How to remove OneDrive from File Explorer? And open to Desktop?

kwp · Dec 6, 2025

I created a new user account on my PC.

1. There are 2 One Drive icons on the left nav pane. How can I remove the one just above 'This PC'?

2. How do I get file explorer to open to the Desktop folder by default?

glasskuter · Dec 6, 2025

kwp said:
I created a new user account on my PC.

Is this new user a local or Microsoft account?
Please right click on the PINNED desktop folder in left navigation pane, select properties, select location tab. What is the location of that folder?

What exactly have you done that chipped away at the default file explorer appearance.?

kwp · Dec 6, 2025

glasskuter said:
Is this new user a local or Microsoft account?
Please right click on the PINNED desktop folder in left navigation pane, select properties, select location tab. What is the location of that folder?

I specifically stated that its a new user account.

Location of the Desktop is C:\Users\NX. But what does this have to do with the One Drive folder? I dont get it

dacrone · Dec 6, 2025

kwp said:
I specifically stated that its a new user account.

yes, you did. what you did not do is answer the question....

glasskuter said:
Is this new user a local or Microsoft account?

kwp · Dec 6, 2025

Ok now I have 2 one drive folders on the file manager after I signed into my one drive. How do I remove one and leave the other?

kwp · Dec 6, 2025

dacrone said:
Is this new user a local or Microsoft account?

I dont know the difference between the 2 so my feeling is that its a local account.

dacrone · Dec 6, 2025

kwp said:
I dont know the difference between the 2 so my feeling is that its a local account.

Settings > Account > Your Info

will say local there if its a local acocunt

glasskuter · Dec 6, 2025

kwp said:
I dont know the difference between the 2 so my feeling is that its a local account.

That's the point. For us to advise you correctly we have to know. As it is, we can only assume. We do not know the current state of your account.
Nor do we know all you have already done(nor the method you used)to alter the left navigation pane because going by your screenshot you have done quite a bit.

You cannot remove OneDrive from the “This PC” section of File Explorer unless OneDrive itself is uninstalled. Windows ties OneDrive integration directly into File Explorer, so even if you hide or unpin it from Quick Access, the entry under This PC remains unless the app is removed entirely.
You can HIDE it from the This PC section.

Options you have: Pick One.

Option 1 - Uninstall OneDrive: This reoves Onedrive EVERYWHERE.
You would first have to use the following 2 tutorials to make sure that nothing is linked to Onedrive.

Turn On or Off OneDrive Folder Backup Syncing Across Windows 11 Devices

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off OneDrive folder backup and sync for your Microsoft account across all your Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices you sign in with the same Microsoft account. You can use OneDrive to sync files and folders between your computer and the cloud, so you...

www.elevenforum.com

Unlink Account and PC from OneDrive in Windows 11

This tutorial will you how to remove an account and unlink your PC from OneDrive for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11. You can use OneDrive to sync files and folders between your computer and the cloud, so you can get to your files from anywhere - your computer, your mobile device, and...

www.elevenforum.com

To Uninstall Onedrive, I prefer to use Revo Uninstaller Free since it removes all remaining registry entries. However, you can do it from Settings.

Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
Find Microsoft OneDrive, click Uninstall.
This removes OneDrive completely, including its navigation pane entry.

Option 2 - Hide OneDrive from Quick Access only(less drastic): From your question I am assuming you want to leave it there.

Right-click the OneDrive folder under Quick Access.
Select Unpin from Quick Access.
This won’t affect the “This PC” section, but it cleans up the top of the pane.

Option 3 - Hide Onedrive Registry tweak
Option 4 here Add or Remove OneDrive in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 11

I hope I'm right in all this because I have a lot of assuming going on here.

dacrone · Dec 6, 2025

glasskuter said:
You cannot remove OneDrive from the “This PC” section of File Explorer unless OneDrive itself is uninstalled.

what exactly are you referring to here? just curious because i dont have onedrive on my rig but i kinda want to test out what "isnt possible" haha

glasskuter · Dec 6, 2025

dacrone said:
what exactly are you referring to here?

Guess my wording could have been better. Brink worded it better in his tutorial.
He said "Removing OneDrive from the navigation pane of File Explorer does not delete or remove your C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive "
Co-pilot said "You cannot remove OneDrive from the “This PC” section of File Explorer unless OneDrive itself is uninstalled. Windows ties OneDrive integration directly into File Explorer, so even if you hide or unpin it from Quick Access, the entry under This PC remains unless the app is removed entirely"

dacrone · Dec 6, 2025

glasskuter said:
Guess my wording could have been better. Brink worded it better in his tutorial.
He said "Removing OneDrive from the navigation pane of File Explorer does not delete or remove your C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive "
Co-pilot said "You cannot remove OneDrive from the “This PC” section of File Explorer unless OneDrive itself is uninstalled. Windows ties OneDrive integration directly into File Explorer, so even if you hide or unpin it from Quick Access, the entry under This PC remains unless the app is removed entirely"

so you're saying (i'll install it on a test rig, despite the fact that onedrive makes me nauseous) that if i have it installed, it will show under this pc (when this pc is expanded) in the navigation pane? i suppose in this instance an image would be the best for explanation so i know where i should be looking for it during my testing

glasskuter · Dec 6, 2025

@dacrone What I'm saying is that is the way I interpreted both @Brink tutorial and co-pilot. I do not use Onedrive and won't re-install it to test to see what happens.. I did have a typo and incorrectly refer to option 4 in the tutorial. (there is no option 4) Take a look at the 3 regedit options in the tutorial. You are registry savvy so will better understand what each of them will do..

dacrone · Dec 6, 2025

glasskuter said:
@dacrone What I'm saying is that is the way I interpreted both @Brink tutorial and co-pilot. I do not use Onedrive and won't re-install it to test to see what happens.. I did have a typo and incorrectly refer to option 4 in the tutorial. (there is no option 4) Take a look at the 3 regedit options in the tutorial. You are registry savvy so will better understand what each of them will do..

im not too worried about it. i just know i reinstalled it on a test rig and signed in with a test email i use and it was fully active and i removed it from the nav pane completely. so i was curious where it 'cannot' be removed from when running. that was all.

glasskuter · Dec 6, 2025

kwp said:
How do I get file explorer to open to the Desktop folder by default?

It takes deep registry changes to do that. The easiest and most straightforward way to open directly to any folder (like desktop) without deep system changes is to create a new shortcut with explorer and your folder's path in the target
(example explorer C:\users\Yourusername\Desktop, then use that shortcut which takes you directly to the desktop folder.. You can then unpin the current file explorer from the taskbar and pin your shortcut to the taskbar instead.

dacrone · Dec 6, 2025

glasskuter said:
It takes deep registry changes to do that. The easiest and most straightforward way to open directly to any folder (like desktop) without deep system changes is to create a new shortcut with explorer and your folder's path in the target
(example explorer C:\users\Yourusername\Desktop, then use that shortcut which takes you directly to the desktop folder.. You can then unpin the current file explorer from the taskbar and pin your shortcut to the taskbar instead.

How do I get windows explorer to default to the desktop folder?

2 questions... 1. How do I get windows explorer to default to the desktop folder when I start it? 2. How can I remove 'home' from the left side panel?

www.elevenforum.com

op has received the answer to that multiple times and didnt want to accept them.

glasskuter · Dec 6, 2025

antspants · Dec 7, 2025

Change Folder to Open File Explorer to by Default in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to set File Explorer to open to either This PC, Home (Quick access), OneDrive, Downloads, or a custom location by default for your account in Windows 11. File Explorer opens to Home (Quick access) by default in Window 11, but you can change File Explorer to open...

www.elevenforum.com

Attached "Set_File_Explorer_to_open_to_desktop.reg" by Brink

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Created by: Shawn Brink
; Created on: Augusat 13, 2023
; Tutorial: https://www.elevenforum.com/t/change-folder-to-open-file-explorer-to-by-default-in-windows-11.675/


[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{52205fd8-5dfb-447d-801a-d0b52f2e83e1}\shell\OpenNewWindow\command]
@="Explorer \"%USERPROFILE%\\Desktop\""
"DelegateExecute"=""

kwp · Dec 7, 2025

dacrone said:
Settings > Account > Your Info

will say local there if its a local acocunt

So its a microsoft account.

And just so you know, I have 2 microsoft accounts on an administrator level and an Administrator account but I didnt go into creating it completely. So ! have 3 accounts. But I want to eliminate the Administrator account.. How do I do that?

kwp · Dec 7, 2025

glasskuter said:
You cannot remove OneDrive from the “This PC” section of File Explorer unless OneDrive itself is uninstalled.

Not entirely true. I managed to remove the OneDrive icon yesterday through a reg tweak. See here:

How to remove OneDrive from File Explorer? And open to Desktop?

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