He clicked the tab at the top of the File Explorer window—a ribbon of options that most people scroll past. In the Show/hide section, there was a simple checkbox: Hidden items .
Normally, he'd list files with ls . But ls ignores dot-files. The secret was the -a flag (for "all"). how to unhide hidden folders
He then deleted it properly.
There was his missing space. The ghost had a name. If the simple checkbox doesn't work (some system-protected files remain hidden), you need to go deeper. In File Explorer, click View > Options (or the dropdown arrow next to "Options") > Change folder and search options . In the dialog box, click the View tab. Under "Advanced settings," select Show hidden files, folders, and drives . Then, crucially , uncheck Hide protected operating system files . Warning: This reveals the skeleton of Windows itself. Don't delete anything unless you are certain. Path Two: The macOS Revelation Later, Alex checked his MacBook Pro. The same external drive, plugged in via USB-C, showed the same discrepancy. But macOS plays by different rules. He clicked the tab at the top of
He typed:
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles true Then, to restart the Finder and apply the change: But ls ignores dot-files