If you are looking for This PC in Windows 11, the quickest way to find it is to press Windows + E to open File Explorer, then select This PC in the navigation pane on the left side of the window.
This PC is the part of File Explorer that gives you a drive-focused view of your computer. It is especially useful when you want to see your internal drives, USB drives, other connected storage, or network locations.
How to Find This PC in Windows 11
You can open This PC from File Explorer in just a few steps.
- Press Windows + E to open File Explorer.
Windows + E is the keyboard shortcut for File Explorer. Depending on your settings, File Explorer will normally open to Home rather than This PC. - Look at the navigation pane on the left side of File Explorer.
This area contains locations such as Home, Gallery, OneDrive, and This PC. - Click This PC.
File Explorer will switch to the This PC view, where you can see the drives and other storage locations available on your computer.
You can now double-click a drive to browse its files and folders. For example, your main Windows drive is normally listed as Local Disk (C:). If you need help identifying or opening it, our guide to finding the C drive in Windows 11 shows the available methods.
How to Search for This PC
You don’t have to open File Explorer first. Windows Search provides another quick way to get to This PC.
- Click Start or press the Windows key.
- Type This PC.
- Select This PC from the search results.
This opens the same This PC location that you can reach through File Explorer.
What Is This PC in Windows 11?
This PC is a File Explorer location that provides an overview of the storage available to your computer. It isn’t a separate hard drive or folder.
Depending on your computer and what is connected to it, This PC can show your Windows system drive, additional internal drives, USB flash drives, external hard drives, optical drives, and network locations.
This makes it particularly useful when you need to check which drives Windows recognizes or browse files stored somewhere other than your usual Documents or Downloads folders.
Microsoft changed the organization of File Explorer beginning with Windows 11 version 22H2. Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music, and Videos are now pinned in Quick Access and the File Explorer navigation pane by default instead of appearing under This PC. This keeps the This PC view focused primarily on drives and network locations.
How to Make File Explorer Open to This PC
If you use This PC frequently, you can make File Explorer open there automatically instead of opening to Home.
- Press Windows + E to open File Explorer.
- Click the three-dot See more button near the top of the window.
- Select Options.
- Find the Open File Explorer to setting on the General tab.
- Select This PC from the drop-down menu.
- Click Apply, then OK.
The next time you open File Explorer, including when you use Windows + E, it should open directly to This PC.
What to Do If This PC Is Missing from File Explorer
If you don’t see This PC on the left side of File Explorer, first make sure the navigation pane hasn’t been hidden.
- Open File Explorer.
- Click View.
- Select Show.
- Make sure Navigation pane is enabled.
The left navigation area should return, giving you access to This PC and other File Explorer locations.
How to Put This PC on the Windows 11 Desktop
You can also place the built-in This PC icon on your desktop if you would rather open it from there.
Open Settings > Personalization > Themes > Desktop icon settings, enable Computer, and then click Apply.
Windows calls the option “Computer” in the Desktop Icon Settings window, but the icon that appears on the desktop is This PC.
If you use this method often, our separate guide to showing This PC on the Windows 11 desktop explains the desktop-icon options in more detail.
What If a Drive Is Missing from This PC?
If This PC opens normally but a hard drive, SSD, or USB drive is missing, the problem usually isn’t This PC itself. Windows may not be detecting the drive correctly, or the drive may not have a usable volume or drive letter.
Disk Management is a useful next place to look because it can show storage devices that aren’t currently appearing normally in File Explorer.
Do not initialize, format, delete, or repartition an unfamiliar drive just to make it appear in This PC. If the drive contains files you need, those actions could result in data loss.
This PC vs. Home in File Explorer
Home and This PC are two different File Explorer starting points.
Home is designed to make commonly used and recent content easier to reach. It includes Quick Access and can surface recent, favorite, and other relevant files.
This PC is more useful when you want a broader view of the devices and drives connected to your computer.
You don’t have to choose one permanently. You can select either location from File Explorer whenever you need it.
Can I Search My Computer from This PC?
Yes. Selecting This PC before performing a File Explorer search gives you a broader search scope across the drives and locations represented there than searching within one specific folder.
This can be useful when you know the name of a file but aren’t sure which drive or folder contains it. Searching from This PC can take longer than searching a specific folder because Windows may need to examine more locations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is My Computer in Windows 11?
The feature that older versions of Windows called My Computer is called This PC in Windows 11. Open File Explorer and select This PC from the navigation pane.
What is the shortcut for This PC?
Windows doesn’t have a default keyboard shortcut that always opens This PC directly. Windows + E opens File Explorer. You can then select This PC, or change File Explorer’s settings so Windows + E opens directly to This PC.
Why does Windows + E open Home instead of This PC?
That’s the normal default behavior in current versions of Windows 11. You can change it by opening File Explorer Options and setting Open File Explorer to to This PC.
Why don’t Documents and Downloads appear under This PC?
Starting with Windows 11 version 22H2, Microsoft moved the familiar Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music, and Videos folders out of the default This PC view. They are available through Quick Access and the File Explorer navigation pane instead.
Is This PC the same as File Explorer?
No. File Explorer is the Windows application you use to browse and manage files and folders. This PC is one location inside File Explorer.
Does This PC show external drives?
Yes. USB flash drives, external hard drives, and other recognized storage devices can appear in This PC when they are connected and available to Windows.
Why isn’t my hard drive showing in This PC?
The drive might be disconnected, offline, missing a drive letter, unallocated, or experiencing another hardware or configuration problem. Check Disk Management to see whether Windows detects the drive before making changes to it.
Summary
To find This PC in Windows 11, press Windows + E to open File Explorer and select This PC from the navigation pane. You can also search for This PC from Start.
If you use it regularly, change File Explorer’s opening location to This PC so that Windows + E takes you there automatically. This PC is especially useful when you need to browse your computer’s internal drives, external storage, and network locations.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.