Understanding Windows 7's "GodMode"

- July 02, 2012

Although its name suggests perhaps even grander capabilities, Windows enthusiasts are excited over the discovery of a hidden "GodMode" feature that lets users access all of the operating system's control panels from within a single folder.

By creating a new folder in Windows 7 and renaming it with a certain text string at the end, users are able to have a single place to do everything from changing the look of the mouse pointer to making a new hard-drive partition.

The trick is also said to work in Windows Vista, although some are warning that although it works fine in 32-bit versions of Vista, it can cause 64-bit versions of that operating system to crash.

To enter "GodMode," one need only create a new folder and then rename the folder to the following:

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Once that is done, the folder's icon will change to resemble a control panel and will contain dozens of control options. I'm not sure it's my idea of playing God, but it is a handy way to get to all kinds of controls.

Windows 7 has lots of 'GodModes'

Those intrigued by the "GodMode" in Windows 7 may be interested to know that there are many other similar shortcuts hidden within the operating system.
Intended for developers as a shortcut to various internal settings, such features have been around since Vista and even before, according to the head of Microsoft's Windows division, who tells CNET that the so-called GodMode settings folder uncovered by bloggers is just one of many undocumented developer features included in Windows.

In an e-mail interview, Steven Sinofsky, Windows division president, said several similar undocumented features provide direct access to all kinds of settings, from choosing a location to managing power settings to identifying biometric sensors.

As with the all-encompassing GodMode uncovered by bloggers, these other settings can be accessed directly by creating a new folder with any name (GodMode or otherwise) and then including a certain text string. Sinofsky noted more than a dozen strings create particular settings folders, in addition to the overarching GodMode folder option.

Sinofsky and others say the term GodMode was coined by bloggers; it was not something the company used internally to refer to the settings folders. Although Microsoft maintains many such undocumented developer commands to access such settings, all are replicated by the operating system's Control Panel settings.

Such undocumented means of accessing various settings have occurred in previous versions of Windows, and the GodMode identified by bloggers was also present in Windows Vista. Some users of the 64-bit version of Vista, however, say invoking the GodMode folder caused their machines to crash. Microsoft says it has yet to reproduce that problem, though several readers have said they have encountered problems.

It seems that the folks in Redmond have gotten a kick out of all the attention that the GodMode has gotten and have decided to have fun with it. Sinofsky sent a list of other commands that also create special folders (see list below).

Given the Vista issues, though, I would try these only on a Windows 7 machine, ideally a test machine. To make it work, create a new folder with any name, then a period, then one of the text strings below.

For example, the first one could be a folder named "thankspsw.{00C6D95F-329C-409a-81D7-C46C66EA7F33}" (use everything inside quotes--but not the quotes themselves).

Here's the list of strings: