Microsoft will soon remove the most useless Windows folders: Here's how to get rid of them now

Sometimes Microsoft has ideas that are doomed to fail from the start. When the so-called Fall Creators Update 2017 decided to install Windows as a 3D platform for the public, many users rightly asked themselves what it was. Of course, you do not need to edit 3D models with Paint 3D. One you see a lot of times in everyday life, but never use, is the “3D Object” folder in Explorer.

This particular folder appears very prominently in the “This PC” area. It is clearly visible at the highest explorer level and also resides at other important locations such as “download”, “picture” or “video”. In Windows 10 21H2 the folder is not completely removed from the system, but it disappears from “this PC”. If the folder is already bothering you, you don’t need to wait until the autumn update 2021.

Deleting is easy with reg file

Without the 3D folder, Explorer looks better.

Picture: CHIP

It would be great if Microsoft created a simple function in Windows 10 so that users could easily define which particular folders they see in “This PC” area. But this function does not exist and therefore you have to dive into the registry to remove the 3D object. This is annoying depending on whether you have Windows 10 with 32 or 64 bit.

For 32 and 64 bit: Go to the “HKLM SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows” path in Regedit and continue hunting through ” CurrentVersion Explorer MyComputer NameSpace”. Below are some secret branches, remove {0DB7E03F-FC29-4DC6-9020-FF41B59E513A}.
Additionally for 64 bit only: Navigate to ” Windows CurrentVersion Explorer” under “HKLM SOFTWARE Wow6432Node Microsoft” and go to ” MyComputer NameSpace” next. There you will have to delete the same branch as shown above.

If you don’t like making adjustments to the registry yourself, you can also use our Reg Files Use. The download bundles four of them, two each to show and hide the “3D Object” folder for 32- and 64-bit Windows. With the “3D_folder_auszüge_32.reg” file you can make the 3D folder disappear from view for users of 32-bit Windows. With “3D_folder_einzüge_64.reg” you show the folder again on a 64-bit system.

Not sure if you’re using a 32- or 64-bit system? How to know.