[How to] Remove Homegroup from Explorer

[oioldman]

I have no need for this and did not select to be used during install, yet the silly icon is still there.

wastes screen space and should;t be there if asked not to be used.

This is how to remove:

http://www.milka.dk/main/2009/04/25/Window...InExplorer.aspx

basically, stop the x2 services:

# HomeGroup Listener

# HomeGroup Provider

[Guest]

Thanks! One less clutter item in Explorer.

Why does MS presume everyone is on a network? I wish their was a 4 option during network setup...NO NETWORK!

[oioldman]

exactly my thoughts

[0x221e]

Forgive my ignorance but why not just right click white space on in navigation pane and choose 'Show All Folders', then just expand/collapse folders to your liking?

http://i48.tinypic.com/sm3ocw.jpg

[Insomneac]

Forgive my ignorance but why not just right click white space on in navigation pane and choose 'Show All Folders', then just expand/collapse folders to your liking?

http://i48.tinypic.com/sm3ocw.jpg

Because it doesn't remove HomeGroup, and it clutters the sidebar even more, especially if you have desktop folders.

BTW, on my system, stopping the two services doesn't remove HomeGroup, it's still there.

The site linked says you don't need to log off or reboot (which I haven't tried yet).

EDIT: I've logged off, and even rebooted, and HomeGroup is still there!

Edited November 18, 2009 by Insomneac

[vinifera]

it probably could be done via registry

same way as libraries are removed, someone just needs to know which keys

[Insomneac]

Yes there is a registry method, but that's not as easy to reverse as disabling a service.

The key is HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFWARE\Microsoft\Wind ows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\

The sub-folder to delete is {B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}. The value of the default item should be "Other users".

I still don't get why disabling the services works for some and not others?

[vinifera]

maybe coz of some restrictions or group policy issues

[Insomneac]

Nope, I have a very simple setup with one user.

If anything, it should work on mine.

[DonDamm]

One very simple method for registry changes that is very easy to reverse is to just put a minus sign in front of the key name. That means for the above the

{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}

becomes

-{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}

When you want to reverse it you just remove the minus sign.

You could also export the key and create a reg file to do the same thing for on and off.

I do this all the time for Shared folders and the extra virtual User's folders in XP.

[vinifera]

- should go infront of hive

[-HKLM\...

[DonDamm]

Yes, that is true. If you are using a reg file to remove or replace something. However, I use it directly in the registry to not delete a key but inactivate it. That allows me to reactivate it later if wanted without having to maintain a group of reg files or a list of the keys and values because it is all there as original - just with a slightly different name.

When writing a reg file to remove a key, of course, you would place a minus sign in front of the whole key as noted.

I should add that I tried the method as explained above and found that it does not work on the x64 installation I have on a quad core machine.

Edited December 7, 2009 by DonDamm

[vinifera]

thanks for info