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+--- Thread: Guide to Hide or Unhide a Drive in Windows Vista (/showthread.php?tid=660)
Guide to Hide or Unhide a Drive in Windows Vista - Sneakyone - 09-09-2024
Guide to Hide or Unhide a Drive in Windows Vista
Hiding a drive in Windows Vista can be useful when you want to prevent users from accessing certain drives. This can be done without deleting or affecting the data on the drive. This guide will walk you through the steps to hide or unhide a drive using both the Disk Management utility and the Windows Registry.
Method 1: Using Disk Management to Hide or Unhide a Drive
Disk Management is a built-in utility in Windows Vista that allows you to manage your drives and partitions. You can use it to hide or unhide a drive by changing the drive letter assignment.
Step 1: Open Disk Management
1. Click the `Start` button and type `diskmgmt.msc` into the search box.
2. Press `Enter` to open the Disk Management utility.
Step 2: Hide a Drive
1. In Disk Management, you will see a list of all the drives and partitions on your computer.
2. Right-click on the drive that you want to hide, and select `Change Drive Letter and Paths`.
3. In the dialog box that appears, select the current drive letter and click `Remove`.
4. You will be warned that removing the drive letter will make the drive inaccessible. Click `Yes` to confirm.
5. The drive will now be hidden from Windows Explorer but will still exist on the system.
Step 3: Unhide a Drive
1. Open Disk Management again (as described in Step 1).
2. Find the drive that does not have a drive letter (this will be the hidden drive).
3. Right-click on the hidden drive and select `Change Drive Letter and Paths`.
4. In the dialog box that appears, click `Add`.
5. Choose a drive letter from the list and click `OK`.
6. The drive will now reappear in Windows Explorer with the new drive letter.
Method 2: Using the Windows Registry to Hide or Unhide a Drive
You can also hide or unhide a drive by modifying the Windows Registry. This method involves changing specific values to control drive visibility.
Warning: The Windows Registry is a critical component of the operating system. Be cautious and back up the registry before making any changes.
Step 1: Open the Registry Editor
1. Click the `Start` button and type `regedit` in the search box.
2. Press `Enter` to open the Windows Registry Editor.
3. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click `Yes` to allow the program to run.
Step 2: Navigate to the Explorer Key
In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following key:
Code:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ExplorerStep 3: Create or Edit the “NoDrives” Value
1. In the `Explorer` folder, look for a value named `NoDrives`. If it doesn’t exist, you will need to create it.
- Right-click on the `Explorer` folder and select `New` > `DWORD (32-bit) Value`.
- Name the new value `NoDrives`.
2. Double-click on `NoDrives` to modify it.
Step 4: Set the Value for the Drive You Want to Hide
To hide a specific drive, you will need to set a binary value for the drive you want to hide. Each drive letter corresponds to a specific value:
- A = 1
- B = 2
- C = 4
- D = 8
- E = 16
- F = 32
- G = 64
- H = 128
To hide a drive, you enter the corresponding value for that drive. If you want to hide multiple drives, you add the values together.
Example:
- To hide the C drive, set the value to `4`.
- To hide the D drive, set the value to `8`.
- To hide both C and D drives, set the value to `4 + 8 = 12`.
1. In the `NoDrives` value box, select `Decimal` and enter the calculated value.
2. Click `OK` to save the changes.
Step 5: Restart Your Computer
For the changes to take effect, you need to restart your computer. After restarting, the hidden drive(s) will no longer be visible in Windows Explorer.
Step 6: Unhide a Drive
To unhide a drive, follow these steps:
1. Open the Registry Editor and navigate to the same location:
Code:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer2. Find the `NoDrives` value and double-click it.
3. Set the value to `0` (zero) to make all drives visible again.
4. Click `OK` and restart your computer.
Conclusion
Hiding or unhiding a drive in Windows Vista is a useful feature to control access to certain drives on your system. You can easily hide a drive using the Disk Management utility or by modifying the Windows Registry. Disk Management is a simpler method, but the Registry Editor allows for more granular control over drive visibility. Just be sure to back up the Registry before making any changes.