How to Hide Drive Letters in Windows Explorer

This guide explains the specific Windows Registry entry used to control the visibility of drive letters in Windows File Explorer. By modifying this DWORD value, you can hide drive letters entirely or customize whether they appear before or after drive names in the file browsing pane.

The Registry Value

The display of drive letters in File Explorer is controlled by the ShowDriveLettersFirst value.

• Registry Path (Current User):
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
• Registry Path (All Users):
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
• Value Name: ShowDriveLettersFirst
• Value Type: REG_DWORD (32-bit Value)

Value Data Options

You can set the ShowDriveLettersFirst value to the following decimal or hexadecimal integers to change the behavior:

• 0: Default behavior (drive letters appear after the drive label, e.g., “Local Disk (C:)”).
• 1: Drive letters appear before the drive label (e.g., “(C:) Local Disk”).
• 2: Hides drive letters completely (e.g., “Local Disk”).
• 4: Shows drive letters before network drives only, leaving local drive letters after the label.

How to Apply the Change

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
3. Look for the DWORD named ShowDriveLettersFirst in the right-hand pane. If it does not exist, right-click the empty space, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it ShowDriveLettersFirst.
4. Double-click the value, set the Value data to 2 to hide drive letters, and click OK.
5. Restart Windows Explorer through Task Manager or log out and back in for the changes to take effect.