Fix Duplicate Drive Entries in Windows 10 File Explorer (Historical)

Historical Windows 10 workaround: This article documents a File Explorer issue seen on older Windows 10 builds. Windows 10 reached end of normal support on October 14, 2025. Do not apply this registry change unless your PC shows the exact duplicate removable-drive symptom described here.

Some Windows 10 systems displayed a removable drive twice in File Explorer’s navigation pane. An old workaround removes the shell namespace entry responsible for the second navigation-pane listing.

Before editing the registry

Create a restore point and export the registry key you are about to modify. Registry changes are immediate, and deleting the wrong key can affect File Explorer or other parts of Windows.

Remove the duplicate removable-drive namespace entry

Open Start, type regedit, and run Registry Editor as administrator.
Go to:

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

Look for this subkey:

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

Export that subkey first as a backup.
Delete only that subkey.

Registry key used by the historical duplicate-drive workaround

On 64-bit Windows 10, the duplicate entry may also be associated with the same CLSID under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders

If that path contains the same {F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83} subkey, export it before deleting it.

Restart File Explorer or restart the PC and check the navigation pane again.

When not to use this tweak

Stop if the CLSID is not present or if the duplicate item is not a removable drive. Duplicate drive letters can also come from disk-management, mount-point, or third-party shell issues, and those require different troubleshooting.

This registry workaround is retained as historical guidance; it is not a current Microsoft-supported fix for every duplicate-drive problem.