NoteHKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
| Data type | Range | Default value |
|---|---|---|
| REG_DWORD | 0x0 - 0x3FFFFFF | 0x0 |
Removes the icons representing selected drives from My Computer and Windows Explorer. Also, the drive letters representing the selected drives do not appear in the standard Open dialog box.
This entry stores the setting of the Hide these specified drives in My Computer Group Policy. Group Policy adds this entry to the registry when you enable the policy. If you disable the policy or set it to Not configured, Group Policy deletes the entry from the registry and the system behaves as though the value is 0.
The value of this entry is a 32-bit bitmask. The lower 26 bits in this value correspond to the 26 letters used to identify drives on the local computer and its network. The rightmost bit represents drive A; the 26th bit from the right represents drive Z. To hide a drive, set the bit that corresponds to its drive letter to 1. To display a drive, set the bit that corresponds to its drive letter to 0. To hide all 26 drives, set all bits to 1. This corresponds to a value of 67108863 (decimal) or 0x3FFFFFF (hexadecimal).
Group Policy sets the value of this entry to one of the following values.
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0x03FFFFFFFF | Restrict all drives. |
| 0x3 | Restrict A and B drives only. |
| 0x4 | Restrict C drive only. |
| 0x8 | Restrict D drive only. |
| 0x7 | Restrict A, B, and C drives only. |
| 0xF | Restrict A, B, C, and D drives only. |
| 0x0 | Do not restrict drives. All drives appear. |
To change the value of this entry, use Group Policy. This entry corresponds to the Hide these specified drives in My Computer policy (User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Explorer). Select a drive or combination of drives from the drop-down list.
Note
This entry removes the drive icons. Users can still gain access to drive contents by using other methods, such as by typing the path to a directory on the drive in the Map Network Drive dialog box, in the Run dialog box, or in a command window.
This entry does not prevent users from using programs to access these drives or their contents. And, it does not prevent users from using the Disk Management snap-in to view and change drive characteristics.
By default, the system does not hide drives. Therefore, disabling the Hide these specified drives in My Computer policy, not configuring the policy, and enabling the policy and setting it to Do not restrict drives do not have any effect on the system.
Tip
For detailed information about particular Group Policy settings, see the Group Policy Reference (Gp.chm) on the Windows 2000 Resource Kit companion CD.
For general information about Group Policy, see Group Policy in Windows 2000 Help.
To see a table associating policies with their corresponding registry entries, see the Group Policy Reference Table.
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