While there are quite a few ways to accomplish this, what follows is the way I typically go about showing hidden files in Windows Vista. If you have a faster or easier way, feel free to leave a comment and share the love.
First, open a Windows Explorer window (WinKey + E or My Computer would work). Note the top of the screen has no menu bar:
Now hit the Alt key on the keyboard. Hey presto! We now have a menu bar:
Click on Tools –> Folder Options.
Go to the View Tab and look for the Hidden files and folders section.
Hit OK and you’re done.
Possibly Related posts:
January 23rd, 2009 
Tags: 
Great tip! I’m always on the lookout for quick PC tips. Thanks!
this info is helpfull for me..thanks for share..
I got as far as windows and culd not reach “history” or any place further down to see my hidded files/folders-can you hel?
running vista ultimate sp1 x64, and i’ve got a hidden file and won’t show itself no matter what i try. yeah, i’ve got the thing checked to show hidden files; doesn’t make the file show itself. using explorer, the folder window shows one file, an mp3. i tried to save some album art to the folder under the name “folder.jpg” and got an error about there already being a file there with that name. **boggle** i happened to have a cygwin bash shell running in a window, so i jumped over there, changed to that directory and ran ‘ls’… much to my surprise, a file with the name ‘folder.jpg’ was included in the listing (and, actually, another file ‘AlbumArtSmall.jpg’, but whatever…) if i cp the file in bash, it’ll show up in explorer. then if i try to rename the copy back to the original (overwrite it) in explorer, i can’t. i have the option to rename, say, ‘folderX’ to ‘folder (2)’, but it won’t let me rename it back to the original, and i can’t get the original to show itself in explorer. any idea?