If you're finding a way to hide hard drives on windows xp, 7, 8, 8.1 or any other windows devices, then there's a simple solution that doesn't involve installing or running third party programs.
In fact, if you've looked around, then the only feasible option is to use the windows registry to set flags on which hard drive to hide inside of explorer.
Disclaimer: Using the registry is dangerous, however its the lesser of evils between the choices of hacking about with the group policy (which you can't actually do without Windows 7 basic, starter and home premium, e.t.c., using command prompt to fiddle around with an even more volatile environment.
Make sure you backup your registry before continuing (for when something goes wrong now, or in the future).
In fact, if you've looked around, then the only feasible option is to use the windows registry to set flags on which hard drive to hide inside of explorer.
Disclaimer: Using the registry is dangerous, however its the lesser of evils between the choices of hacking about with the group policy (which you can't actually do without Windows 7 basic, starter and home premium, e.t.c., using command prompt to fiddle around with an even more volatile environment.
Make sure you backup your registry before continuing (for when something goes wrong now, or in the future).
So, with registry hacking, what about the big wall of text with all of those fancy numbers and what not?
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| A list of numbers without any immediate use. Source: ghacks.net |
Well, lets skip the big wall of numbers and have a nice clickable online site that deals with this:
http://extramaster.net/tools/windowsDriveCalculator/
The steps showing how the steps works is as follows.
The steps showing how the steps works is as follows.
#0 Start with an empty registry with everything remaining untouched.
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| Note: You don't have to navigate here, or perform this step AT ALL while using the tool - there may as well be already something here... It doesn't really matter... |
#1 Find and identify the drives that you want to remove
Being a triple-quadruple boot install, no drives other then the C:\ drive is actually needed to be visible...
#2 Visit the page
You'll be greeted with something like this...
#3 Select the drives that you want to hide
#4.5 Click on the "Download" link/button to download
"Keep" the file, and then open it...
I wasn't able to screenshot the following dialogue box in Windows 7, but here's what you have to do in Windows 8.1...
#4.5.1 Run the file when the security warning pops up
#4.5.2 Accept the dialogue boxes that follow
#5 Restart Windows or log off and log back in
#6 Enjoy less hard drives cluttering explorer!
