How to Show or Hide Empty Drives in Windows 11 File Explorer

When you open File Explorer in Windows 11, the “This PC” section displays your local hard drives, internal SSDs, and active USB flash drives. However, if your computer features built-in multi-card readers (such as SD, microSD, or CompactFlash slots), or if you frequently work with virtual disc mounters, Windows often displays multiple vacant drive letters (such as Removable Disk (D:), (E:), (F:)) with blank drive icons even when no memory card is inserted.

For users with multiple empty card slots or unassigned drive letters, these phantom icons clutter the navigation pane and This PC folder view. Conversely, some developers, photographers, and IT administrators specifically need empty drive letters to remain permanently visible so they can format disks or map scripts before inserting media. Windows 11 includes a dedicated File Explorer Folder Option that controls the visibility of empty drives. This tutorial demonstrates how to show or hide empty drives in Windows 11.

Understanding How Windows Handles Empty Drives

Windows categorises drives without physical storage media present as “drives with no media”. By default, modern Windows installations attempt to hide empty card reader slots until you insert a memory card. However, operating system updates, partition utilities, or custom software installations can alter this behaviour, causing phantom empty drives to remain permanently visible or hiding newly attached unformatted volumes unexpectedly.

How to Show or Hide Empty Drives Using Folder Options

You can configure empty drive visibility directly through File Explorer’s native settings dialogue:

1. Open File Explorer by clicking its folder icon on the taskbar or pressing Windows Key + E.
2. In the top command bar, click the See more button (represented by three horizontal dots ...).
3. From the drop-down menu, select Options.
4. In the Folder Options window, navigate to the View tab.
5. In the Advanced settings scroll box, scroll down to find the option labelled:
   Hide empty drives (or Hide empty drives in the Computer folder).
6. Configure the checkbox according to your preference:
   • To hide empty drives: Tick the box next to Hide empty drives.
   • To show all empty drives: Untick the box next to Hide empty drives.
7. Click Apply, then click OK to save your changes.

Verifying the Change in This PC

Once you apply the setting, verify your updated layout:

1. In File Explorer’s left navigation sidebar, click This PC.
2. Under the Devices and drives section, observe whether empty card slots and removable drive letters have disappeared or reappeared.
3. If the display does not update immediately, press F5 on your keyboard to refresh the window.

How to Toggle Empty Drives via the Windows Registry

If you manage multiple workstations across an office or prefer deploying configuration scripts via PowerShell or Command Prompt, you can modify the registry value directly:

1. Press Windows Key + R, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to the following key:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
3. In the right pane, locate the 32-bit DWORD value named HideDrivesWithNoMedia.
4. Double-click HideDrivesWithNoMedia:
   • Set the value data to 1 to Hide empty drives.
   • Set the value data to 0 to Show empty drives.
5. Click OK and restart File Explorer (or reboot your PC) for the registry adjustment to take full effect.