Windows 10 Windows Explorer Remove Quick Access

Question

In Windows 10 how do I remove "Quick Access" altogether from the Windows Explorer navigation panel?

I do not want to add/remove items to the menu, I want to remove it outright in the similar fashion to Windows Explorer Navigation Pane Configuration.

Answer 1

The new version of Windows Explorer Navigation Pane Configuration supports this. Open an administrative privileged command prompt and run the executable with the parameters specified in the PDF file. Log off and log back in for the changes to take effect.

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I now use Winaero Tweaker. Since there is an extended number of tweaks copy the code and save it as a file called Winaero Tweaker_2019_12_22.ini which you can then easily import. Keep in mind my preferences may differ from those who try this.

[Format]
ProductName=Winaero Tweaker
ProductVersion=0.16.1.0
FormatVersion=1.1
[User]
pageAltTab10=1
pageAdsUnwantedApps=1
pageShutdownDialogDefaultAction=1
pageDisableLookInStore=1
pageDisableAutomaticMaintenance=1
pageDisableSafeZoneInformation=1
pageDisableMRT=1
pageDisableTimeline=1
pageErrorReporting=1
pageShowMenuDelay=1
pagePowerThrottling=1
pageShowBSODDetails=1
pageSvcHostSplitThreshold=1
pageSafeModeWindowsInstaller=1
pageLoginScreenBlur=1
pageDisableLockScreen=1
pageNumlockLoginState=1
pageBalloonTooltips=1
pageCortanaSearchBoxText=1
pageDisableNotificationCenter=1
pageDisableLiveTiles=1
pageDisableDriverUpdates10=1
pageQuickActionButtons=1
pageDisableWebSearch=1
pageOldVolumeControl=1
pageTaskbarPinMorePeople=1
pageTaskbarFlashCount=1
pageWallpaperQuality=1
pageContextMenuCmdAsAdmin=1
pageContextMenuRemoveDefault=1
pageContextMenuTakeOwnership=1
pageContextMenuCompactOS=1
pageControlPanelWU=1
pageDisableOnlineVideoTips=1
pageConfirmationCheckBoxDoForAll=1
pageDisableAutomaticFolderTypeDiscovery=1
pageCustomizeLibrariesItem=1
pageThisPCTweaker=1
pageDragDropAction=1
pageDisableSearchHistory=1
pageDriveLetters=1
pageNavPaneDefaultItems=1
pageNetworkComputers1803=1
pageLinkedConnections=1
pageEnableAdministrator=1
pageUAC=1
pageDefenderAntiMalware=1
pageDisableCortana=1
pageDisableWindowsInk=1
pageEdgePreloading=1
pageIEExtraButtons=1
pageDisableTelemetry=1
pageDisableShortcutText=1
pageShortcutArrow=1
pagePhotoViewer=1
[pageAltTab10]
Grid_backgroundPercent=70
BackgroundDimmingLayer_percent=0
Wallpaper=0
AltTabSettings=1
[pageAdsUnwantedApps]
UnwantedAppsDisabled=1
FileExplorerAdsDisabled=1
LockScreenAdsDisabled=1
StartSuggestionsDisabled=1
TipsAboutWindowsDisabled=1
WelcomePageDisabled=1
SettingsAdsDisabled=1
PeopleAdsDisabled=1
TimelineSuggestionsDisabled=1
[pageShutdownDialogDefaultAction]
ShutdownAction=64
[pageShowMenuDelay]
MenuShowDelay=0
[pageSvcHostSplitThreshold]
SvcHostSplitThresholdInKB=34507912
[pageCortanaSearchBoxText]
CortanaText= 
[pageTaskbarPinMorePeople]
TaskbarCapacity=0
[pageTaskbarFlashCount]
ForegroundFlashCount=3
[pageWallpaperQuality]
JPEGImportQuality=90
[pageContextMenuCmdAsAdmin]
contextMenuTitle=Command Prompt (Administrator)
Extended=0
[pageContextMenuRemoveDefault]
IsScanWithDefenderRemoved=1
IsCastToDeviceRemoved=1
IsBitLockerRemoved=1
IsEditWithPaint3DRemoved=1
IsExtractAllRemoved=1
IsBurnImageRemoved=1
IsShareWithRemoved=1
IsModernSharingRemoved=1
IsPreviousVersionsRemoved=1
IsPinToTaskbarRemoved=1
IsPinToStartRemoved=1
IsCompatibilityRemoved=1
IsIncludeInLibraryRemoved=1
IsRotateRightLeftRemoved=1
IsOneDriveRemoved=1
IsEFSRemoved=1
[pageCustomizeLibrariesItem]
LibrariesName=Libraries
LibrariesIconPath=C:\ProgramData\WinaeroTweaker\ShellIcons\1059646110.ico
[pageThisPCTweaker]
ThisPCFoldersCount=0
[pageDragDropAction]
DefaultDropEffect=2
[pageDriveLetters]
ShowDriveLettersFirst=4
[pageNavPaneDefaultItems]
{679F85CB-0220-4080-B29B-5540CC05AAB6}=0
{323CA680-C24D-4099-B94D-446DD2D7249E}=0
{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}=0
{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}=1
{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}=1
{F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83}=0
[pageEdgePreloading]
AllowTabPreloading=0
AllowPrelaunch=0
[pageIEExtraButtons]
HideNewEdgeButton=0
NoHelpItemSendFeedback=1
[pageShortcutArrow]
ShortcutOverlayIcon=C:\ProgramData\WinaeroTweaker\ShellIcons\classic.ico

Answer 2

To Hide Quick Access,

1. Open File Explorer and go to View -> Options.
2. Under the General tab, change 'Open File Explorer to' from 'Quick access' to 'This PC'.

To Remove the Quick Access Feature Entirely

1. You’ll need to edit the registry for this procedure.
2. Hide Quick Access using the steps in the above section.
3. Once that’s done, click windows start button and type regedit, right click and run as administrator.
4. Navigate to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID{679f85cb-0220-4080-b29b-5540cc05aab6}
5. Expand it, and right-click ShellFolder.
6. Select Permissions, and click the Advanced button.
7. In the 'Advanced Security Settings for ShellFolder' box, click the 'Change' link,
8. Then click 'Advanced',
9. Click the 'Find Now' button,
10. And in the 'Search results' box select 'Administrators'.
11. Click OK twice, then Apply, and hit OK until the boxes closes.
12. Make sure you allow Full Control (click)
13. Inside 'ShellFolder', double-click 'Attributes', and change data value to 'a0600000', then click OK.
14. With that done, reboot your PC.
15. When you open File Explorer next time, Quick Access should be gone.

To Turn the Quick Access Feature Back On

1. If you decide you want the feature back, repeat the process but change the ShellFolder attributes from 'a0600000' to 'a0100000', and click OK.

This solution worked for me, and was found here at betanews.

Answer 3

Please see end if you would like to back up the registry before you begin, as we will be changing a registry key for this solution.

1. Click on the Start Button
2. Type cmd
3. Right Click on 'Command Prompt'
4. select 'Run as Administartor

5. Then copy and paste the following into Command Prompt to turn off quick access:

REG ADD HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer /v HubMode /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

6. Hit the enter key
7. Now reboot your computer (or restart the explorer.exe process) and quick access will now be gone from file explorer in all users on Windows 10.

If at some later time you would like to return Quick Access back, repeat steps 1 to 7 except use the below code instead. This will turn Quick Access back on in file explorer in all users

REG ADD HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer /v HubMode /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

All these commands do is turn on and off a registry key here;

Steps how to back up registry:

- Type regedit in the search box.
- Click regedit from the search results list.
- Select Computer on the left side
- Click on the menu >File then click on >Export.
- At the Export Registry File, type a name for the backup file.

Answer 4

Not sure if it has this option as I've only briefly played with Win10, but Classic Shell is able to change a vast range of settings on Windows 7-10:

http://classicshell.net/

On Win8, I reckon this app makes the difference between having a headache and having a computer.