Restore previous drivers. How to return the old driver version after updating

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There is a need to open hidden files and operating system folders, mainly to edit some important system documents.

To do this you need to know how to make visible hidden folders.

The point is that in all modern versions OS Windows settings by default they assume the so-called “fool protection”.

This means that an inexperienced user simply does not see most of the important system partitions and cannot make potentially dangerous changes to them.

But on the other hand, some fine settings The operating system may require editing of these hidden files.

This article will provide detailed guide, which allows you to implement this procedure in Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10, which are on this moment occupy the lion's share of operating systems used in the commercial and private sector.

Secrets of the Windows 7 system partition

This version of the operating system from Microsoft has taken the palm of popularity from the legendary XP, support for which ended several years ago.

This success is primarily dictated user-friendly interface, which is easy to find necessary settings.

This also applies to the option to show hidden folders and files, which is most easily activated through the taskbar.

First, you need to get to the taskbar in the standard way: open Start and select “Control Panel”.

Then click on the link “Design and personalization”.

Advice! For convenience, you need to select a display method by category.

In the variety that opens, we need the “Folder Options” category, or, more precisely, its “Show hidden files and folders” option, which speaks for itself.

In the window that opens called “Folder Options,” expand the “View” tab and at the very bottom of the list of additional options we see the function of showing/hiding special files. All that remains is to set the checkbox to the desired position.

You can get to the “Folder Options” window in Windows 7 in a simpler way: to do this, just open any directory and select “Folder and Search Options” from the “Arrange” drop-down menu.

Advice! If you decide to use this method, by default only hidden files in the current directory will be displayed. To apply this rule to all drives, you must activate the “Apply to folders” option.

Having dealt with the classics, you can move on to more modern systems.

We delve into the intricacies of Windows 8

This version of the operating system is significantly different from Windows 7, which at one time caused many complaints from users.

The changes affected, among other things, hidden directories: There are two types of files and folders in Windows 8, not visible to the user.

The first is the actual hidden sections. This status is enjoyed not only system files and folders, but also components of various third party applications.

Moreover, the user himself can assign this type to any object on the disk.

However, this opportunity is often used by malware, which, for example, results in problems with files on a flash drive.

For these two types, the algorithm of actions will be different.

To open regular hidden files and folders, you need to do the following:

First, you should open “Explorer”, for which you can use the standard shortcut in the “Taskbar”.

In the opened folder in top panel settings, click on the “View” menu and select the “Show and Hide” function. In the list that opens, you must activate the checkbox “ Hidden elements».
In the same way, you can assign hidden status to any selected file or folder.

In order to see particularly important system files, you need to make the following settings:

In the same “View” menu, go to “Options” - “Change folder and search options.”

As a result, the “Folder Options” settings window will appear, similar to that in Windows 7. Here you should go to the “View” tab and uncheck the “Hide” protected system files checkbox (recommended).

There is another way to get to this window:

In Start, which in eight has an unusual Metro interface, click on the gear icon (Computer Settings).

In the menu that opens, you need to click on the lowest link to open the Control Panel, which is familiar to most users.

In the “Taskbar”, first select the function display method Large (or small) icons, and then click on the “Folder Options” link, which will ultimately give access to the settings window of the same name.

It is also worth considering separately the algorithm for enabling the display of hidden and system elements for Windows 10, since, despite its similarity to the eight, the settings of this OS have their own nuances.

Working with personal computer we sometimes need to hide information, files or folders from prying eyes. This is why many people hide required folders somewhere in system folders so that it would be difficult to get to them, but there are many easier ways hide your documents so that they can be easily accessed and at the same time no one can see them. And in this article I will teach you how to hide and make invisible folders in 3 different ways.

Method number 1 transparent folder

The first method is called "Transparent Folder". As you may have guessed from the name, you will not hide the folder. You will make it absolutely transparent and thereby hide it from prying eyes. And now I will tell you in detail how to do this:

Select a folder on the desktop that you want to hide from prying eyes. I will hide a folder called "New Folder".
Right-click on the selected folder.
Point the mouse at the “Rename” item and click on it with the left mouse button.
Our folder name will then become highlighted.
Erase the old folder name. To do this, press the “Backspace” button located on the keyboard.
Next, we need to press the “Alt” key and, without releasing “Alt,” type the combination of numbers 0160.
Click on the “Enter” button and your folder now has an invisible name.
We need to follow the invisible folder name. I described above step by step how to do this, if you haven’t read the guide then follow all the steps so that the name is missing.
Then you need to right-click on the folder that you want to make invisible.
Select the properties item and click left button mice.
The folder properties will open in front of you. You need to open the "Settings" tab.
Next, select the item Change icon.
A window will pop up in front of you in which there will be a large number of different icons. You need to find transparent ones among these icons. They are noticeable due to the empty space between other icons.
Select the transparent folder and click on “OK”.
Now you can see that your folder has become transparent. Click on the “Apply” button to confirm your selection appearance folders.
Click on “OK” and you will see that your folder has become completely transparent and to see it you need to hover over the place where it is located with the mouse cursor.
If our description was not clear to you, use the video instructions.

Method number 2 hidden folder

The second method is called “Hidden Folder”. In order to hide a folder you will need much less time, and the result will be much better. After all, the folder will be completely hidden and will be noticeable only by the number of folders and the space occupied on the hard drive. Let's take a closer look at this method:

Method number 3 invisible folder

The third method is the most effective. This method makes the folder invisible rather than hidden. By using this method You can hide your folder so that no one can find it unless they know where your folder is saved and what it is called. So let's take a look step-by-step creation hidden folder using the command line:

We create a folder that we will need to hide. I created it in local disk“C” and called it “hidden folder”.
Next, press the key combination “Win + R” - this combination will bring up the “Run” line.
In the “Run” line you must enter the command “cmd” - run this command command line, with which you will hide your folder.
Then you need to enter on the command line next command"attrib +s +h "C:\hidden folder"
“C:\hidden folder” is the path where the folder that needs to be made invisible is saved. You may have a different address and folder name. But the command “attrib +s +h” should not be changed, this command hides your folder.
After entering the command, your folder will become hidden, and even if you use the folders property and make all folders visible this folder will remain hidden.

Are there files on your computer that no one should see but you? Even if not now, sensitive information may appear later, so it is useful for you to know how to do invisible folder, which will be difficult for other users to access.

To hide information we will use both built-in Windows tools, as well as special programs that can hide various data from prying eyes. This is much cooler than hiding VKontakte friends; here you will feel like a real special agent whose goal is to protect important data.

How to make an invisible folder

Hiding name and shortcut

Let's start simple, but effective way hiding a directory - change its name and label to empty place. If you've never done this before, you'll be surprised how easy it is:

The folder has not disappeared anywhere, it is in the same place where you left it. But you won't see either the name or the icon on the screen. You can detect it: select all the objects on the screen, and the empty space will be highlighted like other shortcuts.

The method is good, but not the safest. So let's look at the cooler options to simple selection the files could not be found.

Changing Attributes

In the properties of any folder you will find the “Hidden” attribute. Sounds good, let's see how it works in practice.

This standard way hiding in Windows environment, however, it has one undoubted disadvantage: if you go into the parameters again and turn on the display of hidden objects, the attribute in the properties becomes meaningless. The directory will be visible to everyone, only the label will be transparent.

To avoid this, change the attributes through the command line, in which you need to enter a command like attrib +s +h C:\Secret, where “C:\Secret” is the path to the directory you want to hide.

The information will be hidden so that even you will not be able to find it. To display the files again in Windows Explorer, enter the same command, but replace the “+” with “-”: attrib -s -h C:\Secret. The data will become visible as if it was never hidden.

This is the most cool way, if we talk about built-in Windows capabilities. But there is also special software, let’s see what can be done with it.

Using third party software

I’ll tell you about one program that I tested personally – Free Hide Folder. It is free, weighs less than 1 MB, takes up almost no disk space, and is password protected.

To restore visibility, open Free Hide Folder, enter your password and click “Unhide”. The files will appear in Windows Explorer again. By the way, if you accidentally delete Free Hide Folder, you will no longer be able to access the hidden folder, so just in case, do backup copy data.

If you need a more powerful program, then pay attention to Hide Folders. The only disadvantage of this utility is that it is paid. But it perfectly hides everything the user asks for.

Bonus: photo with secret data

Are you tired of hiding information yet? Then here's another one cool way. Turn any photo into a place to store secret information. You will need:

Any photo.
A folder with secret data that needs to be kept away from prying eyes.
Installed WinRAR archiver.

Now be careful, this is not as simple as changing attributes in properties:

Are you running Windows XP or perhaps you prefer the 2007 version? Be that as it may, many are interested in the question of how to make an invisible folder in your work profile. To learn more about this, let's first look at the concept of a work profile and what it even is.

User profile

User profile is a term in multi-user systems. For Windows it was introduced starting with version XP (system for professionals) and Home Edition (home edition). Both OS have already operated with the concept of “user” and, accordingly, with the simplest privacy functions. Therefore, the developers built into these environments the ability to create an invisible folder.

As for the profile, it’s just a series of settings, such as desktop design, visual design programs, sound schemes, security settings and usage rights. All this is stored in the system for the so-called user account in a common system-software database - Windows registry. Each user registered in the system under any account, has such a profile.

WindowsXP. Making an invisible folder is easy

To do this, the “My Computer” icon is usually visible on the desktop. Let's open it double click left mouse button. We will be shown with four tabs: “General”, “View”, “File types”, “Offline files”. Of these, we need a second tab, which is responsible for the type of data displayed. In it we scroll through the field “ Extra options" And we focus on the “Hidden files and folders” item. How to do is shown below.

If we put the visible switch in the “Do not display folders” position, then all created folders and files with the hide attribute will not be shown to the current one. Windows user. This means that you can actually make the folder invisible to keep its contents private.

To do several things you need to do simple steps:

Right-click on the displayed folder with the mouse or touchpad.
In the submenu that appears, select the last item “Properties”.
And set the hide checkbox next to the “Hidden” attribute, the same applies to a separate file.

If everything is done correctly, then you have learned how to make an invisible folder. At the same time, the folder that you hid should not be visible in the My Computer program. To display it again, just on the “View” tab change the direction of the switch to “Show hidden files and folders”. Do not confuse this item with a similar one called “Hide protected system files.”

System flaws

In some cases the following happens. Setting the switch to the “Show hidden files, folders” position may not work. And it will return to its original position. Everything here depends on the software used and version Windows systems.

How to make an invisible folder in Windows 7

In addition to the XP version, most computers are increasingly switching to Windows 7. Naturally, its functionality also allows you to hide objects - make them invisible. Therefore, let's look at how to do this using this OS.

To hide a folder object:

Hover your touchpad or mouse cursor over the folder you want to hide.
Right-click on “Properties” and switch to the “General” tab.
In the “attributes” field, select the “Hidden” checkbox.

Now let's look at how to show an already hidden folder:

Open the “Control Panel” shortcut.
Select the “Appearance and Personalization” sub-item, then “Folder Options”.
Go to the “View” tab and set the radio button to “Show hidden folders and drives.” Save the changes by clicking the “Apply” button, you can “OK”.

Thus, we found out how to make an invisible folder using the same tools. We also learned how to show hidden objects using the same tools.

Surely you have repeatedly come across references to the so-called “drivers”. Some people received an armful of disks with them when they bought their computer, while others are distracted by constant notifications about the need to update them in a properly working system. Regardless of the reason for encountering this term, it is necessary to understand its significance and purpose.

In simple words, a driver is software, which configures and optimizes the hardware components of a PC and its peripherals. Depending on the purpose there are different sound drivers, video cards, mouse driver and many others. With their help, maximum performance of the device and its smooth functioning are achieved.

But sometimes it turns out that drivers designed to improve the performance of the driver lead to the opposite result. Regardless of the reasons for this, we will figure out how to eliminate the consequences of such precedents.

What does "roll back" mean?

As you might have guessed, to maximize the optimization of the device, the company that supports it constantly releases new versions of drivers. For example, coming out for amd video cards / nvidia driver allows you to run more complex applications and the technologies they use without significant resource expenditures.

However, installing such “patches” is not always beneficial. This happens due to a “crooked” piece of code in the program itself, sometimes due to incompatibility between the hardware and software parts. The operation of a working device may be disrupted even due to incorrect installation. Most of these cases end in either minor malfunctions or complete failure of the device.

Problems with driver operation can also begin after using some special program, For example, . The utility will find new drivers for the equipment, you will completely trust it, update them, and, as a result, the video card or mouse will begin to work incorrectly.

But this is not a reason to sound the alarm and run straight to the nearest repair department. You can try to cope with the problem yourself, especially since the method described below is absolutely free and does not require high level knowledge. It's about about the possibility of “rolling back the driver” to its stable version. In other words, we seem to rewind time back to the moment when everything was in order.

Returning the old driver

Developers from Microsoft made sure that the average user who is faced with a driver performance problem does not cause panic attacks and headaches. Moreover, the built-in device management service does not require network access in order to roll back an unstable driver. You don't have to rush to download and install special launchers, since this procedure can be performed from Device Manager.

Please note that return old driver You can only do this if you did not delete it before installing the new one. If you first removed the old driver, then installed a new one and noticed that it does not work properly, then, by and large, you have nowhere to “roll back”. The system just won't find it previous driver for the selected equipment.

On Windows XP

The most frequently asked question on the network regarding our topic is the request for how to roll back a video card driver. It is quite possible that you have encountered this problem too. This is easy to explain, since the problem in this case immediately catches the eye of even the average user (from unauthorized glare and flickering of the screen to the lack of its full functionality).

That is why, in a step-by-step analysis of the implementation necessary actions, we will roll back the video adapter drivers. So, here are the following steps that will allow you to restore a stable driver:

Go to the Control Panel. This can be done through the Start menu.

In the list of available services, select “System”.

In the window that appears, select the “Hardware” tab, and then click on "Device Manager…".

You will be presented with a list of all available devices on the computer. Since our choice fell on the video card driver, select the directory from the list "Video adapters" and apply RMB to the name of your component. In the drop-down list, select “Properties”.

In the properties that open, select the “Driver” tab. Among available options The Rollback button should be displayed. Click on it with LMB and start the rollback process.

On Windows 7

As before, in our example we will look at the possibility of rolling back video drivers, but already on the 7th Windows system. The path to the video adapter properties we need here is absolutely identical to that in Windows XP. Nevertheless, this is how it looks visually:

Launch the Start menu by clicking on it with LMB. Choose "Control Panel".

In the new window, change the display to “Small icons”. In the updated list, select "Device Manager".

It doesn’t matter whether you have a discrete or integrated video card, in any case it will be displayed in the directory "Video adapters". Double-click on it with the left mouse button, and then apply to the name of our video card right button mice. IN context menu select "Properties".

Go to the “Driver” tab and under it we find the “Roll Back” function. Click it and wait for the driver recovery process to complete.

On Windows 10

In the extreme, at the time of writing, system from Microsoft, the function itself remained unchanged, but many users noticed the loss "Control Panels" in the Start menu. Let's leave similar solution on the conscience of the developers, and we ourselves will use another path to the cherished "Device Manager".

Get access to setting up your existing devices, including video adapter, sound card etc., there are two ways:

By clicking on the search menu (magnifying glass icon on the taskbar), we display a window and write in the empty input column "Device Manager". Click on the displayed result.