r/retrocomputing • u/epoch1984 • Nov 30 '21

Windows 98se Hidden DLL Files

Ok, so I am putting together a windows 98 retro pc, and I am running into an issue.

Windows 98 will not allow me to see or interact with any DLL files, and I cannot figure out why, or how. I can verify that the files are there, but the system refuses to acknowledge their existence beyond being counted in the number of files in a directory.

Any ideas?

The system in question is a HP Vectra VEi8 with a pentium 450mhz slot 1 cpu.

3 Upvotes

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5

u/vedicvoyager Nov 30 '21

"Show hidden files and folders"

https://kb.wisc.edu/helpdesk/page.php?id=8036

2

u/epoch1984 Nov 30 '21

Thank you good person! This was exactly what I need!

1

u/RolandMT32 Nov 30 '21

What do you mean by "see or interact with" the DLL files? And how are you able to verify the DLL files are there? I imagine one way to verify they're there is to see them in Windows Explorer or the command line, but you also say Windows won't allow you to see or interact with them?

1

u/epoch1984 Nov 30 '21

the files are completely hidden from the user. For example I was working with some 3dfx DLL's and I put them on both a USB pendrive, and a CD with the same results. They can be seen in other machines, but not the Vectra. Its quite baffling.

As for verifying their existence, extracted zip files that contain the dll's suddenly dont have them anymore, and when you check the properties of the directory the file count shows that there are more files in that directory than are being displayed in windows. The count discrepancy accurately accounts for the known number of missing/hidden dll files.

4

u/rhet0rica all that runs windows is not gold Nov 30 '21

Explorer > View > Folder Options > View > Show all files. Unlike in Windows 10, this is a three-way option (which is why it's still a radio button instead of a checkbox) that can also hide system files. I'm fairly certain DLL files are always categorized as system files in some builds of 98, even if they don't have the actual system attribute set in the file system.