How to Hide Specific Drives in Windows 11

How Can You Access Hidden Drives?

Accessing your hidden drives in Windows 11 remains possible. Type the drive letter, like D:, into the File Explorer address bar and press Enter. Alternatively, open Disk Management (a tool for managing storage devices) by searching for ‘diskmgmt.msc’, finding the drive, and then 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 Windows key + 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.

You can hide or unhide specific drives in Windows 11 using the Registry Editor. To unhide all your drives, look for a setting named ‘NoDrives’ on the right side of the Registry Editor window. If it’s present, right-click it and select Delete. Confirm the action by clicking Yes.

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.

You can hide or unhide specific drives in Windows 11 using the Registry Editor. To unhide all your drives, look for a setting named ‘NoDrives’ on the right side of the Registry Editor window. If it’s present, right-click it and select Delete. Confirm the action by clicking Yes.

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.

You can hide specific drives in Windows 11 so these drives do not show up in 📁 File Explorer. Hidden drives keep their assigned drive letters. Accessing these drives is still possible by typing their letter into the File Explorer address bar or by using Disk Management. Administrator rights are necessary for these changes, so follow the Registry Editor steps with care.