How to Hide C Drive Using Group Policies in Active Directory on Windows Server 2012 R2

In some cases, you may require hiding the C drive from ordinary users like students from a university campus. This tutorial is specifically written for this purpose. It has following the two parts and it assumes you are familiar with creating OU's (Organisational Units).

  1. Creating a Group Policy Object or GPO and then.
  2. Link a GPO to OU.

Creating a Group Policy Object

Step 1: Open server manager dashboard and click Group Policy Management.

Open server manager dashboard

Step 2: Expand the Tree: <domain name> node and right-click Group Policy Objects. Click New.

Group Policy Object

Step 3: Provide a meaningful name and click OK.

Enter a name for the object.

Step 4: Right-click the GPO (Group Policy Object) you created in above step and click Edit.

Right-click the GPO

Step 5: Go to User Configuration > Administrative Template > Windows Components > File Explorer. Right-click Hide these specified drives in My Computer and click Edit.

Hide these specified drives in My Computer

Step 6: Choose Restrict C drive only and click Apply and then OK.

Restrict C drive only

Linking a GPO (GroupPolicy Object) to an OU (Organisational Unit)

Step 1: Right-click the OU (In my case it is Students) you need to apply the policy and click Link an Existing GPO.

Right-click the OU

Step 2: Choose the GPO you created in above steps and click OK and you are done.

Choose the GPO

Testing the Group Policy

Step 1: Login to a client machine with a user and you will notice there is no C drive in My Computer. Make sure the user is from OU you chose in above steps.

Login to a client machine