Windows 8 has a new default file explorer startup folder that you can change if you want. To do this, open the Start screen and type “cmd” and hit enter. Then type “netstat -an” and hit enter. The netstat command will show you all the active network connections in your system. If there is a file called “explorer.exe” located in the same directory as any of these connections, then Windows 8 will use that file as the default explorer startup folder. To change this, type “netstat -a | grep explorer.exe” and see which connection is listed as being active. If you want to keep the old default startup folder, type “netstat -a | grep explorer.exe” and hit enter again to list all the connections but remove the “explorer.exe” connection from the list.
The Libraries view is the default view when you open Windows Explorer in Windows 7 or File Explorer in Windows 8. If you want to open a different folder when you open Explorer, it’s easy to change in Windows 8, and we’ll show you how.
NOTE: The following is the path used to access the Libraries. You can use the following path, replacing “
To select a custom folder as the default location to be opened in File Explorer, open File Explorer, navigate to the desired folder, and click in the address bar to select the full path. Copy the path.
Right-click on the File Explorer icon on the Taskbar, bringing up the jump list. Right-click on the File Explorer option on the jump list and select Properties from the popup menu.
Highlight the current path in the Target edit box and paste in the full path you copied from File Explorer. Click OK to accept your change.
Now, when you open File Explorer, it opens your custom folder by default.
You can also use a GUID (Globally Unique Identifiers) to specify a certain location, such as My Computer. For example, entering the following in the Target field will open My Computer every time you open File Explorer.
See our article about enabling the secret “How-To Geek” Mode (which is actually just God Mode) for more GUIDs you can use as your default location in File Explorer. That article uses the GUIDs to create shortcuts, but the same ones can be used to specify the default location in File Explorer.
For more information about File Explorer (also known as Windows Explorer) in Windows 8, see our articles listed below.
Using the New Windows Explorer Ribbon in Windows 8 Restart the Windows Explorer Process in Windows 8 How to Force Windows 8 to Keep the Explorer Ribbon Minimized
