Windows 11 Remove Folders from This PC

Here's how to remove folders from This PC in Windows 11 if you don't like to see Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, Downloads, and Desktop in a dedicated section. There are two methods to delete those folders from the This PC location in File Explorer.

By default, Windows 11 opens File Explorer to the Quick Access section with pinned folders and recent files. Those who do not like that behavior can set Windows 11 to open File Explorer to  This PC.

Still, the operating system displays additional directories in the "Folders" section. You can find there shortcuts to the Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music, and Downloads. If you prefer cleaner UIs or want to get more space for local and network drives, you can remove folders in This PC on Windows 11.

Here is how to do that. Note that you need an administrator access level to delete folders in This PC on Windows 11.

Remove Folders from This PC in Windows 11

Unlike Quick Access, where you can remove default or custom folders by right-clicking them and selecting "Unpin from Quick Access," This PC does not offer such an option. That means you need to tinker with Windows Registry to remove default folders from This PC on Windows 11. There are two methods to get this done, the classic one with a GUID key removal, and the ThisPCPolicy method.

Remove This PC folders using the ThisPCPolicy tweak

1. Open Registry Editor; press Win + R and type regedit.
2. Open the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderDescriptions. You can copy-paste this path to the Regedit address bar.
3. Now open a {GUID} key for the folder you want to remove.
   • For Desktop, the key is {B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}.
   • Documents = {f42ee2d3-909f-4907-8871-4c22fc0bf756}.
   • Downloads = {7d83ee9b-2244-4e70-b1f5-5393042af1e4}.
   • Music = {a0c69a99-21c8-4671-8703-7934162fcf1d}.
   • Pictures = {0ddd015d-b06c-45d5-8c4c-f59713854639}.
   • Videos = {35286a68-3c57-41a1-bbb1-0eae73d76c95}.
4. Now, under the {GUID} key you've opened, select the PropertyBag subkey in the left pane.
5. On the right, double-click the ThisPCPolicy value. Change the value data from Show to Hide, then click OK save the changes.
6. If the ThisPCPolicy value is missing, click Edit > New > String Value and rename it to ThisPCPolicy. Set its value data to Hide.

You are done. Finally, to restore hidden folders in This PC on Windows 11, repeat the steps above and change value data for all the needed folders to Show.

Note: the GUID values are "known folders", a feature of the Windows shell. You can read about them more here.

To save your time, you can download ready-to-use Registry files to perform the above changes.

Ready-to-use Registry files

Download the following ZIP archive and extract it to any folder of your choice.

Download REG files

Now, double-click on the files:

• Hide All Folders from This PC in Windows 11.reg - hides all the personal directories in the This PC folder.

Also, the following files will hide individual folders from This PC in Windows 11:

• Hide Desktop folder.reg
• Hide Documents folder.reg
• Hide Downloads folder.reg
• Hide Pictures folder.reg
• Hide Music folder.reg
• Hide Videos folder.reg

Finally, you will find the respective "Show" tweaks for the REG files included into the archive. The will allow you to quickly restore all or select folders in the This PC location in Windows 11.

Alternatively, you can use Winaero Tweaker. It allows quickly removing the folders you have under This PC with a couple of clicks.

Using Winaero Tweaker

Download Winaero Tweaker from this link, install and run it.

In the left pane, select File Explorer \ Customize This PC folders. On the right, select one or more folders to remove them from there, and click on Remove.

Finally, there you can add custom folders to This PC, that is something that Windows 11 doesn't allow you to do with its own options and settings.

To restore the default folder set with Winaero Tweaker, click on the Reset this page to defaults button.

Delete GUID keys for individual folders

This method is quite different, as it assumes that you will delete GUIDs for individual directories in order to remove Folders from This PC in Windows 11. The main disadvantage of this method is that Windows 11 will restore the deleted keys after a build upgrade. Anyway, it is worth covering here.

To remove folders from This PC in Windows 11, do the following.

1. Press Win + R and enter the regedit command in the Run box, then press Enter.
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace. You can copy and paste the path to the Address bar to get there faster.
3. Now remove one or all the following keys that match the folders:
   • Desktop: {B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}.
   • Documents: {d3162b92-9365-467a-956b-92703aca08af}.
   • Downloads: {088e3905-0323-4b02-9826-5d99428e115f}.
   • Music: {3dfdf296-dbec-4fb4-81d1-6a3438bcf4de}.
   • Pictures: {24ad3ad4-a569-4530-98e1-ab02f9417aa8}.
   • Videos: {f86fa3ab-70d2-4fc7-9c99-fcbf05467f3a}.
4. Right-click a folder (key) and select Delete to remove it.
5. Repeat the steps 3-4 for all the folders you want to remove.

The folders will disappear from This PC. Again, you can save a lot of your time by using the ready-to-use REG files.

Ready-for-use registry files

You can avoid browsing jungles of Windows Registry by using ready-for-use registry files to remove folders in This PC on Windows 11.

1. Download registry files in a ZIP archive using this link.
2. Unpack the files wherever you prefer.
3. Open the Remove Folders in This PC on Windows 11.reg file and confirm changes in Windows Registry.
4. If you want to keep some of the default folders, open corresponding registry files from the Remove Specific Folders For example, Remove the Desktop folder in This PC on Windows 11.reg.
5. Close File Explorer and open it again on the This PC section.

Restore default folders in This PC on Windows 11

You can restore removed folders in This PC on Windows 11 by creating previously deleted values. Open Registry Editor and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace. Click Edit > New > Key, then rename a new key using names from the previous section.

For example, the name for the Desktop folder is {B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}.

Alternatively, use the Restore Folders in This PC on Windows 11.reg file from the Ready-for-use Registry Files section. It will let you bring back missing folders with a single click without copy-pasting cryptic names.