How do I delete/remove the default Libraries in Windows 10? Delete/remove, not hide.

Question

Hi, I'm doing a new install of Windows 10 and I would like to remove the default libraries from Windows 10. I do not use or structure my project folders in the way that libraries is intended to be used, and I do not like it junking up my home folder or explorer side pane etc. How can I remove them permanently? 

If I delete the folders they just recreate themselves. What can I do to permanently remove them?

Also if possible could someone point me how to do this with a script? I am currently reinstalling everything on this machine so I am writing a boxstarter script to make this process easier when I move machines etc. Thank you. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Hello I am a fellow community member here to help. I have seen many asking this same question and as of yet there does not seem to be a way to permanently delete these folders a s the inevitably reappear. I know it doesn't help in the immediate but perhaps you could send a feature request to Windows devs by pressing Windows key+ F on your keyboard

Answer 2

Are you talking about the user folders that appear under This PC: Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos, etc.? Or are you talking about the entries under Libraries in the Navigation Pane, which are really just saved searches?

Keith

Answer 3

Are you talking about the user folders that appear under This PC: Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos, etc.? Or are you talking about the entries under Libraries in the Navigation Pane, which are really just saved searches?

Keith

Both though I've actually figured out how to remove the entries under This PC in the Navigation pane using these powershell scripts:

Remove Videos

Remove-Item -LiteralPath "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace{A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C}" -force;

Remove-Item -LiteralPath "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace{f86fa3ab-70d2-4fc7-9c99-fcbf05467f3a}" -force;

Remove-Item -LiteralPath "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace{A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C}" -force;

Remove-Item -LiteralPath "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace{f86fa3ab-70d2-4fc7-9c99-fcbf05467f3a}" -force;

#Remove Music

Remove-Item -LiteralPath "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace{1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE}" -force;

Remove-Item -LiteralPath "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace{3dfdf296-dbec-4fb4-81d1-6a3438bcf4de}" -force;

Remove-Item -LiteralPath "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace{1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE}" -force;

Remove-Item -LiteralPath "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace{3dfdf296-dbec-4fb4-81d1-6a3438bcf4de}" -force;

#Remove Pictures

Remove-Item -LiteralPath "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace{3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA}" -force;

Remove-Item -LiteralPath "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace{24ad3ad4-a569-4530-98e1-ab02f9417aa8}" -force;

Remove-Item -LiteralPath "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace{3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA}" -force;

Remove-Item -LiteralPath "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace{24ad3ad4-a569-4530-98e1-ab02f9417aa8}" -force;

Removing the Library stuff also seems possible by hand. To remove it from the side pane you can just right click and say hide Libraries. But before doing that you need to go to each of the libraries and click "manage library" up at the top and then remove all the libraries. Then you can just delete the folders that are in the Home folder, and they shouldn't reappear, nor will you see the library folders based on searches or whatever once you remove them from the libraries and then hide them in the side panel with the script above. I used this tutorial to manage the libraries etc: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/8834-remove-included-folder-library-windows-10-a.html

The only time anything has reappeared so far was when OneDrive started back up on one of the first restarts. It made Documents reappear. I'm actually keeping documents around since many other programs tend to use it as a location to dump settings or default output files, but I've disabled syncing for OneDrive, stopped it from starting up at the beginning of windows, and deleted it's folder in the Home directory, and so far nothing else has tried to pop back up so I'd say this one is solved. 

I found this website very helpful for converting reg files into powershell commands so that I could include them as parts of scripts for fresh windows installs. https://reg2ps.azurewebsites.net/

If people on this forum are interested I could post my powershell script when I'm done. I've also found a project (created by Microsoft in fact) called "boxstarter" that's primarily used for automating fresh installs of VMs but I'm finding it useful for getting a canon of settings for whenever I to reconfigure my local machine after doing a fresh OS install.

Answer 4

OK. Well first of all, if you want to remove all folders from This PC, but leave the drives, the PowerShell script can be reduced to this:

*$key = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion*

Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace'

$key | gci -exclude "Delegate*" | ri -force

gci = get-childitem

ri = remove-item

Notice my version doesn't use the WOW6432Node path. I tried deleting those entries first, restarted, and it had no effect on my system. It was deleting under the above path that removed the folders. I have a 64-bit system.

I wouldn't worry about the Libraries, as they're not file system folders, but virtual folders -- saved search criteria, that are defined here:

%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Libraries

They xml files with a .library-ms extension and don't take up much space. You can see this from PowerShell as well:

PS C:\Users\keith\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Libraries> gci

Directory: C:\Users\keith\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Libraries

Mode                LastWriteTime         Length Name

----                -------------         ------ ----

-a----         11/03/18     00:35           2350 CameraRoll.library-ms

-a----         23/06/18     19:52           2276 Contacts.library-ms

-a----         09/07/18     20:37           5736 Documents.library-ms

-a----         09/07/18     20:37           3798 Music.library-ms

-a----         09/07/18     20:37           4040 Pictures.library-ms

-a----         14/03/18     20:38            698 Property Names.txt

-a----         29/06/18     13:13           2193 Sandbox.library-ms

-a----         03/02/16     09:55           1024 SavedPictures.library-ms

-a----         12/06/18     17:47           2108 Videos.library-ms

It seems that if you delete these files, Music, Pictures, and Videos are immediately recreated. Not sure if that can be suppressed.

As for the user folders themselves, I would consider re purposing them rather than trying to beat them into submission (though I'm willing to experiment). You can rename them, change the icon, set the template to General or Documents, and use them for whatever you want.

However, I'm willing to experiment more, but it may be slow-going during the week. Tell me more about what you want to see.

Keith