You open File Explorer expecting your drives and you get a page of recent files and a Microsoft account sign in, and This PC has gone from the desktop as well.
Nothing has been removed. Windows 11 changed where File Explorer starts and hid the desktop icon by default, and both are single settings you can put back.
I read what those two settings are on this machine before writing, and both turned out to be shipped defaults nobody had touched.
What Home is, in Microsoft's words
Worth knowing before you decide to leave it.
⭐ Microsoft documents what it is for on its File Explorer page: it lets you "Access your most recent and favorited Office.com files quickly".
⚡ Microsoft says it is faster, too: "Search and find your relevant files from your PC and the cloud much faster than with This PC."
⚠️ That advantage is real if your files live in the cloud. It is worth nothing if they live on a drive.
⛔ Which is exactly why the reaction to it splits. Neither camp is wrong.
The one setting that changes the landing page
Four clicks, and it is buried behind a menu most people never open.
⭐ Microsoft's own instruction: "On the ribbon, select See more > Options > Open File Explorer to, then select This PC > Apply."
⚡ See more is the three dots at the top of the window. That is the step people miss.
⚠️ This machine has that setting unset, which is the shipped default and means Explorer opens to Home.
⛔ Set it once and every window opens where you expect. No restart, no sign out.
Getting This PC back on the desktop
A different setting, in a different place, and Microsoft's File Explorer page does not mention it.
⚡ Right-click the desktop, choose Personalize, then Themes.
⭐ Open Desktop icon settings, near the bottom of that page, and tick This PC.
⚠️ The icon is hidden by default rather than removed. This machine has never had it enabled, which is what a fresh install looks like.
⛔ The same dialog holds your user folder, Network and the Recycle Bin. All of them are ticks rather than installs.
What you lose by leaving Home
This is genuinely a trade rather than a fix, and saying so is ours.
⭐ Recent files disappear from the first screen. If you work from a handful of documents, that list is useful.
⚡ The cloud search advantage goes with it. Explorer will still search, from wherever you start it.
⚠️ Quick access stays either way. It is the pinned list in the sidebar and it is not affected by this setting.
⛔ You can change it back in the same four clicks. Nothing here is a commitment.
The other things Home shows that people dislike
Two of them, and each has a switch of your own to find.
⚡ You can turn recommended files off in the same Folder Options dialog, under the View tab.
⭐ Your recently used files and folders are two separate ticks, under the Privacy heading at the bottom of the General tab.
⚠️ Clearing the history is a button on that same screen. It empties the list without turning the feature off.
⛔ And if something in Quick access will not go away, right-click it. Microsoft's own wording is to select "Remove from Quick access".
When it is not a setting at all
Three of these will look identical to you, from the chair.
⭐ A window that opens and then goes blank is a different fault. File Explorer has its own list of those.
⚡ Drives missing from This PC is not this either. A drive with no letter does not appear at all.
⚠️ And a window that vanishes entirely may be on another desktop. That is worth ruling out before anything else.
⛔ Everything on this page is a tick box. If a tick box does not fix it, it was never this.
Status: Explorer settings read on this laptop on 29 August 2026, Windows 11 Home 25H2, against Microsoft's own File Explorer page. ⛔ Nothing was changed, no setting was written, and no file, folder or account name of anybody's is published.
How do I make File Explorer open to This PC?
Microsoft's instruction is to select See more on the ribbon, then Options, then Open File Explorer to, then choose This PC and Apply. See more is the three dots at the top of the window, which is the step most people never find.
Why does File Explorer open to Home in Windows 11?
Because that is the default. Microsoft describes Home as a way to reach your recent and favorited Office.com files quickly, and says it searches your PC and the cloud faster than This PC does. If your files are on a local drive, that advantage does not apply to you.
How do I get the This PC icon back on my desktop?
Right-click the desktop, choose Personalize, then Themes, then Desktop icon settings, and tick This PC. It is hidden by default rather than removed. The same dialog also offers your user folder, Network and the Recycle Bin.
Does changing this delete my recent files list?
No. It changes where File Explorer starts, nothing else. Recent files are still there when you open Home yourself, and Quick access in the sidebar is unaffected. You can switch back in the same four clicks whenever you want.
Why can I not find the Options button?
Because it is behind See more, the three dots on the ribbon, rather than on a menu bar. Windows 11 moved most of the old File Explorer menus there. Once you know that one thing, the rest of the old options are where they always were.
The Short Version
- Home is the default landing page. This PC is one setting away.
- Microsoft's route: See more, Options, Open File Explorer to, This PC.
- See more is the three dots at the top. That is the step people miss.
- On this machine that setting is unset, which is the shipped default.
- The desktop icon is a different setting, under Personalize and Themes.
- It is hidden by default rather than removed. One tick brings it back.
- Recommended and recent file lists have their own ticks in the same dialog.
- None of this is permanent. Four clicks changes it back.
Where to Next
Open File Explorer, click the three dots, and set it to open at This PC. That is the main event.
Then right-click the desktop and put the This PC icon back through Personalize and Themes.
While you are in Folder Options, turn off recent and recommended files if that list bothers you.
Leave Quick access alone unless something specific in it annoys you, because it is genuinely useful.
And if your Options dialog looks different from the one described here, say which Windows version in the comments. That screen has moved more than once.
Isaac Smith is the founder and editor of PC Glance, a website that covers computers, laptops, and technology. He is a tech enthusiast and a computer geek who loves to share his insights and help his readers make smart choices when buying tech gadgets or laptops. He is always curious and updated about the latest tech trends.