Computer - Add or Remove from Navigation Pane in Windows 8 Explorer

Add or Remove "Computer" or "This PC" from Navigation Pane in Windows 8 or Windows 8.1

information   Information
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove Computer (Windows 8) or This PC (Windows 8.1) from the navigation pane of File Explorer for all users.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.

Note   Note
This will also add or remove the default Computer or This PC desktop icon as well even if checked there.


If you like, you could create a shortcut for Computer using the location below that will still open directly to "Computer" in File Explorer even if you removed Computer. The Computer icon is located in the imageres.dll file if you wanted to change the shortcut's icon.

explorer.exe /e,::{20d04fe0-3aea-1069-a2d8-08002b30309d}


EXAMPLE: "Computer" in Navigation Pane of Windows 8
NOTE:
This is the Computer group added (default) (left screenshot below) and removed (right screenshot below) from the Navigation Pane.
Added.jpgRemoved.jpg




Here's How:

1. From the Start or Apps screen, start and finish typing regedit, and press Enter.

2. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.

3. In regedit, navigate to the location below, then do step 4 or 5 below for what you would like to do. (see screenshot below)

Code:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKCR.jpg

4. To Add "Computer" or "This PC" to Navigation Pane in Windows 8 or Windows 8.1
NOTE:
This is the default setting.
A) Do step 4B or 4C below.​
B) In the right pane of ShellFolder, right click or press and hold on Attributes (if there), click/tap on Delete and Yes, and go to step 4D below. (see screenshot below step 3 or 6A)​
OR
C) In the right pane of ShellFolder, double click/tap on Attributes (if there) to modify it, type in b084010c, click/tap on OK, and go to step 4D below. (see screenshot below)​
reg-add.jpg

D) If you have a 64-bit Windows 8/8.1 installed go to step 6 below.​
E) If you have a 32-bit Windows 8/8.1 installed go to step 7 below.​

5. To Remove "Computer" or "This PC" from Navigation Pane in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1
A) If you have not already, then in the left pane of regedit, take ownership of and set permissions to "Allow" the Administrators group "Full control" of the ShellFolder registry key. (see screenshot below step 3 or 6A)​
B) In the right pane of ShellFolder, right click or press and hold on a empty space and click/tap on New and DWORD (32-bit) Value. Type Attributes and press Enter. (see screenshot below step 3 or 6A)​
NOTE: If Attributes is already here, then you can skip this step and go to step 5C below instead.​
C) In the right pane of ShellFolder, double click/tap on Attributes to modify it, type in b094010c, click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)​
reg-remove.jpg

D) If you have a 64-bit Windows 8/8.1 installed go to step 6 below.​
E) If you have a 32-bit Windows 8/8.1 installed go to step 7 below.​

6. If you have 64-bit Windows 8/8.1 Installed

Note   Note
If you have 64-bit Windows 8/8.1 installed, then you will need to do this step to also add or remove Computer or This PC from the "Open" and "Save as" type dialog windows.

This step is not available or needed if you have 32-bit Windows 8/8.1 installed.


A) In regedit, navigate to the location below. (see screenshot below)​

Code:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Classes\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKLM.jpg
B) Repeat step 4 or 5 above.​
C) When finished go to step 7 below.​

7. Close regedit, then either restart explorer, sign out and in, or restart the computer to apply.


That's it,
Shawn


 

Attachments

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Last edited by a moderator:
No "Attributes" key under "ShellFolder." How do I add it?

I've run regedit as Administrator but still don't have permission to add key.

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Hello Steve,

Step 5B can help show you how to, but you will need to step 5A first to be able to. :)
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Thanks, Brink.

Problem is more basic. I can do 4 or 5 easily, but when I try to change permissions for 6, I get the message: "Unable to save permission changes on ShellFolder. Access is denied."
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Great news Steve. You're most welcome. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hello ElectricHuman, and welcome to Eight Forums.

That's correct. When you remove "Computer" from the navigation pane, it will also disable the Computer desktop icon.

However, you could manually create a Computer shortcut on your desktop using the location below that will still open to Computer in File Explorer. The Computer icon is located in the imageres.dll file if you wanted to change the icon of the shortcut.

explorer.exe /e,::{20d04fe0-3aea-1069-a2d8-08002b30309d}

Hope this helps, :)
Shawn
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
You're most welcome. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
This doesn't seem to work anymore is there another way to remove This PC from the navigation pane?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
This doesn't seem to work anymore is there another way to remove This PC from the navigation pane?

Hello Jbui, and welcome to Eight Forums. :)

It still works. Please double check to make sure that you didn't miss a step or possibly made a mistake.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
This doesn't seem to work anymore is there another way to remove This PC from the navigation pane?

Hello Jbui, and welcome to Eight Forums. :)

It still works. Please double check to make sure that you didn't miss a step or possibly made a mistake.

So it does! I forgot to do a step. Thank you for posting this, it helped a lot :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
You're most welcome. I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Great tutorial, it is very detailed, I managed to do it with no problem.:thumb::D

One thing though is not working really well.
The "computer" shortcut appears in the navigation pane in the "save" or "open" windows of my browser (Google Chrome). If I click "open" in other softwares (i.e. photoshop), the shortcut does not appear, but appears in the browser.

It seems that the second part of the tutorial which was meant to prevent this worked only partially. Could anyone help me solve this?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
Hello lkessauro, and welcome to Eight Forums. :)

Since you have a 64-bit Windows 8.1, double check to make sure that you did step 6.

If it checks out, then see if restarting the PC may help.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hello lkessauro, and welcome to Eight Forums. :)

Since you have a 64-bit Windows 8.1, double check to make sure that you did step 6.

If it checks out, then see if restarting the PC may help.

Hi, thanks for replying so fast. I double checked every step, actually, did it all over again to make sure I wasn't making a mistake. The result was the same.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
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