How to hide and lock hard drives in My Computer

You can protect information on hard drives by hiding or blocking them. This article will show you how to do this on Windows.

Steps

Step 1. Click "Start" - "Run"

In the window that opens, enter gpedit.msc and press Enter.

Step 2. The "Local Group Policy Editor" window will open

In the User Configuration section, click on Administrative Templates. Now double click on Windows Components and then Windows Explorer.

Step 3. In the right pane of the window, find the option 'Hide selected drives from the' My Computer 'window

Double click this option, enable it and select the drive (s) you want to hide.

Step 4. In the right pane of the window, find the option "Deny access to disks through‘My Computer’"

Double click this option and repeat the previous step. Thus, you will block access to any drive (for example, if someone types "C:" in the address bar or in the "Run" window).

Step 5. Close the Group Policy window

Step 6. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect

Step 7. Only system hard drives can be locked

Advice

• If you do not want to hide the hard drive, but want to lock it, use the option "Deny access to disks through‘My Computer’".
• If you do not want to lock the hard drive, but want to hide it, use the option Hide selected drives from the 'My Computer' window.
• You can change the settings inside the options "Deny access to drives through‘My Computer’" and "Hide selected drives from the window‘My Computer’". Just choose the settings that suit you.

Warnings

• If you use the option Hide selected drives from the 'My Computer' window, they can be detected by typing the drive letter in the address bar or in the Run window.
• Any user with administrator rights can change these settings. Remember: getting information from your disks is not as difficult as you might think. If you want to truly secure your hard drives, prevent other users from accessing your computer.