Archive for February, 2023

Fix: Classic File Explorer Ribbon Missing in Windows 11 22H2

February 24th, 2023 by Admin

The classic File Explorer ribbon is missing in Windows 11? Starting with Windows 11 22H2, we’re unable to bring back the classic ribbon with a registry tweak any longer. But there are still other ways to launch File Explorer with classic ribbon in Windows 11 22H2.

Method 1: Using Control Panel to Open Classic File Explorer with Ribbon

  1. Open the Control Panel in the Category view, and then click the up arrow to the left of the address bar.

  2. It will launch File Explorer to the desktop with classic ribbon.

Method 2: Create a Batch to Open Classic File Explorer with Ribbon

If you need to access the classic File Explorer ribbon frequently, you can create a batch file to automatically perform the steps described in the above method.

  1. Simply open the Notepad app or other text editor, copy-paste the following commands, and then click the File menu and choose Save.

    powershell.exe -nop -ep bypass -c "& {"Start-Process \"Control\"; $wshell = New-Object -ComObject wscript.shell; $null = $wshell.AppActivate(\"Control Panel\"); Start-Sleep 0.8; $wshell.SendKeys("'""^"lThis PC~"'")}"

  2. The Save As dialog box will appear. Use the Save as type drop-down menu to choose All files (*.*), then type in a file name ending with .bat extension, click Save.

  3. Now you can double-click the batch file you just created to open classic File Explorer with ribbon quickly.

That’s it!

How to Hide or Show Drive Space Indicator Bars in Windows 11 / 10

February 22nd, 2023 by Admin

How can I hide the free space indicator bars that are shown for all drives? Disk space usage bar is missing? By default, File Explorer will show each drive with a color bar: blue for normal, and red for low free space warning. In this tutorial we’ll show you a simple method to hide or show drive space indicator bars in Windows 11 / 10.

How to Hide or Show Drive Space Indicator Bars in Windows 11 / 10

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Drive. In the right pane, double-click the REG_SZ TileInfo to edit its value data.

  2. In order to hide the drive space indicator, set its value data to the following:
    prop:*System.Computer.DecoratedFreeSpace;System.Volume.FileSystem

    or change the value data to the following for getting back the missing disk space usage bar:
    prop:*System.PercentFull;System.Computer.DecoratedFreeSpace;System.Volume.FileSystem

  3. After making the above change, close Registry Editor. Press the F5 key to refresh your File Explorer, and you can check if the disk space usage bar is missing or showing as you expected.

That’s it!

How To Delete or Disable Run Command History in Windows 11

February 21st, 2023 by Admin

How can I clear or remove my Run command history in Windows 11? By default, Windows will save a history of all commands you’ve executed in the Run dialog box, so you can run the commands from the history without typing them again. If you don’t like this feature, you can follow this tutorial to delete or disable the Run command history in Windows 11.

Method 1: Only Delete Run Command History in Windows 11

  1. Open Registry Editor and browse to the location: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RunMRU. In the right pane, you’ll see a full list of the commands that you’ve ever entered in the Run dialog box.

  2. Right-click the RunMRU key in the left pane, and then choose Delete from the pop-up menu.

  3. Click Yes to confirm deleting this key and all its values.

  4. Close Registry Editor. When you press the WIN + R keys together to launch the Run box, you’ll see the input field is empty. All command history has been removed successfully.

Method 2: Delete and Disable Run Command History in Windows 11

  1. Press the WIN + I keys together to start the Settings app. Choose Privacy & security in the left sidebar, and then click General under the “Windows permissions” section.

  2. Turn off the “Let Windows improve Start and search results by tracking app launches” option.

    Tips: There is also a registry tweak which can also turn off the above option. Just open Registry Editor and go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced. Double-click the DWORD Start_TrackProgs and change its value data from 1 to 0.

  3. This will not only clear the existing command history, but also prevent the Run dialog box from saving the commands in future.

Conclusion

These are the most effective methods to remove the Run command history, and make the Run dialog box no longer save the commands you typed in Windows 11.

How to Remove “Add to Favorites” Context Menu in Windows 11

February 20th, 2023 by Admin

How can I disable the “Add to Favorites” option in File Explorer’s context menu? Favorites is formerly known as Pinned files, and it’s a section in the Home page of File Explorer where you can pin frequently used applications and files for quick access.

If you want to prevent others from adding new files or programs to the Favorites, you can remove the “Add to Favorites” option from the context menu in Windows 11.

How to Remove “Add to Favorites” Context Menu in Windows 11

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\pintohomefile. In the right pane, right-click the blank area and choose New -> String Value from the pop-up menu.

  2. Rename the new string to ProgrammaticAccessOnly.

  3. Close Registry Editor. This change will take effect immediately. When you right-click any files or apps, you’ll find that the “Add to Favorites” option disappears from the context menu. But you are still allowed to remove existing favorites from the Home page of File Explorer.

That’s it!

3 Methods to Uninstall OneDrive in Windows 11

February 16th, 2023 by Admin

Starting with Windows 11, OneDrive becomes a standalone app, and you can completely remove it from your system if you don’t need to sync files between your computer and the cloud. In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 quick methods to completely uninstall OneDrive in Windows 11.

Method 1: Uninstall OneDrive in Windows 11 from Settings App

  1. Press the Windows key + I to launch the Settings app. Choose Apps from the left sidebar, and then click the “Installed apps” on the right.

  2. Type OneDrive in the search box to locate the “Microsoft OneDrive” app, and then click the three-dot button to the right of OneDrive, choose Uninstall from the pop-up menu.

  3. Next, click Uninstall to confirm uninstalling this app and it related info.

Method 2: Uninstall OneDrive in Windows 11 from Control Panel

  1. Open Control Panel in the Category view, click the “Uninstall a program” link under the Programs section.

  2. Select the “Microsoft OneDrive” program from the list, and then click the Uninstall button at the top of the list.

  3. Click Yes when the User Account Control dialog pops up, and it will uninstall OneDrive within about one minute.

Method 3: Uninstall OneDrive in Windows 11 from Terminal

  1. Right-click the Start button in the taskbar and choose Terminal (Admin) from the pop-up menu.

  2. When the Terminal opens an elevated Command Prompt or PowerShell, type the following command and press Enter. It will immediately uninstall OneDrive from your PC.
    winget uninstall Microsoft.OneDrive

    If you need to install OneDrive later, just run this command:
    winget install Microsoft.OneDrive

Conclusion

The above methods should be the easiest methods to completely uninstall OneDrive from Windows 11. Whenever you need to use OneDrive again, you can download OneDrive from Microsoft’s website and install it with just a few mouse clicks.

How to Remove OneDrive from File Explorer Navigation Pane in Windows 11

February 15th, 2023 by Admin

Is there a way to remove “OneDrive – Personal” from File Explorer? After opening File Explorer, you should be able to see two entries for OneDrive in the left navigation pane. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to remove all OneDrive icons from File Explorer navigation pane in Windows 11, without uninstall OneDrive.

How to Remove OneDrive from File Explorer Navigation Pane in Windows 11

  1. Open Registry Editor. Copy and paste the following given path in the address bar and hit Enter, then double-click the DWORD System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree on the right pane.
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}

  2. Change its value data from 1 to 0, click OK.

  3. If you restart File Explorer, you’ll find that the “OneDrive – Personal” entry will no longer show up in the left navigation pane.

  4. To remove the second OneDrive entry, open Registry Editor, copy-paste the below path in the address bar and press Enter. In the left pane, right-click on the {04271989-C4D2-9950-BDF1-DD622415241E} key and choose Rename from the pop-up menu.
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

  5. Simply add a prefix to the key name and press Enter.

  6. Close Registry Editor. The second “OneDrive” entry will immediately disappear from the left navigation pane of File Explorer.

That’s it!

How to Open File Explorer to This PC instead of Home in Windows 11

February 10th, 2023 by Admin

Starting with Windows 11, Quick Access is integrated into the Home page of File Explorer, and it doesn’t appear in the left navigation pane any longer. By default, File Explorer is set to open to the Home page, which allows you to access Quick Access or pinned files (Favorites) with ease. If you’d rather have File Explorer start on disk drives, you can follow this tutorial to set File Explorer to open to This PC instead of Home in Windows 11.

How to Open File Explorer to This PC instead of Home in Windows 11

  1. Open any folder in File Explorer. Click the three-dot icon in the upper right-hand corner of the window, and then choose Options from the pop-up menu.

  2. On the General tab, click the drop-down box next to “Open File Explorer to“, and you can change the default start of File Explorer from Home to This PC.

  3. Click OK to save your change. Log off your account and then log back in. When you launch File Explorer, it should open to This PC instead of Home as default.

That’s it!

How to Hide Favorites and Recent Files in File Explorer Home on Windows 11

February 7th, 2023 by Admin

When you right-click any files and choose “Add to Favorites“, the files will be pinned to the Favorites section under the Home page of File Explorer. From there, you can also view recently-opened files under the Recent section. If you don’t like this feature, you can follow this tutorial to hide favorites and recent files in File Explorer Home on Windows 11.

How to Hide Favorites and Recent Files in File Explorer Home on Windows 11

  1. Right-click the Start button and choose “Terminal (Admin)” from the pop-up menu.

  2. In the Terminal window, copy/paste the following command and press Enter.
    reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HomeFolderMSGraph\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\{3134ef9c-6b18-4996-ad04-ed5912e00eb5}" /f

  3. Restart File Explorer and open the Home page, you’ll find that all pinned/recent files will no longer show up under both the Favorites and the Recent sections.

    Whenever you need to show favorites and recent files again, just open the elevated Terminal and run this command:
    reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HomeFolderMSGraph\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\{3134ef9c-6b18-4996-ad04-ed5912e00eb5}" /ve /d "Recent Files Folder"

That’s it!