How to Hide/Unhide Drives or Volumes in Windows 11 PC? 5 Effective Ways!

What are the Multiple Methods to Hide or Unhide a Drive or Volume In Windows 11 PC?

As a web app developer working on multiple online apps and websites, my drives are filled with project files and future ideas. Recently, my PC’s graphics card malfunctioned, requiring me to visit the MSI service center for repairs. However, they requested my login password to address the graphics driver issue, which made me uncomfortable as it could grant access to my project files. I decided not to proceed with the repair at that moment.

After doing some research, I found that Windows 11 offers a method to hide drives without deleting or losing data. I tried this feature, and it worked well! I successfully hid the drive containing all my important project data.

In this tutorial, I’ll share my experience and provide step by step instructions on how to hide drives in Windows 11. This is a great way to secure sensitive information without needing to share access.

Method 1a: Hide Drive Using Disk Management:

Choose Disk management from the Quick Menu option
Choose Disk management from the Quick Menu option
Disk Management displays the list of Drives available on the PC.
Disk Management displays the list of Drives available on the PC.
Choose the drive to hide
Choose the drive to hide
Using Disk Management to hide the drive without losing its data!
Using Disk Management to hide the drive without losing its data!

Note: This method will not delete or remove any data while hiding it. Your data will be protected while doing the process.

Drive has been hidden from the File Explorer
Drive has been hidden from the File Explorer

Method 1b: Unhide Drive using Disk Management:

To unhide the drives that has been hidden using disk management tool. Follow the below steps.

Unhiding the Drive using Disk Management tool
Unhiding the Drive using Disk Management tool
Unhiding & Assigning Drive Letter to the hidden Drive
Unhiding & Assigning Drive Letter to the hidden Drive

In this way, you unhide the drive using the Disk management tool. You can find the drive in the File Explorer, Based on the alphabetical order of the Drive Letter you chose will be appear.

Method 2a: Hide Drive keeping its Data Using Command Prompt:

Open Command Prompt using Run as Administrator
Open Command Prompt using Run as Administrator
Diskpart application launched inside the console.
Diskpart application launched inside the console.
Listing all drives using diskpart.exe
Listing all drives using diskpart.exe

Note: I’m going to hide my N:\ Drive and so i’m using the letter D in the above command, Replace N:\ with the number of the volume you wish to hide.

Identifying and choosing the drive using diskpart.exe
Identifying and choosing the drive using diskpart.exe
Command Executed to hide the chosen drive
Command Executed to hide the chosen drive
Drive has been hidden from the File Explorer
Drive has been hidden from the File Explorer

Method 2b: Unhide Drive using DiskPart.exe tool:

To unhide the drive that has been hidden in your device:

Diskpart application launched inside the console.
Diskpart application launched inside the console.
Listing all drives including Hidden volumes
Listing all drives including Hidden volumes
Selecting the Hidden Volume using DiskPart.exe command
Selecting the Hidden Volume using DiskPart.exe command

Method 3a: Hide Drive or Volume using PowerShell:

Opening PowerShell as Admin Mode
Opening PowerShell as Admin Mode
List of volumes available in your device using PowerShell
List of volumes available in your device using PowerShell
Hide Volumes or Drives using PowerShell Command
Hide Volumes or Drives using PowerShell Command

Method 3a: Unhide Drives or Volumes using PowerShell:

Identifying the Hidden Volumes using the diskpart.exe in PowerShell command
Identifying the Hidden Volumes using the diskpart.exe in PowerShell command
selecting the Hidden Volume using DiskPart.exe in PowerShell
selecting the Hidden Volume using DiskPart.exe in PowerShell
Assigning Drive Letter to the Hidden Drive using the Diskpart.exe in PowerShell
Assigning Drive Letter to the Hidden Drive using the Diskpart.exe in PowerShell
Exiting the Diskpart.exe application
Exiting the Diskpart.exe application
Executing the PowerShell command to unhide the volume or drives.
Executing the PowerShell command to unhide the volume or drives.

Method 4a: Hiding Drives using Group Policy Editor:

gpedit.msc is missing
gpedit.msc is missing

This method required Group Policy Editor enabled in your device, if your device says “gpedit.msc Not Found“, download the gpedit.msc.bat file and execute it to enable the group policy editor on your device.

Launching GP Editor from Run Window
Launching GP Editor from Run Window
Navigating into Group Policy Editor
Navigating into Group Policy Editor
Double Clicking Hide these specified drives in My Computer.
Double Clicking Hide these specified drives in My Computer.
Choosing the drive to hide from the file explorer.
Choosing the drive to hide from the file explorer.

Note: The Group Policy Editor in Windows provides only a limited set of predefined options for hiding drives (such as restricting drives A, B, C, or D), which unfortunately does not allow you to directly select other drive letters like N or X.

Method 4b: Unhide Drives or Volumes using GP Editor:

Launching GP Editor from Run Window
Launching GP Editor from Run Window
Navigating into Group Policy Editor
Navigating into Group Policy Editor
Unhide Drives using GP Editor
Unhide Drives using GP Editor

Method 5a: Hide Volumes or Drives using Registry Editor:

Launching Registry Editor using Run Window
Launching Registry Editor using Run Window
Navigating to the Explorer Directory in Registry Editor
Navigating to the Explorer Directory in Registry Editor
Drive LetterDecimal Value
A1
B2
C4
D8
E16
F32
G64
H128
I256
J512
K1024
L2048
M4096
N8192
O16384
P32768
Q65536
R131072
S262144
T524288
U1048576
V2097152
W4194304
X8388608
Y16777216
Z33554432

Method 5b: Unhide Volumes or Drives using Registry Editor:

Launching Registry Editor using Run Window
Launching Registry Editor using Run Window
Navigating to the Explorer Directory in Registry Editor
Navigating to the Explorer Directory in Registry Editor

Conclusion:

By following these steps, you can effectively hide drives in Windows 11 to protect sensitive files from unauthorized access. Whether you’re concerned about privacy during repairs or simply want to keep personal files hidden, this method allows you to secure your data without deleting or moving anything.

I hope this tutorial has been helpful in enhancing your privacy and security on Windows 11. Feel free to revisit this tutorial whenever you need to hide or unhide drives on your system. Stay safe, and keep your important project files protected! Find more informational tutorial on our Home Page: WinSides.

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