Hi Friends if you’ve come across this page looking for a way to create a password protected, secure, hidden or locked folder in Windows XP for free, you’ve come to the right place,to create a secure locked folder without having to buy any 3rd party software.
It basically involves using a script to morph the folder into something completely different so that it’s still visible, but nothing inside the folder is accessible. In order to view the data, you have to run another script to morph it back. Anyone who clicks on the folder will be brought to the Control Panel and simply think it is a shortcut.
Here are the steps to create the protected folder in Windows XP:
•First create a folder that you will use to store your private data. For example, I have created a folder called Fonts at the root of my E drive. Since the hidden folder will bring you to the Control Panel, it’s best to name the folder as one of the programs inside there.
•In the same location where you created the new folder, create a new file in Notepad, copy the following below into it, replace Fonts with the name of your folder and save it as loc.bat.
ren Fonts Fonts.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
•Now you should have a bat file named loc in the same directory as your Fonts folder, not inside the Fonts folder.
•Create another NotePad file and type in the following listed below and save it as “key.bat”.
ren Fonts.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} Fonts
•Now you’ll have loc.bat and key.bat along with your folder. Go ahead and double-click on loc.bat and your folder will turn into the Control Panel and nothing inside can be viewed. Clicking on it will simply bring you to the Control Panel. You’ll notice the icon should have changed also.
•To view the data inside your folder again, click on key.bat and your folder will return to normal!
Of course, keeping the key.bat file in the same folder will defeat the purpose of securing the folder, so it’s best to move the key.bat file somewhere else, or even better, put it on a USB stick or CD that only you can access.
