How to add or remove duplicate drives in File Explorer in Windows 10. Seeing duplicate drives in File Explorer? It clutters your workspace and slows you down. In this video, we'll show you how to remove those duplicates, fix navigation issues, and streamline your file browsing. Before we begin, be sure to subscribe to Ninja One's IT video hub and our YouTube channel for more tech content like this. How to remove duplicate drives in File Explorer. You can remove duplicate drives from the navigation pane using the registry editor but be sure to back up the registry first. Here's how. Press wins plus R to launch Run. Type regedit then hit enter to launch the registry editor. In the registry editor, go to (instrumental music plays) then click namespace to see the list of keys. Look for the key, right-click it, and choose delete. If it's not under namespace, check delegate folders (instrumental music plays) . Click yes to confirm. If you are a Windows 10 64-bit user, you have to do these additional steps. For 32-bit users, you can skip ahead to step seven. Go to (instrumental music plays) , right-click, and select delete. Then click yes to confirm. Next, close the registry editor then press Control plus Shift plus Escape to open Task Manager. Find Windows Explorer, right-click it, and choose Restart. How to restore duplicate drives in File Explorer. In some cases, like using virtual machines or containers, having duplicate drives in File Explorer can help share storage across environments. To add them, open Registry Editor and go to (instrumental music plays) . Right-click namespace, new, key, name it (instrumental music plays) . Double-click default inside the new key and set the value to removable drives. For Windows 10 64-bit users, you will have to follow these additional steps. Go to (instrumental music plays) , create the same key. Set default to removable drives. Finally, close the Registry Editor and restart File Explorer from Task Manager (instrumental music plays) . FAQs when removing duplicate drives from the navigation pane. Now, let's go over some frequently asked questions. Does removing the entry affect how drives function? No. Removing the CLSID for duplicate drives only changes how they appear. It won't affect drive function or file access. Just be careful, as using the registry editor incorrectly can cause system issues, so follow best practices. Will this survive a Windows update? Registry changes may be reset by major Windows updates, so you might need to repeat the steps. To stay safe, back up your registry before big updates for easy recovery if needed (instrumental music plays) . A cluttered navigation pane can be frustrating, but now you know how to clean it up or restore duplicate drives when needed. With these steps, you can customize File Explorer to suit your workflow. For more information, check out our official blog post on how to add or remove duplicate drives in File Explorer in Windows 10 linked in the description below.