Hiding Drive C, Part 2
Novell Cool Solutions: Trench
By Matt Paulsen
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Posted: 9 Jul 1999 |
Current version: ZENworks 2
Here's another idea about hiding drive C from NT users, this time from cool reader Matt Paulsen. The article he is referring to is called Hiding Drive C from NT Users.
Note: A reader sent a comment about this solution, which we added.
Hi there, just read your "From the Trenches" article and wanted to include this little known item from NT registry hacking:
Defining Local and Remote Drive Visibility Under WinNT (Windows NT)
Administrators may use the NODRIVES entry to disable access to floppy drives on a per-user basis. The NODRIVES entry uses a 32-bit word to define local and network drive visibility for each logical drive in the computer. The lower 26 bits of the 32-bit word correspond to drive letters A through Z. Drives are visible when set to 0 and hidden when set to 1.
- Key:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer] - Value Name: NODRIVES
- Data Type: REG_DWORD
- Data: A bit mask of 11111111111111111111111111 (0x3FFFFFFh) would hide all drive letters.
More info is available on the Microsoft Support site.
In this way you could COMPLETELY HIDE the C Drive - OR ANY OTHER DRIVE - with a bit of bitmath before hand and never have to worry about setting shortcut strings in policies.
Comments
Jonathan M. wrote: Just reading "Hiding Drive C, Part 2" and followed the link the Microsoft Support site, and found a big gotcha at the bottom of the link. It states "NOTE: If you hide the System drive it is not available under the My Computer icon or in the File Open\Save dialog boxes, however it is visible in Windows NT Explorer." Still a useful tip, but since C is generally the system drive, doesn't do anymore than policies for hiding C.
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