus software (crimeware) can do this. Have you done a safe boot to a CD and done a virus scan?

 

[lehnerus2000]

Hidden?

Perhaps the "Hidden" attribute has somehow been activated/selected on your user folder.
Do you have "Show hidden files, folders, and drives" selected?

​

 

[davehc]

The username folder is not a system or hidden folder, so I doubt that is the problem.

Is your UserName possible listed separately as a top-level item in Windows Explorer? It would be between Libraries and Computer.

Try clicking the "Default" folder and see what is in there.

 

[lehnerus2000]

I realise that.

The username folder is not a system or hidden folder, so I doubt that is the problem.

That is true under normal conditions, hence:

Perhaps the "Hidden" attribute has somehow been activated/selected on your user folder.

This may have been accidental, some sort of glitch, or it may have been caused by malware.

 

[OliverL]

Same here

I have the same problem as denisl. My home directory C:\Users\Oliver is not visible in a directory listing of C:\Users (neither on the command prompt, nor in Windows Explorer). I have found out that the "hidden" attribute is set on C:\Users\Oliver indeed. I can see the directory when I enable the display of hidden files in Windows Explorer, or with the command "DIR /A:H" on the command prompt. The strange thing is that I cannot disable the hidden attribute. If I edit the properties of this directory in Windows Explorer, the check box for the hidden attribute is grayed out (and checked). If I try "ATTRIB -H Oliver" on the command prompt, an error message displays, saying something like "System file cannot be reset - C:\Users\Oliver" (the actual message is in German on my machine).

It's been like this for a while. It doesn't cause much trouble since I can access all my data despite of this directory being hidden. It's a bit annoying however, so if anybody figures out what causes this hidden attribute to be grayed out, I would appreciate a tip.

Oliver

 

[OliverL]

Solved it

Well, I found out a solution on my own. I was not aware that there is a "system" attribute. For some reason beyond my understanding, this attribute was set on C:\Users\Oliver. Apparently, it is not possible to unhide a system file. I cleared the "system" and "hidden" attributes on the command line using

ATTRIB -S -H C:\Users\Oliver

The command

ATTRIB -S Oliver

alone produced an error message "Hidden file cannot be reset". You really have to perform both changes in a single operation.

I'm not sure what the "system" attribute does. It is not set on the other user home directories either, therefore I assume (or at least I hope) I can safely clear it. If anybody knows what good it could do to set the "system" attribution on a user home directory, I'll be happy to hear about it.

Oliver

 

[denisl]

I've been away for a couple of weeks, just getting back to this.
Whatever the cause of the problem was, the solution provided above by OliverL fixed my issue as well.

Very strange... not sure what I did but I entered the commands above and fixed.

 

[tamildurai]

OPEN a Command window With Run as Administrator..
And go to the root drive. cd\
in C:\

Type this following command
c:\attrib -s -h c:\users

Hit enter.

Open the File explorer. It is available.

 

[RolandJS]

Another cause and solution set for the above problem: One or two programs that protect from crypto attacks and from certain early encryption attacks would eliminate user profiles control from all end-users -- I never found out where those hidden profiles were stored, online or hard-drive -- because as soon as I discovered this "feature", I immediately restored a full OS image to rid the crypto-program.

I cleaned up the missing and extra letters scattered throughout.