Quick fix: Open File Explorer → click the three-dot menu → Options. On the General tab, change Open File Explorer to from Home to This PC. Apply. New File Explorer windows open to This PC showing your drives.

Windows 11 changed File Explorer’s default start view from “This PC” (showing your drives and pinned folders) to “Home” (showing recent files and quick access folders). Many users prefer the classic This PC view. The toggle is one click.

Symptom: File Explorer opens to Home view (recent files) instead of This PC (drives) on Windows 11.
Affects: Windows 11 with Home as default start view.
Fix time: ~2 minutes.

What causes this

Windows 11 introduced Home as the default File Explorer start view. Home shows: recent files, pinned folders, OneDrive shortcuts, and (in Windows 11 23H2+) recommended files from Microsoft Graph. For users who prefer the traditional “here are my drives” view, This PC remains an option.

Method 1: Switch via Folder Options

The standard route.

Open File Explorer.
Click the three-dot menu in the toolbar → Options.
Folder Options dialog opens. Switch to General tab.
At the top: Open File Explorer to dropdown.
Pick This PC.
Click Apply → OK.
Close current File Explorer window. Open a new one (Win+E or click File Explorer icon). New window opens to This PC.
For per-user setting: each user account has its own File Explorer default. Repeat for each user.

This is the standard setting change.

Method 2: Customize Home view if you want a hybrid

For users who like some Home features but want drives accessible.

Keep Open File Explorer to Home (or your current pref).
In Home view, click Pin Quick access → Edit pinned folders. Add or remove from the Quick access section.
To pin This PC to the Quick access section: navigate to This PC, right-click in the left sidebar → Pin to Quick access. (Or right-click This PC in the left nav.)
For Recommended files (Win11 23H2+): if enabled and annoying, toggle off via Folder Options → General → Show recommendations.
For Recent files: toggle off “Show recently used files in Quick access” if you want a cleaner Home view.
For OneDrive folders pinned: right-click them in Quick access → Unpin from Quick access if not needed.

This is the right path for tuning Home rather than abandoning it.

Method 3: Add “This PC” shortcut to desktop and taskbar

For quick access independent of Explorer default.

Press Win + R, type desk.cpl ,,5, press Enter. (This opens Themes settings — correction: use Personalization settings.)
Open Settings → Personalization → Themes → scroll down → Desktop icon settings. Tick Computer. Apply.
This PC icon appears on desktop. Double-click for direct drive view.
To pin to taskbar: navigate to This PC in File Explorer → right-click in address bar → Pin to taskbar. Or right-click This PC icon on desktop → Pin to taskbar.
For keyboard: Win + E opens File Explorer to whatever Folder Options is set to. Win + Pause opens System Properties (similar to This PC info).
For shell:MyComputerFolder shortcut: create desktop shortcut with target explorer.exe shell:MyComputerFolder. Pin to taskbar. Clicking opens This PC directly regardless of Folder Options.

This gives multi-path access to This PC.

How to verify the fix worked

Press Win + E. File Explorer opens to This PC, showing your drives.
Folder Options → General → Open File Explorer to: This PC.
This PC view shows Devices and drives, Folders sections.

If none of these work

If the setting doesn’t persist or Home keeps re-appearing: Multiple Folder Options dialogs: some Windows updates show different settings UIs. Verify you set the option in the active one. Group Policy enforcing Home: corporate PCs may have policy. Check gpresult /h C:\result.html. Reset Folder Options entirely: Folder Options → General tab → Restore Defaults. Then set again. For Quick access vs. Home behavior: in some Win11 builds, the option is named “Open File Explorer to Quick access” (Win10 style). Verify the dropdown shows This PC explicitly. For corrupted Explorer preferences: registry path HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced → DWORD LaunchTo. Set value 1 for This PC. Restart Explorer.

Bottom line: Folder Options → General → Open File Explorer to: This PC. Single setting change. Pin This PC to desktop and taskbar for additional access paths.