Strange hidden files

Just Completed a clean install of Yosemite and have hidden folders from 2014 showing up amongst other things, can someone tell me what and why they are there?

You may have enabled including invisibles in the Finder. Try this:
Enable Finder to Show Invisible Files and Folders
Open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder. At the prompt enter or paste the following command line then press RETURN.
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder
To turn off the display of invisible files and folders enter or paste the following command line and press RETURN.
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
killall Finder
Alternatively you can use one of the numerous third-party utilities such as TinkerTool or ShowHideInvisibleFiles - MacUpdate.

Similar Messages

Hidden files on my desktop

Hi there - I've just purchased OSX 5.6 (which is the highest OS I can get for a pre Intel machine I believe) but before it comes I was just doing a general tidy up. When linking my computer to an old G4 PowerBook (using OS9 don't ask why), once mounted I noticed some folders on the desktop of my G5 that do not show up normally. (I can only view them after mounting the G5 PPC onto the G4 PowerBook and looking on there). The folder names are all proceeded by a "." +which I think indicates a hidden file+. I know that there normally are very important files that are purposely hidden and are vital to the OS (e.g. ".DS_Store" etc.) but these particular folders do not seem to be in that category after investigation.
I have a US client and I download lots of very large files via their FTP server using Fetch. When viewing the contents of the strangely named "hidden" folders that I can only see on the G5 once connected to the G4PB I then see very familiar names and enclosed folders from my US client containing around 40Mb of info each that cannot be accessed directly from my G5.
*My questions are:*
What are these files and why are they there - are they aborted efforts of previous FTP downloads?
Are they partial downloads waiting for more info - and if I delete them will it mess everything up?
Can I delete them directly from the G4 PowerBook, the only place I can I can see them?
If not can I purchase some software that will allow be to view hidden files on my G5PPC and evaluate and get rid of them?
Any help would be very much appreciated. Regards - Deano
+PS: If it helps the hidden folders are named:+
.BAHmpVUM
.BAHrDXsQ
.BAHvWION

Thanks again Limnos -
The Fetch people have been back to me already - not bad huh? - and had the following to say:
"+Hi Deane,+
+I'm not sure where those folders are coming from, but I can tell you that they aren't created by Fetch - nothing Fetch does would create such folders. So no, we don't think they are partially downloaded files.+
+I would be a little careful before deleting them. They could just be an artifact of how the Mac OS X file system looks to Mac OS 9; it could be that they are not real copies of files, but just pointers (aliases) to other files on your disk, so deleting the folders and their contents might unexpectedly delete files you really want to keep on your Mac. I would make sure that is not the case before deleting a lot of them; you might want to delete one file you're sure you don't care about first.+
+And you might want to look at them on your G5 directly. You can display hidden files on your G5 by doing the following:+
+* Open the Applications folder.+
+* Open the Utilities folder.+
+* Open the Terminal application.+
+* At the prompt, type:+
+defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES+
+* And then press the Return key.+
+* Then go to the Apple menu and Log Out, or Restart your Mac, for the changes to take effect.+
+Unfortunately showing the hidden folders has a variety of other side effects (such as making all your icons look washed out), so you'll probably only want to do this so you can investigate, and then turn it off again.+
+You can turn it off by following the exact same steps as above, except type NO instead of YES after "AppleShowAllFiles".+
+I hope this helps.+
Thanks,"
Pretty much backs up what you wrote in your first post but I think I'll try the route you suggest in your second and tuck them away somewhere for a week or so to see what happens. If all goes well I'll be back to credit your answer with a solved.
Cheers for the help - Deano

View hidden files in my trash

okay first off I feel like the biggest idiot. I'm transferring my data to a new imac. the songs in iTunes were duplicated so I decided to delete the songs in itunes and re-import the library. well after I deleted them I go into the trash and they are not there. At the bottom of the trash it says there are 9,717 files in the trash - I just can not see them!!! How can i view them?? please help!

what you describe sounds strange. those files should not be hidden. Regardless, you can make hidden files visible with a 3rd party utility like TinkerTool
http://www.bresink.com/osx/0TinkerTool/download.html

Http server and hidden files

Is there a way to disable the serving of hidden files. I'd like to block the http/application server from serving any hidden file such as .bash_history.
Any help is appreciated.

It is strange.
But, you edit /etc/smb.conf
and edit the [global] section and add:
veto files = /Desktop DB/Desktop DF/Trash/Move & Rename/
and then restart Windows services - probably enough to
sudo killall -HUP smbd
assuming of course that all Windows users are logged off at the time

Hidden Files Appearing

For some strange reason, etc, tmp, var, and Bootx.bootinfo have appeared in my root directory and I can't use SetFile -aV to hide them (I get an error). Since tiger doesn't use the .hidden file anymore (but respects it) does anyone have a solution for how to hide these files again? It's more cosmetic than anything but I don't want to accidentally trash them.
iBook G4 1.33 Mac OS X (10.4.6) Mid-2005 Model

" The symlinks for etc tmp and var are not responding to SetFile even though it's not returning an error."
Depending on what is meant by "are not responding", that might just be the stupid "Finder" - I should have mentioned that the "Finder" will probably have to be restarted before it recognizes the change, but on the other hand, the fact that it worked on "BootX.bootinfo" may mean the problem is something else. The result of 'GetFileInfo' should at least indicate whether or not the attribute is being set.
Regarding the error, I only get see the "-5000" error while attempting to use 'SetFile' on a link that is not owned by the user executing the command, unless the user is "root". It is unexpected that it should appear while executing the command with 'sudo'. Also, note that it is not necessary for "root" to be enabled to use 'sudo', but as along as it is, you could try AppleScript instead.
Also, when posting about commands not working, it is often helpful if the exact command that was used is included in the post. Something that I am told OS X does differently from other unix based systems is its handling of symbolic links and autocompletion. OS X adds a trailing slash when autocompleting the name of a symbolic link to a directory. It seems that with 'SetFile', if the argument is a symbolic link to a directory and is entered with the trailing slash, it will act on the link's target even in the presence of the '-P' flag so this might be another reason why the command may appear to fail. Of course, it should be possible to use 'GetFileInfo' to check the status of both link and target after executing the command...

Hidden fIles display?

I just go an iMac and connected a Maxtor external HD to it and a MuVo MP3 player. Everything is OK but when I open these devices the file structure shows me what seem to be Hidden Files....Resource Fork, etc.
I don't want to see that when I click on the HD. I just want to see the normal files without the excess pollution of visual space.
So far I have not been able to locate any preference which would allow me to hide these files from view...like Don't show Hidden Files.
Can someone help?

Neil,
This is why I like these discussion pages. If you take the time to look around and be patient you will generally find the answer to the problem.
In my case my Macbook Pro crashed unexpectedly and on getting it going again for some really strange reason there were hidden files from all corners of its Universe on display including all of the root files and even hidden files on the desktop. Really strange and I was in a state of panic having had to do a rebuild about 2 weeks ago and thinking "oh dear, here we go again". To make matters worse the program icons and/or shortcuts everywhere were kind of light coloured.
I followed a process described in the help files which involved using the "Mac OS X Install Disk" and navigating to to some deep dark place on the install DVD and finally running a "sudo" command. It didn't fix the problem.
Your script worked perfectly (once I had fixed the typos) and for that I am eternally grateful. I have saved a copy, just in case.
I still don't understand what happened to make all the hidden files unexpectedly visible but no doubt someone such as yourself would be able to offer a technical explanation.
Man, if I could award you a star I would.
Thanks heaps.
Chris

List hidden files

I want to find out why so much space was taken up on a USB drive. Apparently there is no option within Finder to do that. Strangely, within Time Machine I can view hidden files when entering exclusions. Why is there not this option directly with Finder?
I have extensively used Unix in years gone by and am willing to use ls to get that information. However, I am not clear as to what the command would be to designate that volume. The disk is mounted and shows up in /Volumes as External backup. The command would be ...?
Better yet would be a link to a 'cheatsheet' for Mac OS X terminal commands. The man command does not do much good if I don't know what to look for.

Bruce Michel wrote:
I want to find out why so much space was taken up on a USB drive. Apparently there is no option within Finder to do that. Strangely, within Time Machine I can view hidden files when entering exclusions. Why is there not this option directly with Finder?
Actually there is.
When you are searching, click the Action Gear and select "Show Search Criteria"
In the dropdown boxes, under Kind, select System Files, Include; and File Visiblity, Visible or Invisible.
If these items do not show in the dropdown box, then first select Kind - Other and be sure to check them off.

How do I find and free the hidden files on external drive?

I cannot see , or free, space on my external drive.
It is a Seagate Freeagent 500 GB disk. I am using 100GB for photos and music. Only 38 MB are reported free. How can I reclaim the rest of the space?
I had used in the past as Time machine backup. To create space I moved to trash the file Backups.backupd (as I now have another disk for Time Machine). I can't see this file in the Trash, and I can't see the space in Finder. How do I find / free the space?
The disk format is MAC OS Extended journaled. Disk utility reports no errors. I have run verify and fix, and also erase free space, with no result.
Thank you for your help.

Erase free space only wipes clean the 38 MBs that are already free. Click here to see hidden files.
However, I'd just make a copy of the 100 GBs in use, and then complely wipe the disk.
Don't try to delete the Backups.backupd folder by Finder. It's not a good idea to mix Finder and TM.

How do I stop Mac creating files on Windows server creating hidden files?

I have my macbook connecting to a windows 2003 server share. Whenever I write a file, either by creating or editing and saving, it creates a hidden file too. I edit filename.doc then I'll also have ._filename.doc in that directory. It's distracting the windows users and causing me to become a little unpopular. How can I prevent those hidden files from being created?

This happens in part with some Mac files that contain both a resource and a data fork. Windows doesn't know how to handle these files and breaks them apart. Also, Mac OS creates certain hidden files used by the Finder that also get transferred but are no longer hidden on Windows because Windows does not recognize the "." preceding a filename as the Unix shorthand for "invisible."
There are a number of free utilities you will find at VersionTracker or MacUpdate that can prevent this and the hidden files from appearing on the Windows drive.
Zipping files before transfer will also prevent the problem from occurring.

How to remove my ex-company's server? Their IT set up hidden files to access computer anytime. I went thru all the Network

I worked for a company from my home. They had an IT company that would maintain ecverything thru the network and wirelessly.
I no longer work for the company but was able to keep the computer. Since I've left the company I have noticed they have accessed the computer. I have gone through all the steps to change the network, account settings, etc. But still - when I try to Update the Software I get an error message that I cannot access company.server. I don't want to access company.server. I want to wipe away them and their access to the computer. How can I find their hidden Network setup. I have all hidden files showing nd can't find it. Help. I want to use this computer but can't till I get those jerks' nose out! Thanks, Carole

I was afraid you were going to say that.
My desktop is 4-5 years old.
I've been messing with backing up programs onto my 200GB backup drive all evening.
I'm glad I only did work stuff on that computer and very little personal stuff.
I'll go check my disks, but they are very old. I'll have a ton of software updating on all the applications.
Would it work if I -
1st: boot-up from the original disc
2nd: Pull all files from the desktop computer onto my backup drive;
3rd: After I wipe out the computer just drag all the files and apps back upto the computer?
Or do I HAVE to reinstall all apps? Having old disks that will then need to be updated is not very fun.
Thanks, Carole

I have a 2nd gen Mac book air with Lion. The hard disk has filled up even though i keep my data , music etc on hard drive . I used disk inspector to find where problem was and it is 20GB in the hidden files under the user directory can i resolve this ?

I have a 2nd Gen MAc book Air with Lion . The 60GB hard disc has quickly filled up despite me keeping most of my data on a portable hard drive . I used disk inspector to locate the problem but found that it was was in 20 GB of hidden files in my user directory . Is this correct and is there anything i can do about it ? Using disk inspector you can not see individual hudden diretories or files. I did unhide them but there is a mass of diretories etc and so no way i could see if this is one or multiple files using the space. Library System and Applications are at 4 3 and 3 GB respectvely. The data I actually keep on there is 9GB Thanks for any help

I think the problem is Quick Time Player. I am using OS 10.6.8 by the way.
I tried it out again.
I had about 26 GB of space before I played an .avi video.
After the movie started to play (it was slow to load), I got a warning message that my startup disk was full. I opened Disk Utility and it told me I had no space left (about 20 MB or something like that was left).
I watched to the end of the movie.
Then I quit Quicktime Player.
And I shut down the computer.
I turned on the computer and checked Disk Utility. I have about 26 GB of space.
I think for some reason Quicktime Player uses up a lot of the disk space when it runs movies that are problematic. This movie I was watching did not open with vlc.
I normally use vlc to watch movies.
Probably it doesn't use up this much space when the movie is OK.
I think there's a problem with this particular movie. It is about 50 MB so it's not that big a file. I watch .smi subtitles with it. The Quicktime Player automatically loads the subtitle file in this case because the subtitle file has the same name as the movie file.
I watched about 10 movie files from the same series that I downloaded together and did not have any problem watching them. I watched them on vlc. But this latest movie had problems I think (as I repeat). It did not load on vlc even though I waited for a minute, and normally movies load instantly on vlc.
So I think that movie file caused problems. It made QT player use up a lot of hard disk space.
I had better avoid watching that movie in the future. I don't want it to wreck my hard drive.
So to sum up, everything is back to normal. I have the hard disk space that I should have. However, I am scared of damaging my hard drive due to shonky movie files that eat up all the space when they are played using QT player, and so I will not watch those files in the future, as I do not know why the files do that.

How can I see the hidden file and erase it?

I had to make a file starting "." and had to put it on my FTP client. I made it by Text Edit and Microsoft word and save it. Since it is hidden file, I can't see on my Mac but when I use the FTP client and click post, the file listing was showed up and I can check as "Show Hidden file". Then I could post the files on the FTP client. However, since I don't need it on my computer, I'd like to erase it but can't find the files. How can I find the hidden files? Thank you.

if you know the folder then navigate to that folder. Open the Terminal application in your Utiities folder and do the following::
Enable Finder to Show Invisible Files and Folders
Open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder. At the prompt enter or paste the following command line then press RETURN.
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
To turn off the display of invisible files and folders enter or paste the following command line and press RETURN.
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
Alternatively you can use one of the numerous third-party utilities such as TinkerTool or ShowHideInvisibleFiles - VersionTracker or MacUpdate.

How can I convert multiple hidden files into normal files at once?

I have a folder with a few hundred hidden files that I no longer want hidden. If I were to change each file separately it would take hours to finish. I was hoping that there was some way to convert all of these files at once with the terminal. Can anyone offer a solution? Thanks.

Can anyone help?

How do I find hidden files/folder in the Users folder?

Hi,
Is there any way to make certain files visible in the Users folder? I purchased a plug-in and in order for the update to correctly work, I need to find the old file (which is hidden.) I tried Spotlight but it didn't find anything.
Any tips/help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder. Enter or paste the following command line then press RETURN.
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles Yes
To hide hidden files substitute No for Yes in the above command line.
To use Spotlight you need to enable the search for hidden files. You need to click on the "+" button next the the Save button in the search bar of the Finder. Then select Other from the Kind drop down menu. Locate the "File Invisible" attribute from the list and check it to enable it. You can now select the option to display or not display invisible files.
Download Easy Find - VersionTracker or MacUpdate - and use it instead of Spotlight. Easy Find will find everything Spotlight doesn't find.

How do I get Firefox to show hidden files and folders. It should be available under help but help only gets as far as Open Containing folder and doesn't go on to show hidden files and folders

I am trying to find the status of Adobe Flash Player on my computer. I am advised that it exists in Firefox's hidden files and folders but I cannot find such a folder

You have an older version of Flash installed - Shockwave Flash 10.0 r45
You can see that for yourself in Tools > Addons > Plugins
"Show hidden files and folders" is a function of the Operating System, not an application such as Firefox. Windows Control Panel > Folder Options > View - Advanced Settings

Strange hidden files

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for