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So I just installed Windows 8.1 and it is showing a bunch of folders (like Desktop, Documents...) in My Computer:

enter image description here

How can I remove them? I just want my drives to be listed.

Chin
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2 Answers2

13

I just found the answer following the guide here:
http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/42957/windows-8-1-hide-librar-folders-in-my-computer/

  1. Open the Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace. There will be several subkeys in NameSpace, each corresponding to one of the folders in the My Computer view:

    {1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE} : Music folder
    {374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B} : Downloads folder
    {3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA} : Pictures folder
    {A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C} : Videos folder
    {A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0} : Documents folder
    {B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641} : Desktop

  2. To remove a folder from the My Computer view delete the corresponding key.

Community
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Chin
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    Hello Chin, please could you summarise your findings into the answer. Links can go stale and so this answer would not help anyone else with the same question in the future. – Paul Oct 08 '13 at 05:27
  • This will also removed these folders in navigation pane as discussed here http://superuser.com/questions/765060/how-to-remove-unwanted-items-in-this-pc-in-windows-explorer-in-windows-8-1 – Nam G VU Jun 28 '14 at 04:39
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    @NamGVU no need to flag my post. This was a false positive. The tools from WinAero.com are all clear. – magicandre1981 Jun 28 '14 at 05:33
  • Unfortunatly, this is not permanent. After update or other Windows events, they come back. See this stackoverflow question: http://superuser.com/questions/776003/permanently-remove-folder-from-this-pc#autocomment1315238 – e-motiv Sep 06 '15 at 11:01
1

In addition to Chin's own answer for 64-bit Windows, if you also want to remove the folders from things like the 'Save As' dialog, you can remove the same subkeys from 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace

as well. Note the difference in path being Wow6432Node in stead of Microsoft.

To automate this for both locations, you may use this code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; ####################################################
; Remove Folders from File Explorer in Windows 8.1 x64
; ####################################################

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE}]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE}]
; Music Folder

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B}]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B}]
; Downloads Folder

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA}]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA}]
; Pictures Folder

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C}]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C}]
; Videos Folder

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0}]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0}]
; Documents Folder

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}]
; Desktop Folder

Paste it in a file called something like remove_folders.reg and then double-click that file to execute.

For more info, refer to http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/28025-pc-add-remove-folders-windows-8-1-a.html

NinjaTuna
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