How to Hide Specific Drives in Windows 11

How Can You Access Hidden Drives?

Accessing hidden drives in Windows 11 remains possible. Type the drive letter, like D:, into the File Explorer 📁 address bar and press Enter. Alternatively, launch Disk Management (a built-in tool for managing storage devices) by searching for ‘diskmgmt.msc’, locating the volume, and opening it.

• Type the drive letter (for example, F:) in the File Explorer 📁 address bar and press Enter.
• Open Disk Management by typing diskmgmt.msc in the Start menu ⊞ search, right-click the drive, and select Open.
• Use a command prompt or Windows Terminal and type the drive letter followed by Enter.

Follow These Easy Steps to Hide Drives

Step 1Open the Registry Editor

1. Press Win+R, type regedit, and press Enter.

⚠️ Admin Required

Step 2Go to the Explorer Folder in Registry

In Registry Editor, use the left sidebar to navigate to this folder:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Here's what it looks like:

Step 3Choose to Hide or Unhide Drives

To Unhide All Drives

1. Look for a setting called NoDrives on the right side.
2. If you see NoDrives, right-click it and select Delete.
3. Confirm by clicking Yes.

Look for a setting named 'NoDrives' on the right side of the window. Right-click it and select Delete, then click Yes to confirm.

To Hide Specific Drives

1. If you don't see NoDrives, right-click on a blank space on the right pane, choose New › DWORD (32-bit) Value.
2. Name it NoDrives.
3. Double-click NoDrives to edit it.
4. Select Decimal and enter the number that matches the drive(s) you want to hide (see the table below for the numbers).
5. Click OK.

Look for a setting named 'NoDrives' on the right side of the window. Right-click it and select Delete, then click Yes to confirm.

Drive Letter Numbers Table

Step 4Finish Up

1. Close the Registry Editor.
2. You need to restart your File Explorer or your computer for the change to work:

   • Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
   • Find Windows Explorer under Processes.
   • Right-click it and choose Restart.
   • Or simply sign out and sign back in or restart your PC.

Summary

• You can hide one or many drives from showing in File Explorer.
• The drives keep their letters and can still be accessed by typing their letter or using Disk Management.
• You need admin rights to change these settings.
• Use the Registry Editor carefully — follow the steps exactly.
• Restart File Explorer or your PC to see the changes.

Hiding specific drives in Windows 11 stops them from showing up in File Explorer while preserving their assigned letters. Accessing these partitions remains possible by typing the letter into the File Explorer address bar or utilizing Disk Management. Administrative rights are necessary for these modifications, requiring careful execution of the Registry Editor steps.