Fix Duplicate Drives in File Explorer in Windows 10

Jun. 24, 2022 / Updated by Helia to Windows 10

Duplicate drive, or USB/removable drive appearing twice in File Explorer, is one of the most annoying problems you may come across after the Windows 10 upgrade. When you plug in a USB flash drive or an external hard disk on your Windows 10 computer, there will be two same entries for the drive as you expand This PC in the navigation pane of File Explorer. They make you confusion and sometimes it seems that the drives stick to the navigation pane and they can't even be ejected.

If you really get double icons of the same USB drive in Windows 10 File Explorer, don’t be worried. Go on the reading for solutions of this problem.

Method 1. Modify the Registry and Fix Duplicate Drives in File Explorer

The following are the top 2 effective ways you can use to fix the duplicate drives in Windows 10 Explorer. Before our starting, it’s important to note that some of the methods involve some computer skills. If you have little knowledge of the Windows Registry, it is recommended you look at the automated solutions.

Way 1. Fix the Duplicate Drive Icons Issue Automatically with Notepad

You can remove the double drive icons with notepad:

1. Open the Notepad in Windows 10.

2. Copy the following registry keys and paste them to the Notepad:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\{F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83}]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\{F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83}]

Then click the File and select Save as. Name this file Remove duplicate drives.reg. (Make sure it is in .reg format.) Save the file to the desktop.

3. Run this .reg file by double clicking it to import it to the Registry.

Then restart the Windows Explorer:

1. Use Windows shortcut keysWin + X and select Task Manager from the Jump List.

2. Go to Processes tab and navigate to Windows Explorer.

3. Right click it and select Restart.

Now go and see if the duplicate of USB flash drive or external hard disk has been removed.

Way 2. Use Registry Directly to Fix the Problem

This solution is for those who are intermediate computer users. You can manually remove the drive icons and fix the duplicate drives problem.

1. Use Windows shortcut keysWin + R to launch Run. Then type into regedit and hit the Enter.

2. In the Registry Editor, expand the entries and navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\{F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83}

Then right click the key and select Delete. Thus the duplicate drive icons will be removed from the navigation pane of the File Explorer.

3. To remove the duplicate drives from dialog box like Browse, navigate to the key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\{F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83}

And then right click the key to select Delete.

Now restart the Windows Explorer, you’ll find the USB drive icon won’t show up twice any more.

Note: Windows Registry Editor is a database containing important system information or settings. It is recommended to backup the registry before any registry changes, in case other serious problems like endless reboot loop, black screen and more occur suddenly.

Method 2. Update USB Drivers or Related Drivers to Fix Duplicate Drive Issue

Outdated, incorrectly configured or incompatible drivers can result in many problems, including static sound in headphones or speakers, red cross on WiFi icon, double drive icons, USB 3.0 crashes, etc. So to fix the duplicate drives problem, it is necessary to update the USB drivers, disk drivers or other related drivers. You can download the driver updates manually from some websites as well as update drivers via automated solutions. For example, Driver Talent, the professional drivers download utility.

Download Now

You can get Driver Talent directly with the button above and follow the step below to update drivers instantly and fix the “removable drives appearing twice” problem.

1. Click Scan to detect all the faulty drivers on your Windows 10 PC.

2. Click Update to download and install the best-match USB, disk or graphics drivers. If there are faulty drivers, click Repair to fix them.

3. Perform a restart of the PC to make all the driver changes take effect properly.

Note: It is better to backup drivers before any driver changes.

Open the File Explorer and expand This PC. It’s fine that all the icons display normally.

That's it. Hope that after performing these solutions, the duplicate drives in Windows 10 File Explorer problem will disappear. If you have any questions for this problem, inform us by comment. If you’re looking for solutions for other Windows 10-related issues, see Windows 10 Issues and Fix.

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