How to See Every File On Your Computer in CMD (Command Prompt)

View every file on your computer

Written by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: January 15, 2025 Fact Checked

Do you want to see every file on your computer? Maybe there are some files you need that are missing, or maybe you just want to ensure there aren't unfamiliar files on your system. Regardless of your reasons for listing every file on your computer, you can use a command in Command Prompt (cmd) on Windows 10/11 computers to see a list of all files on your hard drive.

Easily List Every File on Your Computer

Open Command Prompt as an administrator, type "cd C:\", and press "Enter" to navigate to the root of your C drive. Type "dir /s" and press "Enter" to list every file on the drive.

Steps

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Type "Command Prompt" in your Start menu and right-click the "Command Prompt" result to open another menu. Select Run as administrator.
Use the cd command to enter the root of your main drive. For example, if you want to list every file on your C drive, type cd C:\ and press Enter.

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Type dir /s and press ↵ Enter. This will show you every file on the drive in the Command Prompt window. You can also use additional parameters with the dir command to change what you see. Some popular parameters and their uses are:
- dir /s /a:[attributes] displays files with specified attributes.
  - For example, dir /s /a:h lists hidden files, and dir /s /a:d shows directories.^{[1]
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- dir /s /b shows the files in bare format (no headers or summary).
- dir /s /o:[order] specifies the order to display the files.
  - dir /s /o:n displays files in alphabetical order.
  - dir /s /o:d displays files oldest to newest.
  - dir /s /o:s sorts files smallest to largest.
  - dir /s /o:-s sorts files largest to smallest.
- Enter dir /s /a:hs /q C:\Windows > myfile.txt to send the results to a text file instead of viewing them in the Command Prompt window. You can open that file with Notepad to read it, or you can type type myfile.txt.^{[2]
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How do I list all of my computer files with Windows 10?

Community Answer

For Windows 10, follow these instructions: Hold the windows key and press "r," type in "cmd" and then press enter, type in "cd ../.." and then press enter, type in "tree" and then press enter. This will usually show all of the files on your hard drive.

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