Disk drives (both fixed as well as removable drives) appear under the “This PC” category in File Explorer navigation pane. In addition, each removable drive will be pinned as a separate category, appearing after “This PC” and “Libraries” section — that is, the drives appear twice in the navigation pane. This double-listing can sometimes cause confusion to the users. To remove the duplicate or redundant disk drives from navigation pane, here is a quick registry fix.
Remove duplicate drive-letters in File Explorer
- Right-click Start, click Run.
- Type
regedit.exeand click OK to open the Registry Editor. - Go to the following branch in the Registry Editor:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies
- Create a subkey named
NonEnumand select it. - In the
NonEnumkey, create a new DWORD value named{F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83} - Set the data for
{F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83}to1
- Exit the Registry Editor.
- Log off and login back in for the change to take effect.
Note: To apply the setting for all users on the computer, make the modification under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE— in the registry path below:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum
Additional Step: For 32-bit apps running on 64-bit Windows
The Open/Save As dialog in 32-bit applications (e.g., Office/Word/Excel 32-bit) may still see duplicate external drives. For 32-bit applications running on Windows 64-bit, make changes in the following “WOW6432Node” registry key(s) in addition:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum (and/or) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum
That’s it! The duplicate drive letters for your external drive should no longer appear on File Explorer.
Registry File
To automate the above setting, download remove-duplicate-drives.zip, unzip and run the enclosed REG file. Log off and log back in after running the registry file.
More Information
{F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83} is the control that enumerates removable drives and shows it in the navigation pane, next to Libraries. This is in addition to the listing shown by This PC. By preventing this control by using the NonEnum registry key, the enumeration of removable drives and their duplicate appearance is prevented.
The above registry edit has been tested to work in all versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11, including v21H2.
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I tried your suggestion but it didn’t work. I also tried another suggestion from another site without success. I admit to being confused. When you say Create a new DWORD, how do you do that? Same thing for “Set the data…” Given that I did my best to follow you but nothing works. Is there something I did wrong? Help!!!
@Gilbert: Go to the mentioned branch. From the Edit menu, click New > DWORD (32-bit) value. Follow the rest of the instructions.
If running 64 bit, would you type that instead of 32 ? Ps in my case it is a WD Passport drive (G) and it duplicated on my (F) drive which is my CD drive. Both drives say
WD unlocker
Extra
Locale
Autorun.inf
WD drive unlocked.exe
I am running Windows 10 home 64 bit, ver: 1909
Thank you
@Stacy: You need to create a “DWORD (32-bit) value” even if you’re using 64-bit edition.
I have added {F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83} to both of your registry locations, given them a value of 1, & restarted my Windows 10 (V. 2004). External drive (S:)
is still listed under “Devices and drives” plus twice on the navigation pane. Obviously this no longer works. I work in the registry all the time and am very computer literate. Any other suggestions?
@Eddie: I tested the “nonenum” registry edit as in the article. It worked perfectly in Windows 10 v2004. FYI. It’s still valid in October 2020.
Your locaton in the registry is incorrect. If it’s a 32-bit system:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders
If it’s a 64-bit system, do the above plus the following:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders
In both locations under Delegate Folders, delete:
{F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83}
Then restart File/Windows Explorer by doing the following:
1. Open Task Manager by right clicking on the Taskbar.
2. Make sure “More Details” is selected.
3. Scroll down past ‘Apps’, past ‘Background Processes’, and then almost at the end of
Windows Processes you will find Windows Explorer (or File/Windows Explorer).
4. Right click on it and select ‘Restart’.
When you go back to the Navigation Pane, the duplicate of your particular drive should be gone.
@Eddie: No. There are at least 2 methods to remove the duplicate drives in Explorer. Yours is one method, mine is another. Either one works in all versions of Windows 10 (the current version is 2004).
@Eddie Thank you very much. Your method working excellently. I tried everything, deleting key in \DelegateFolders\F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83 but this didn’t help. I reset View od Windows Explorer, didn’t help. Your method of creating in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies DWORD F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83 and set data to 1 resolve this. I used your remove-duplicate-drivers.reg file, and all was easy.
Big thanks for all, and have a good time.
@Ramesh
Works for me.
धन्यवाद
@Michael: Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Hi Ramesh
Worked for me thanks
cheers John
Hi Ramesh,
Thank you for the solution. It actually works for me because the way of deleting the subkey works for few days then it happened again. I have book marked this site for any future reference.
Cheers,
Cindy
Works for me
Worked!