Policy
Prevent access to drives from My Computer
Microsoft Windows
Policy overview
Key metadata and intent for this policy.
Supported OS tags: Windows10, Windows10RT, Windows11, Windows2000, Windows7, Windows8, Windows81, WindowsRT, WindowsRT81, WindowsServer2003, WindowsServer2008, WindowsServer2012, WindowsServer2012R2, WindowsServer2016, WindowsVista, WindowsXP
Prevents users from using My Computer to gain access to the content of selected drives. If you enable this setting, users can browse the directory structure of the selected drives in My Computer or File Explorer, but they cannot open folders and access the contents. Also, they cannot use the Run dialog box or the Map Network Drive dialog box to view the directories on these drives. To use this setting, select a drive or combination of drives from the drop-down list. To allow access to all drive directories, disable this setting or select the "Do not restrict drives" option from the drop-down list. Note: The icons representing the specified drives still appear in My Computer, but if users double-click the icons, a message appears explaining that a setting prevents the action. Also, this setting does not prevent users from using programs to access local and network drives. And, it does not prevent them from using the Disk Management snap-in to view and change drive characteristics. Also, see the "Hide these specified drives in My Computer" setting.
Registry values
How enabled and disabled states update the registry.
No explicit registry values are set for enabled or disabled states.
Policy elements
Inputs and configuration options exposed by this policy.
| Scope | Element | Type | Registry mapping | Constraints & behavior | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| User | Pick one of the following combinations ID NoDrivesDropdown | enum | Path Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer Value name NoViewOnDrive Type REG_DWORD | Options: Restrict A and B drives only (3), Restrict C drive only (4), Restrict D drive only (8), Restrict A, B and C drives only (7), Restrict A, B, C and D drives only (15), Restrict all drives (67108863), Do not restrict drives (0) |