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I know how to do that on Windows Vista and Windows 7, and I know how to do that on Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, but neither of the ways work with Windows 10; it always defaults into the "Home" view.

(I am basically reposting this question for Windows 10.)

0

5 Answers 5

Reset to default
453

As of build 9926 (at least - it may have been an earlier build), this is configurable via the GUI.

Open Explorer and go to View, then click Options (or Change folder and search options). In General tab you can change Open File Explorer to This PC

enter image description here

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  • 5
    Still working on final build 10240.
    – KittMedia
    Jul 29, 2015 at 21:32
  • 1
    @Arda - 'General' is the name of the tab the option is on.
    – Taz
    Aug 18, 2015 at 23:32
  • 1
    Still working as of 8/20/2015 for Windows 10 RTM.
    – Daniel Eagle
    Aug 20, 2015 at 14:50
  • 1
    This works perfect on the release version too .
    – iGameRam
    Jan 5, 2016 at 19:26
  • 2
    Still works on 1511, build 10548.164. I migrated to SU just to upvote
    – Dallium
    Mar 23, 2016 at 17:39
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The registry setting that controls this behavior is the DWORD value name LaunchTo under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Set the DWORD accordingly:

1 = This PC
2 = Quick access
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  • 2
    When there is a way to do it through the UI normally, tinkering with registry seems excessive and dangerous.
    – ANeves
    Sep 9, 2016 at 1:07
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    @ANeves However, it's useful if you want to do something programmatically, which is why I included it here.
    – Josh
    Sep 9, 2016 at 1:12
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Win 8.1:

If you don't use Libraries at all, you can hide them. This makes your default "This PC".

  1. In File Explorer, select the View tab and click the Options button.
  2. In the General tab, under Navigation Pane, uncheck "View Libraries"
  3. Click OK, then restart File Explorer.

Win 10:

  1. In File Explorer, select the View tab and click the Options button.

  2. Look at "Open File Explorer to:" and click the dropdown.

  3. Select 'This PC'

  4. Click OK.

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  • 1
    I have another path that I would like to change the target to, your first solution doesn't help with that, and the second isn't an option on 8.1, any ideas?
    – dylan murphy
    Dec 4, 2015 at 13:25
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Right-clicking in the left navigation panel will offer you several options to:

  • Show favorites
  • Show Libraries
  • Show all folders
  • Expand to current folder

I never liked my Explorer opening to Libraries, and so prefer the current look of My PC.

1

Well, basically you can delete everything in 'Home' and attach 'This Pc' into it.

So it's more like a feature, right?

  1. Press Windows and type regedit
  2. Right-click and open As Administrator
  3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HomeFolder\NameSpace\DelegateFolders
  4. Delete everything there (Looks like {2141241-BLABLA})
  5. Right-click on DelegateFolders click New and choose Key
  6. Name the new key {20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
  7. Select the new key and double-click the (Default) entry
  8. In Value Data type This PC

The result looks like this: Enter image description here

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  • Does not work for me. "Home" is now empty but still opens as default. What version did you do it on? I am using the 32-bit non-Enterprise.
    – kaboom1
    Oct 4, 2014 at 22:55
  • i heard from another source that this was configurable in the latest build (1/23/2015) but i couldn't find it. Anyone hear about this?
    – DLeh
    Jan 24, 2015 at 3:56
  • When there is a way to do it through the UI normally, tinkering with registry seems excessive and dangerous.
    – ANeves
    Sep 9, 2016 at 1:07
  • 1
    @ANeves This information may be useful to some. It's up to each individual to decide which method they are comfortable with. There are often many ways to skin a cat.
    – Josh
    Sep 9, 2016 at 1:18

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