PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT
Where are my This PC folders?
Q I recently updated Windows 11 and have now lost the dropdown menus under the This PC tab in File Explorer. All the folders that usually sit under this are gone. Do you know why they’ve gone, and how to get them back? I've contacted the Microsoft helpline without success. I can still access files via Quick Access and other means, but it’s a pain. As a subscriber, I’m hoping you’ll be able to assist me.
Peter Hills
A This is a weird one, because the display of these folder links is controlled by registry settings that few users would ever find, let alone knowingly choose to tweak. Our best guess, then, is that some glitch with the Windows update has caused corruption in these registry entries. We also wouldn’t be surprised if a later update fixed the problem, but there’s really no guarantee when or if that might happen.
So, assuming you don’t wish to wait, you can try manually amending the relevant registry entries – but be sure to back up your PC first, just in case you get something wrong. First, press Windows key+R to open the Run box, then type regedit (see screenshot 1) and press Enter.
Next, you’ll need to use the left-hand pane to navigate to a series of registry keys relating to the various This PC folders. Ideally, we’d publish these here. However, quite apart from there being a fair number of them, the key codes are long, complex and difficult to read. For that reason, we decided the easiest way to convey them to you is via the Pastebin page we created, at www.snipca.com/44679.
There, you’ll see headings for the Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures and Videos folders, in that order. The headings are just for direction: it’s the long alphanumeric key strings below each heading that you want. and paste each one into the address bar at the top of the Registry Editor window (that’s probably quickest and easiest).
