To remove the Computer entry in Windows 8 (or This PC in Windows 8.1) from File Explorer’s left navigation pane, edit the Attributes value in the ShellFolder registry key for the Computer CLSID. Set the 32-bit DWORD to hexadecimal b094010c, then restart Explorer. On 64-bit Windows, repeat the edit in the parallel Wow6432Node key so the entry also disappears from Open and Save As dialogs.
You need an administrator account, and Windows may require you to take ownership of the key and grant Administrators full control before the value can be changed. Create a system restore point first. If your goal is only to hide the entire left pane, do not edit the registry; use File Explorer’s View > Show > Navigation pane command instead.
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Decide which part of File Explorer you want to change
Windows 8 presents two separate controls that are easy to confuse. The registry procedure removes one namespace item—the Computer/This PC object—while leaving the rest of the navigation pane available. The View menu hides the complete pane, including Favorites, Libraries, Homegroup, drives, and other entries.
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| Goal | Method | What changes | Persistence and scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remove Computer or This PC | Edit the ShellFolder registry key and set Attributes to b094010c |
Only that namespace entry is removed | Persists for all users after Explorer restarts; requires administrator rights |
| Hide the whole navigation pane | File Explorer: View > Show > Navigation pane | The entire left pane is hidden | A view setting; choose the command again to show the pane |
The first method is appropriate when you still want folder navigation but do not want a Computer/This PC shortcut. The second is appropriate when you want a wider file view with no navigation column at all.
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Prepare safely before editing the registry
Registry changes are system-wide and a mistake in the wrong key can affect Windows features. Complete these checks before opening Registry Editor:
- Sign in with an account that has administrator privileges. The documented procedure is for all users, not just the current profile.
- Create a system restore point. In Windows 8, press Win+W, search for restore point, open Create a restore point, select the system drive, and choose Create if protection is enabled.
- Close File Explorer windows and any Open or Save As dialog boxes. They will not update until their Explorer components are restarted.
- Determine whether Windows is 32-bit or 64-bit. Press Win+Pause and read System type. A 32-bit installation uses one registry location; a 64-bit installation needs two.
- Do not substitute a similarly named CLSID. The target is exactly
{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}.
Remove Computer or This PC from the main Explorer pane
1. Open Registry Editor as an administrator
- Press Win+R, type
regedit, and press Enter. - Approve the User Account Control prompt. If you are not an administrator, sign in with an administrator account before continuing.
2. Open the Computer ShellFolder key
In Registry Editor’s address bar, or by expanding the folders in the tree, go to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTCLSID{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}ShellFolder
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3. Resolve permission errors if necessary
Some Windows installations protect ShellFolder from direct editing. If creating or changing a value produces an access-denied message:
- Right-click
ShellFolderand choose Permissions. - Open the advanced security settings and change the owner to the local Administrators group (or an administrator account).
- Apply the ownership change, return to the permissions list, and grant Administrators Full Control.
- Close the permission dialogs and reopen the key if Registry Editor does not immediately refresh its access.
Change only this key. Do not replace permissions on the parent CLSID branch or on unrelated registry locations.
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4. Set the removal attribute
- In the right pane, look for a value named
Attributes. - If it is missing, right-click an empty area, choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it
Attributes. Use a 32-bit DWORD even when Windows itself is 64-bit. - Double-click
Attributes, select Hexadecimal, and enterb094010c. - Click OK. Check the value again before closing Registry Editor; a mistyped digit will not produce the intended result.
The EightForums instructions show the same removal value with spacing as b0 9 4010c; in Registry Editor it must be entered as the uninterrupted hexadecimal string b094010c.
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Apply the second edit on 64-bit Windows
On 64-bit Windows 8 or 8.1, the main Explorer namespace and the 32-bit shell components used by common file dialogs can read parallel registry views. To remove Computer/This PC from Open and Save As windows as well, edit this second key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432NodeClassesCLSID{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}ShellFolder
- Navigate to the path exactly as written. The
Wow6432Nodesegment is required; it is not interchangeable with the regularClassesbranch. - If
Attributesis present, set it to hexadecimalb094010c. If it is absent, create a DWORD (32-bit) Value namedAttributesand set that value. - Use the same ownership and Administrators full-control procedure if access is denied.
There is no equivalent second edit to make on a 32-bit Windows installation because the 32-bit registry view is already the native view. Editing the Wow6432Node path on a 32-bit system is unnecessary.
Restart Explorer and verify the result
Registry changes to shell namespace items are not always visible in an already open window. Close Registry Editor, then use one of these supported refresh choices:
- Open Task Manager, select Windows Explorer on the Processes tab, and choose Restart if that command is available.
- Sign out of Windows and sign in again.
- Restart the computer.
Open a new File Explorer window after the refresh. The Computer or This PC item should no longer appear in the left navigation tree. On 64-bit systems, open a program’s file picker and check an Open or Save As dialog separately; that dialog uses the second registry path.
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Hide the entire navigation pane without changing the registry
If you meant “remove the whole left column,” use the built-in view command:
- Open File Explorer.
- Select the View tab.
- Open Show.
- Clear Navigation pane.
The pane disappears while the file window remains open. Select View > Show > Navigation pane again to restore it. This toggle does not remove Computer/This PC from the namespace and does not require administrator permission.
Understand the desktop-icon side effect
The Computer/This PC namespace object also supplies the default Computer/This PC desktop icon. Setting the removal attribute hides that icon as part of the same change. This is expected, not a sign that the registry edit failed. You can still reach drives and folders through other Explorer paths, search, pinned shortcuts, or typed locations.
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To undo the namespace removal, return to each path you changed and reverse the custom attribute. The safest reversal is to delete only the custom Attributes DWORD that you created or modified, then restart Explorer. If the key originally contained a default value and you recorded it before editing, restore that value instead.
The Windows Club documents b084010c as the default/display value. Enter it as a hexadecimal DWORD in the same Attributes field. Do not create a second value with a different name; there should be one Attributes DWORD per edited ShellFolder key.
- Open Registry Editor with administrator rights.
- Return to
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTCLSID{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}ShellFolder. - Delete the custom
AttributesDWORD or set it to hexadecimalb084010c, depending on how you made the original change. - On 64-bit Windows, make the same reversal in the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432NodeClassesCLSID{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}ShellFolderkey. - Restart Explorer, sign out and back in, or reboot.
The Computer/This PC entry and its desktop icon should return after the shell refresh. If they do not, verify that both 64-bit paths were restored and that the hexadecimal value was entered without spaces.
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Troubleshoot common failures
“Cannot edit” or “Access is denied”
Registry Editor must be elevated, and the protected key may still be owned by another security principal. Reopen regedit through an administrator account, take ownership of the specific ShellFolder key, and grant Administrators Full Control. If your organization manages the computer, policy may prevent ownership changes; ask the administrator rather than weakening permissions across the registry.
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Check the value name, type, and data. It must be a DWORD (32-bit) Value named Attributes with hexadecimal data b094010c. Then close all Explorer windows and restart Explorer or sign out. A window that was open during the edit can continue displaying its old namespace cache.
It disappeared from Explorer but remains in Open or Save As
On 64-bit Windows, the second Wow6432Node location was probably not changed, or its value was mistyped. Apply the same DWORD edit there and restart the application that owns the dialog, or sign out and back in.
The desktop icon vanished too
This is the expected side effect of removing the Computer/This PC namespace object. Restore the original attribute or delete the custom DWORD in every path you edited, then refresh the shell.
The pane is hidden and you cannot find the navigation commands
Use the keyboard or open any File Explorer window, select the View tab, expand Show, and enable Navigation pane. This view toggle is independent of the registry change; turning the pane on will not recreate a Computer/This PC item removed from the namespace.
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Stop editing, close Registry Editor, and use the system restore point you created before starting. A restore operation is preferable to guessing at values in other CLSID keys. If Windows is still operating normally and you know which Attributes value was changed, restore that value only and refresh Explorer.
Registry locations and values at a glance
| Windows edition | Registry path | DWORD data to remove item | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32-bit Windows 8/8.1 | HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTCLSID{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}ShellFolder |
Attributes = hexadecimal b094010c |
Controls the Computer/This PC namespace entry in Explorer |
| 64-bit Windows 8/8.1, native view | HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTCLSID{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}ShellFolder |
Attributes = hexadecimal b094010c |
Controls the main Explorer namespace |
| 64-bit Windows 8/8.1, 32-bit shell view | HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432NodeClassesCLSID{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}ShellFolder |
Attributes = hexadecimal b094010c |
Removes the item from Open and Save As dialogs |
| Restore value | The same path or paths you edited | Delete the custom DWORD, or use hexadecimal b084010c as the documented default/display value |
Returns the namespace item after an Explorer refresh |
The Windows 8 Help Forums tutorial and The Windows Club describe these paths, values, permission requirements, and the desktop-icon side effect. Microsoft’s documented navigation-pane control is the separate View > Show > Navigation pane setting, so choose that option when you want a reversible view change rather than a namespace edit.
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