How to Set Dev Drive as Trusted or Untrusted in Windows 11

This article explains how to mark or designate a Dev Drive as ‘Trusted‘ or ‘Untrusted‘ in Windows 11.

Dev Drive is a new form of storage volume available to improve performance for key developer workloads. It is built on ReFS technology to employ targeted file system optimizations and provide more control over storage volume settings and security.

By default, a Dev Drive is automatically designated as trusted using a flag stored in the system registry. The trusted flag signals that the content stored on the volume is highly protected and that Microsoft Defender can run in performance mode.

An untrusted Dev Drive will not have the same privileges as a trusted Dev Drive. Security will run in real-time protection mode when a Dev Drive is untrusted.

Running Microsoft Defender in performance mode provides a balance between threat protection and performance. Real-time protection will still be enabled on all other storage volumes.

Set a Dev Drive as Trusted or Untrusted

As mentioned above, users can designate or set a Dev Drive as trusted or untrusted. By default, a Dev Drive is trusted.

Here’s how to do that.

First, open the Windows Terminal app as administrator.

You can do that by clicking on the Start menu and searching for Terminal. Then, under Best match, select and open the Windows Terminal app as administrator.

Alternatively, you can configure the Windows Terminal app to always open as administrator.

When the Terminal app opens, run the commands below to query the Dev Drive you want to provide its details, including the drive trust or untrusted state.

fsutil devdrv query <drive letter>:

Substitute <drive letter> in the command above with the actual drive letter in Windows.

Designate a Dev Drive as trusted

Now that you know the Dev Drive is untrusted, you can run the command below to make or designate the drive as trusted.

fsutil devdrv trust W:

The command above designates the W Dev Drive as trusted.

Designate a Dev Drive as untrusted

If the Dev Drive is trusted and you want to designate it untrusted, run the command below instead.

fsutil devdrv untrust W:

The command above designates the W Dev Drive as untrusted.

That should do it!

Source:

Microsoft

Conclusion:

• Key Takeaways:
  • By designating a Dev Drive as trusted or untrusted, users can control the security and performance settings of the storage volume based on their specific requirements.
  • Windows 11 provides a straightforward command-line interface for this process, allowing users to manage the trust state of Dev Drives easily.
• Final Thoughts:
  • Understanding how to mark a Dev Drive as trusted or untrusted empowers users to optimize their storage configuration for security and performance, aligning with their needs and preferences.
  • The flexibility offered by this feature reflects Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the user experience and security capabilities within the Windows 11 environment.