Folder options missing "Show Network" & "Show This PC" in Windows 11

I recently noticed that a computer that I had upgraded from Windows 10 to 11 24H2 was missing some Folder Options in File Explorer, specifically the 'Show Network' and 'Show this PC' options under Navigation pane. A computer with a fresh Windows 11 install has the options.


I can show/hide "This PC" and "Network" on the navigation pane using the registry method (System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree) but they seem to be hidden from File Options and from right-clicking in the navigation pane.

Has anyone seen this and know if it's just a couple of missing registry keys that somehow screwed up during an in-place upgrade?

imaneet said:

Has anyone seen this and know if it's just a couple of missing registry keys that somehow screwed up during an in-place upgrade?

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Both the Windows 11 systems I have, one 23H2 and one 24H2 are missing the checkboxes for "This PC" and "Network" in the Explorer view options tab.

This should be controlled by keys under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\NavPane

Specifically ShowNetwork and ShowThisPC. Compare those to ShowLibraries on the affected PC and you'll see the difference. There are no values that show how to change the option. (Which you know how to do.) Presumably the values in the corresponding key in the machines where the option shows are different.

I can't tell you whether replacing the values will fix your issue, because I can't test it, and frankly I wouldn't bother to do it. So, with the usual provisos: backup, take notes etc. Try at your own risk.

You might aso like to look at: Add "Show Gallery" on Navigation Pane to Folder Options in Windows 11 although you'll note that this is a purely additive registry change.

Thanks for the suggestion. It appears I made a mistake in thinking this was a difference between a clean install and an upgraded. It seems to be just a Windows problem in general.

The problem is if you're a regular user or have Administrator rights on the computer. On any computer I can sign in with a regular user and not see either 'This PC' or 'Network' options. If I then add that user to the 'Administrators' group and sign back in, those options are now there.

imaneet said:

The problem is if you're a regular user or have Administrator rights on the computer. On any computer I can sign in with a regular user and not see either 'This PC' or 'Network' options. If I then add that user to the 'Administrators' group and sign back in, those options are now there.

Click to expand...

That's not a problem, it's by design, the whole point in being an administrator is that you can restrict 'Users' activity.