USB Drive Appears Twice in File Explorer? Remove the Extra Entry in Windows 10 and 11

You can leave them alone, simplify the folder view, or remove the separate entry with a reversible Registry edit. Start with the view settings: the Registry is a toolbox, not a junk drawer.

First, confirm what you’re seeing​

Open File Explorer with Windows + E and expand This PC in the navigation pane. Look for the USB drive there and for a separate entry elsewhere in the same pane.

If both entries show the same drive letter—for example, E:—and open the same files, they are generally two routes to the same volume. Editing or deleting a file through either route affects the same file.

This guide addresses that navigation-pane duplication. It is not a fix for a drive that disconnects, reports errors, or shows genuinely different volumes with different drive letters. For a closer look at disks and volumes, right-click Start and open Disk Management. Inspect the layout without formatting, deleting, or changing partitions. Microsoft describes Disk Management as a tool for viewing and managing disks and volumes.

Check the navigation settings​

The Show all folders option can make the navigation tree look busier. Turning it off may simplify the layout, although it does not necessarily remove the separate removable-drive entry.

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Open Folder Options:

• Windows 11: Select the three-dot menu on the command bar, then Options.
• Windows 10: Select the View tab, then Options.

1. Select the View tab in Folder Options.
2. Under Advanced settings, scroll to the Navigation pane section.
3. If Show all folders is checked, clear it, then select Apply and OK.

If the pane looks better, you can stop here. If you prefer the old layout, return to the same setting and turn it back on. Microsoft documents this setting as controlling whether the navigation pane expands to show all folders.

Another no-edit option is simply to collapse This PC in the navigation pane. That hides its nested drive list without changing the drive itself.

Back up the Registry entry​

If the separate USB entry remains and you want it gone, the following Registry change targets the Explorer namespace entry responsible for that extra view. It is a Windows configuration change, not a disk-management operation.

Before proceeding: You’ll need administrator approval. On a work or school PC, check with your IT administrator first. The change affects the machine’s Explorer configuration, rather than just one USB drive.

1. Press Windows + R, type regedit, and press Enter. Approve the administrator prompt if requested.
2. Paste this path into Registry Editor’s address bar and press Enter:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders

1. In the left pane, locate this subkey beneath DelegateFolders:

{F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83}

1. Right-click that exact subkey and select Export.
2. Save the .reg file somewhere you can find it later, such as your Documents folder. Give it a recognizable name, such as USB-Explorer-entry-backup.reg.

Check the filename and location before continuing. Microsoft recommends exporting Registry entries before changing them and documents File > Import as the restoration method. A Registry export is not a backup of the files on your USB drive.

For additional protection, you can also create a restore point by searching Start for Create a restore point. Microsoft notes that System Protection may need to be enabled before you can create one.

Remove the extra Explorer entry​

Once the backup is saved:

1. In Registry Editor, confirm that you are still under the DelegateFolders path shown above.
2. Right-click only this subkey:

{F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83}

1. Select Delete and confirm.
2. Close Registry Editor, then close and reopen File Explorer. If the pane does not refresh, restart Windows and check again.

The intended result is that the separate removable-drive entry disappears while the drive remains accessible under This PC. This approach has been documented for both Windows 10 and Windows 11 by IntoWindows; it changes the navigation display rather than deleting the drive’s contents.

Do not delete the parent DelegateFolders key or neighboring entries. If the named subkey is absent, stop rather than deleting something that looks similar.

What about the WOW6432Node entry?​

On a 64-bit installation, some older or 32-bit applications may still show a duplicate in their file-browsing dialogs. A second instance of the same subkey may exist under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders

PCInsider documents this additional location for cases where the duplicate remains in some third-party browse windows. It is not necessary as the first step. If you decide to change it, export that exact subkey separately before deleting it, using the same procedure above. If it is absent, leave the location alone.

If it doesn’t work—or you want it back​

If the duplicate remains, first confirm that you are looking at the same drive letter and that the unwanted entry is not a pinned location or a different volume. Recheck the navigation setting, reopen Explorer, and restart Windows if needed. If the symptoms do not match the two-entry pattern described here, restoring the backup and investigating the drive separately is safer than deleting more Registry entries.

To reverse the edit:

1. Open Registry Editor.
2. Select File > Import.
3. Choose the .reg backup you exported and confirm the import.
4. Reopen File Explorer or restart Windows if the display does not immediately update.

Import the separate WOW6432Node backup too, if you edited that location. The goal is a tidier navigation pane—not a disappearing act for your data.