Delete SkyDrive folder from Windows 8.1 Navigation Pane

I recently upgraded my Windows 8 computer new 8.1 preview. Upgrade process went fine without any problem and i love the new features provided in this update. But there is a problem. There have included the the SkyDrive folder by default in the left navigation pane just above or below the libraries.

Now the problem is i have several private and important documents stored on cloud folders. Now as this PC is used by several members of my family, it sounds bit risky as anyone can access the folder and see my files. Earlier this was not the case with Windows 7, i was simply able to delete it by right clicking but now in windows 8.1 it cannot be deleted.

Can anyone here please tell me if there is anyway to remove the Skydrive folder from the navigation pane? If yes, please let me know soon or i will better revert back to Windows 8 or 7.

Well in order to do the same you will require to make some changes in registry. I will recommend to follow the steps below only if you are aware of registry tweaks because it may even damage your system if anything gone wrong. Here is how you can remove SkyDrive from Windows explorer left pane navigation bar:

• Make sure you are logged in as Administrator
• Press Win+R key to bring up the RUN Command.
• Type 'regedit' without quotes and press enter.
• Now navigate to the following folder:
• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{8E74D236-7F35-4720-B138-1FED0B85EA75}\ShellFolder
• Here on the right pane you will see an entry named "Attributes". Double click the same.
• Now change its value to 'f08004d' and save.
• Exit registry and restart the system to effect the changes.

Thats it. Hopefully you will not see SkyDrive anymore in left navigation pane.

Thank you very much for the help Sabin. That worked like a charm. That’s all I wanted to know.

Help appreciated.

Hey guys, I am in need of similar help. I have a laptop running Windows 8.1. I have huge data saved on my Skydrive. Now the problem is most of the time I need to travel here and there during which my laptop is not connected to internet. In such cases I cannot access the files and documents from Skydrive as they require internet connection. I wanted to know if I can make each of the files and folders to be accessed offline? If yes, please let me know how. Many thanks.

Yes, it is possible. In fact it is very easy if you access the SkyDrive right from the Metro Screen. Whenever you open the skydrive Application from Start Screen and select a folder, you will see number of options below at the bottom including Make Offline, Make Online-Only, etc etc.

So what you need to do is select any particular folder or file, and tap/click on Make offline. You need to do this only when you are connected to internet because it will need to first download it on your local disk. This is only one time process and the files will be available for offline access for ever.