Open This PC instead of Home in Windows 10 with a shortcut and hotkeys

Update: there is a native way to do it. Read HERE.
The information below is outdated and should be used for educational purposes only.

In Windows 10, File Explorer opens at the Home folder by default. You have no option to change this behavior and open it by default at the This PC folder. Here is how you can fix it easily (almost) without using third party tools. If you are not happy with the default behavior of File Explorer in Windows 10, read the rest.

To get rid of the Home folder opening by default, we need to modify the File Explorer shortcut and reconfigure Win + E shortcut keys. Follow the instructions below.

Make the File Explorer shortcut open the This PC folder

1. Create a new shortcut on the Desktop.
2. Type the following as the shortcut target:

   explorer.exe shell:::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

   

3. Name it File Explorer and set the icon from the C:\Windows\Explorer.exe file.
   
4. Now unpin the pinned File Explorer icon from the taskbar.
   
5. Right click and pin the shortcut you just created to the Taskbar.
   
   It will open This PC instead of Home.
   

Now we need to fix Win + E behavior and make those shortcut keys open This PC as well.

How to make Win + E open This PC

This can be done with a special AutoHotkey script. I am sharing with you the source of the script I made. If you are not familiar with AutoHotkey, grab the compiled EXE file below. I named this utility ThisPCLauncher.

If you prefer to not use my ready-made EXE, you can compile it yourself if you install AutoHotkey and save this script's code.

ThisPCLauncher source code

#NoTrayIcon
#Persistent
#SingleInstance, Force
#e::Run, explorer.exe shell:::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

Copy this text to Notepad and save it with an *.ahk extension. Download and install the AutoHotkey software. After that, you will be able to compile the executable file by right clicking the AHK file.

You can get ready-to-use compiled ThisPCLauncher.exe file from here so you don't even have to install AutoHotkey or save the above script:

Download ThisPCLauncher

Just run the app, it will assign Win + E keys to open This PC! It is a very simple and effective solution for this task.
You can make ThisPCLauncher run with Windows. Here's how:

1. Press Win + R shortcut keys together on the keyboard (Tip: See the full list of all Windows keyboard shortcuts with Win keys).
2. Type the following in the Run box:

   shell:startup

   The text above is a special Shell command to open the Startup folder directly. See our exclusive list of shell commands in Windows 10.

3. Put ThisPCLauncher.exe inside the open Startup folder by copy-pasting it or pasting its shortcut. That's it. You are done. Now the script will load at startup.
   I recommend you to look how to speed up the startup of desktop apps in Windows 10.

This PC will be opened instead of Home in Windows 10 from the taskbar as well as with Win + E shortcut hotkeys.

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