is there a way to see EVERY folder and file that exists on the hard drive on one screen and in one place just like you could do in much earlier versions.

Question

is there a way to see EVERY folder and file that exists on the hard drive on one screen and in one place just like you could do in much earlier versions.

Anonymous

ok... so I had a crash and there was good news and bad news... the good news is that I was able to get it started and run " back up " but the bad news is that instead of giving a new clean system image ( that I was expecting ) I got a bunch of random files and unimportant stuff and a lot of important stuff seems lost but I think its all still in there somewhere.

now... in the before times there was a windows program called " windows explorer " which would put every folder and every file that was on the hard drive on one screen and you could rummage thru them. when I pull up windows explorer on win 7 I get a page with a bunch of minor folders that some stuff in them but not everything that I can already see...

so... my question is simply " is there a way to see EVERY folder and file that exists on the hard drive on one screen and in one place just like you could do in much earlier versions. I have done searches and gone thru the folders it will show me but what I explicitly want is to see EVERY file and folder that exists on one screen...

is this possible in win 7 ? and if so, how , please

steven

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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6 additional answers

Answer 1

Steve,

Are you talking about the Windows Search function?

In Windows explorer, open the top level folder that you want to look in [C:\Users*YourUserName*\Documents or whatever you want] then look in the upper-right area - there is a white box to the right of the Address Bar. That's the search box. Type in * then pause and it will list all files from within that top level folder all the way down through its sub-folders.

You can find more information on using Windows Search in

A Guide to Using Windows Search; Two Alternatives to Windows - Wiki

Answer 2

no... nothing is alright... the docs thing was just an example. there are hundreds of files of all types that are hiding somewhere that I can't find. I want windows to simply let me see EVERY SINGLE FILE AND FOLDER that is on this hard drive on ONE SCREEN at ONE TIME so I can finally determine whats lost forever vs what is just renamed and not anywhere where I now know it is.

Answer 3

Anonymous

So now you are using

C:\Users*YourUserName\Documents*

and everything is all right?

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Answer 4

hello and thank you and you did not misunderstand me in concept. I am moderately experienced and can fumble my way around the system well enough when forced to and I had gone the route you suggested with no success. a lot of those library folders show up empty because I didn't use them to start with... presumably because I had created my own folders and storage locations rather than the generic system which I don't like. so , as example , there is nothing the " my documents " folder in the library yet a lot of my older docs are in an old "docs" folder that I had created and found thru the search screen.

it is analogous to some one knocking over your collection of colored marbles in a room full of furniture...

windows wants me to go to the shelf that used to have red marbles on it and look there for them but I already know two things... one) the red ones aren't on that shelf anymore and two) they still exist somewhere in the room under some piece of furniture . I don't want windows to tell me where these files used to be before ( mostly because backup simply renames stuff it doesn't know or understand and then moves it ) ... I want windows to just take all the furniture out of the room so I can just FIND all the different marbles and then sort them out and put them away myself. that's what OLD explorer did. one single page with every single file that's on the hard drive on it... and that's what I need again

Answer 5

In Windows explorer there are "Libraries" that can confuse you if you are only used to earlier Windows versions. These collections of shortcuts to files are intended to help you consolidate information into a single view but they are no more than shortcuts to where the files are really stored.

Instead, in Windows explorer, go to the Computer entry then select the C:* drive then select the Users folder then select your user name and in that you will see all your own folders such as Documents, Music, ... From there you can rummage around in the same way that you did in eearlier Windows versions. You can also get there quickly by entering the path into the Windows explorer address bar C:\Users*YourUserName\Documents

etc

Is that what you wanted to know or have I misunderstood you?

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is there a way to see EVERY folder and file that exists on the hard drive on one screen and in one place just like you could do in much earlier versions.

6 additional answers