How to Add the Folders Group to This PC in Windows 11

The October 18, 2022 KB5019509 update for Windows 11 introduces tab support in Explorer. However, the update also removes the “Folders” group in This PC.

22h2 folders - add to this pc

As you see in the above screenshot, only the “Devices and drives” section is available. In the earlier builds, the Folders group contained the links to your special folders. This change is seen after installing the October 18, 2022—KB5019509 (OS Build 22621.675) Out-of-band update.

Solution

To add the shell folders, namely, Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos, to the top of This PC view, follow these steps:

  • Download add-remove-folders-this-pc.zip
  • Extract the contents of the archive to a folder.
    add to this pc windows 11 - folders group
  • Double-click the file add-all-folders.reg and click Yes when asked for confirmation.
  • Close and re-open Explorer. The shell folders should appear in the This PC view now.
    add to this pc windows 11 - folders group

Additional Information

If you want to add only selected folders (e.g., desktop, documents, or music), run the corresponding REG file included in the archive. The archive contains the following files:

  • add-all-folders.reg
  • remove-all-folders.reg
  • add-music.reg
  • add-pictures.reg
  • add-videos.reg
  • add-desktop.reg
  • add-documents.reg
  • add-downloads.reg

Contents of the REG files

File: add-all-folders.reg



Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

;----------------------------------------------------------------
;Restores special folders to "This PC" in Windows 11 22H2 and up
;----------------------------------------------------------------

;Desktop
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}]
"HideIfEnabled"=-

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}\ShellFolder]
"SortOrderIndex"=dword:00000000

;Documents
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{d3162b92-9365-467a-956b-92703aca08af}]
"HideIfEnabled"=-

;Downloads
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{088e3905-0323-4b02-9826-5d99428e115f}]
"HideIfEnabled"=-

;Music
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{3dfdf296-dbec-4fb4-81d1-6a3438bcf4de}]
"HideIfEnabled"=-

;Pictures
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{24ad3ad4-a569-4530-98e1-ab02f9417aa8}]
"HideIfEnabled"=-

;Videos
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{f86fa3ab-70d2-4fc7-9c99-fcbf05467f3a}]
"HideIfEnabled"=-

File: remove-all-folders.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

;----------------------------------------------------------------
;Removes special folders from "This PC" in Windows 11 22H2 and up
;----------------------------------------------------------------

;Desktop
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}]
"HideIfEnabled"=dword:022ab9b9

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}]

;Documents
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{d3162b92-9365-467a-956b-92703aca08af}]
"HideIfEnabled"=dword:022ab9b9

;Downloads
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{088e3905-0323-4b02-9826-5d99428e115f}]
"HideIfEnabled"=dword:022ab9b9

;Music
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{3dfdf296-dbec-4fb4-81d1-6a3438bcf4de}]
"HideIfEnabled"=dword:022ab9b9

;Pictures
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{24ad3ad4-a569-4530-98e1-ab02f9417aa8}]
"HideIfEnabled"=dword:022ab9b9

;Videos
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{f86fa3ab-70d2-4fc7-9c99-fcbf05467f3a}]
"HideIfEnabled"=dword:022ab9b9

Editor’s note

The above registry fix applies to all users on the computer. However, if you want to add the shell folders for the current user account only, you need to generate a custom shell namespace object for each shell folder. To automate the task, please use the script method in the article How to Add a Custom Folder under “This PC” in Explorer.

If you use the custom folder method in the linked article, you need to edit each REG file (the script creates on your desktop) and update the DefaultIcon for each shell folder if you want the folders to appear with the special folder icon.


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Ramesh Srinivasan is passionate about Microsoft technologies and he has been a consecutive ten-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award in the Windows Shell/Desktop Experience category, from 2003 to 2012. He loves to troubleshoot and write about Windows. Ramesh founded Winhelponline.com in 2005.

8 thoughts on “How to Add the Folders Group to This PC in Windows 11”

  1. This is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I think I have aged myself there. But it is great.
    May you live long and prosper. 😎

    Reply
  2. Thanks a lot for your simple solution.
    Honestly, sometimes I don’t understand what are these IT guys doing except screwing up every nice features.

    Reply
  3. My mistake. The folders do appear in the main right window of This PC. What I wanted to do was to show the known folders in the left Navigation Panel under This PC along with the arrow that can reveal sub-folders as was the case in Windows 10. Any ideas on how to do that?

    Reply

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