With default installation settings, Windows 11 shows the File Explorer icon on the taskbar. However, by default, clicking the File Explorer icon opens the Home folder instead of This PC.
While we can configure Windows 11 File Explorer to always open This PC, there are users who often need to access both This PC and Home. If you also need to access both This PC and Home frequently, you can consider pinning This PC shortcut to the taskbar along with the File Explorer shortcut, which opens to Home.
In short, you can pin both This PC and the Home shortcut to the Windows 11 taskbar. This guide shows you how to pin the This PC icon to the Windows 11 taskbar.
Method 1 of 3
Pin This PC icon to the taskbar in Windows 11
In this method, we create a shortcut to This PC and then pin it to the taskbar.
Step 1: Perform a right-click on an empty spot on the desktop, click New, and then click Shortcut to open the Create Shortcut wizard.
Step 2: In the Type the location of the item field, copy and paste the following path:
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe shell:MyComputerFolder
Click Next to proceed further.
Step 3: Type This PC in the field before clicking the Finish button to create the This PC shortcut on the desktop. If This PC shortcut does not show up on the desktop, please check if all desktop icons are hidden.
Step 4: Finally, drag and drop the newly created This PC shortcut icon to the taskbar to pin it to the taskbar. That’s it! Clicking on the This PC icon on the taskbar should now open nothing but This PC in File Explorer.
As you can see, this PC shortcut icon uses the File Explorer icon by default. If you wish to change it to something else, follow the steps below.
Change This PC’s icon on the taskbar
Step 1: Right-click on the This PC shortcut icon that you have pinned to the taskbar to see the jump list.
Step 2: Now, right-click on This PC’s entry in the jump list and then click the Properties option to open the Properties dialog.
Step 3: Here, in the Shortcut tab, click the Change icon button, select an icon, and then click the Apply button.
If you wish to use the original This PC icon, type C:\Windows\System32\shell32.dll in the Look for icons in this field, press Enter, and then select the This PC icon before clicking the Apply button.
Step 4: The new icon might not appear immediately. So, please restart Windows Explorer once or reboot your PC.
Method 2 of 3
Another way to pin This PC to Windows 11 taskbar
There is a much easier way to add This PC to the taskbar if you do mind opening the File Explorer to This PC by default.
Step 1: Type File Explorer options in the Start/taskbar search and then press Enter to open the Folder Options dialog.
Step 2: In the General tab, select This PC from the Open File Explorer to drop-down.
Step 3: Click the Apply button.
Step 4: Open File Explorer now using search. Right-click on the File Explorer icon on the taskbar and then click the Pin to taskbar. That’s it! From now on, whenever you click on the File Explorer icon or use Windows + E hotkey, File Explorer opens to This PC instead of the default Home folder.
Method 3 of 3
Quicky access This PC from the taskbar in Windows 11
Step 1: Open File Explorer Home or This PC.
Step 2: In the navigation pane, right-click on This PC, and then click Pin to Quick Access to add it to This PC.
Step 3: From now on, right-clicking on the File Explorer icon on the taskbar will show this PC in the Pinned section. So, to quickly access This PC, all you need to do is right-click on the File Explorer icon on the taskbar and then click This PC. Simple as that!
Tip: You can also type This PC in the Start or taskbar search and then press the Enter key to open it quickly.
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