How to completely hide a partition on Windows 11 in more than one way
How to completely hide a partition on Windows 11 in more than one way |
Hiding a partition completely on Windows 11 is useful for several reasons, such as keeping sensitive data out of sight or perhaps just to tidy up the look of your file explorer. However, we believe that the first scenario is the most important, and that prompts us to search for a way to completely hide a partition on Windows 11, which will help eliminate suspicion and not arouse the curiosity of others to know what is inside. Follow us in this article to learn about all the ways that enable you to do this.
Hide Partition Completely on Windows 11
Privacy has become a top priority for most users, as unauthorized access to personal data is extremely dangerous and can result in many problems on a professional and personal level. Therefore, we start looking for ways to know who is spying on my computer without my knowledge, or we try to know the last time a specific file was opened on the device while we were away.
However, you may be wondering: What’s the point of knowing who accessed your data if that person has already seen everything? So, in order not to regret it when it’s too late and to protect your data before it’s too late, you should consider the trick of completely hiding a partition on Windows 11 to remove any suspicions that may arouse the curiosity of other people who can use your device to know what you keep inside. Anyway, there’s no need to prolong the introduction any longer, and we believe that you need to know this anyway. Now, let’s review all the possible ways to completely hide a partition on Windows 11 with ease.
■ The first method: from the Disk Management tool
How to hide partition on Windows |
If memory serves me right, disk management is available on all modern versions of Windows, including Windows 10, 7, and 8.1. And of course, it’s also present in Windows 11. With disk management, you can have complete control over all the partitions in your storage solutions.
This tool helps you delete, reformat, rename drives, and more. Fortunately, you can also rely on it to completely hide a partition on Windows 11, but it’s not a very straightforward method. Meaning, you won’t find an option called “Hide,” but what you’ll need to do is reassign a different letter to the partition and then choose to delete it from File Explorer. Follow along to learn more about the method.
- First, click on the "Wincut "Win + S" and then start searching for "DiskManagement" without the brackets.
- Second: Open the Create and Format hard disk partitions tool from the first result.
- Third: Select the partition that you want to hide from the Disk Management window.
- Fourth: Right-click on the partition you want to hide.
- Fifth: Choose "CLetterPathes.".es.".thes.".es.".
- Sixth: Select the letter for this partition.
- Seventh: Click on the "Remove" button as shown in the example. le.revious example Finally, confirm the
- RM the selection by "Yes on the "Yes" button.
Important Warning: Note that you may need to restart your computer. This method will not delete your data from the partition, but it will hide the partition completely. However, it is recommended that you temporarily back up your data on this partition to a safe place. If you want to make the partition appear again in File Explorer, you will just need to repeat the same steps mentioned above, but instead of clicking the “Remove” button, you will need to click the “Ad” button and assign the same letter as the original partition to make it appear again.
■ The second method: via the Group Policy Editor
How to hide an entire partition from the hard drive |
The Professional and Enterprise editions of Windows 11 have a tool known as the Group Policy Editor. This tool is very similar to the Developer Options on Android, as it allows you to control the services and features of the operating system in an unusual way, which is unknown to many users. If you want to completely disable the default antivirus, "Windows Security," you have to do it through the Group Policy Editor. If you want to completely disable Windows 11 updates, you have to do it through the Group Policy Editor. You can also hide a partition completely on Windows 11 through the Group Policy Editor.
It’s a great and easy-to-use tool because it allows you to tweak your options and revert back to the default settings (if needed) in a simple way. Unfortunately, the Home edition doesn’t have the Gorup Policy Editor, although there is a way to add it already on this edition, but that’s a whole other route than our topic. So, if you’re using the “Pro” or “Enterprise” edition of Windows 10/11, you can try hiding the entire partition on Windows 11 through it, as we’ll explain in the following instructions.
- First, click on the shortcut "Win + S" to open the Start Menu.
- Second: Start by searching for "Group Policy Editor" and launch the "Edit Group Policy" tool from the first result.
- Third: Use the folder path on the left of the window to reach the next path.
- Fourth: Click on the User Configurations" folder, then double-click on "Administrative Templates.".
- Fifth: Double-click on "Windows Components" and then scroll down to "File Explorer.".
- Sixth: From the right side, double-click on the option "Hide these specified drives in My Computer.".
- Seventh: From the new window, select the "Enabled" option from the upper left corner.
- Eighth: From the bottom of "Pick one of the following combinations," choose the partition you want to hide.
- Finally, select "Restrict A, B, and...” the letter of the partition, then click the "Apply" button.
■ The third method: from the registry editor
Best Ways to Hide Partition on Windows 10 |
Personally, I tend to lean more towards the third method because the previous methods are not ideal. The first method is risky and may cause your data to be deleted from the partition if things don’t go perfectly. The second method is not flexible in the hiding process and may not give you the ability to hide a specific partition you want to hide unless you hide all the partitions together, not to mention that it is exclusive to certain versions, such as "Pro,” of the operating system.
Therefore, the third method via the “Registry Editor” is the best way (in my opinion) to completely hide a partition on Windows 11. Follow the instructions below to learn this method. Note that the Registry Editor is available on all versions of Windows, including “Home” and "Education.”.
Important warning: Manipulating the registry editor without experience may cause the operating system to crash completely. Therefore, we recommend following the steps we will explain now carefully and not modifying anything other than what we will cover in the instructions.
- First, click on the shortcut "Win + R" to open the Run menu.
- Second: In the list, start searching for the command "regedit" without the brackets, and then click on the "Ok" button.
- Third: Use the folders in the upper left corner to access the following path:
- Fourth: Expand the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" folder, then expand the "Software" folder.
- Fifth: Expand the "Microsoft" folder, then expand the "Windows" folder, then expand the "Current Version" folder.
- Sixth: Expand the "Policies" folder and then go to the "Explorer" folder.
- Seventh: Right-click on the "Explorer" folder, then choose "New.".
- Eighth: Choose from the list "DWORD (32-bit) Value.".
- Ninth: Name the new value that appears in front of you above "NoDrives.".
Hide partition from hard drive |
- Tenth: Double-click on the "NoDrives" value, and in the "Value Data" field, you must put the number of the partition you want to hide. If we assume that you want to hide partition D, you must put the value as "8" without the brackets. If you want to hide partition E, the value must be "16," and to hide partition "F," you must put the value "32." In the following image: You can specify the number of each partition according to your needs and the letter of the partition you want to hide.
Hide hard drive partitions on Windows without programs |
- Finally, select the value type as “decimal,” then click the "Ok" button and restart your computer.
In conclusion, these were all the available methods to completely hide a partition on Windows 11. You may find some third-party tools or programs that enable you to achieve this easily, such as EaseUS Partition Master or Wise Folder Hider. However, by following the instructions and methods we learned in today's guide, you don't really need to download any third-party tools on your device, especially since they are paid programs and not free.
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