drive letter assignment regedit

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How to change a drive letter on windows 10 or windows 11.

You can change your drive letters in Windows 10 and 11 using the Disk Management utility.

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What changing a drive letter does, how to change a drive letter, how to fix programs broken by changing a drive letter.

Changing the letter of a drive is easy on Windows 10 and Windows 11, but you should do it as soon as you add the drive to prevent future hassles. Find out how to change a drive letter here.

Windows assigns drive letters alphabetically --- starting with C --- when they're initialized. If you want to change a drive letter, you should do it before you install anything on the drive. Changing a drive letter after programs are installed could break them since there will be references to an installation location that is no longer there.

Windows has gotten pretty smart about updating shortcuts so that programs work after changing a drive letter. Most of your applications' shortcuts will probably be automatically corrected. Unfortunately, Windows isn't as good about updating file associations. You'll have to manually set the default apps associated with files to fix file associations if they were broken by changing the drive letter.

It is possible to change the boot drive letter to something else, but we don't recommend it. Changing C:\ to another letter is likely to result in severe issues, like a PC that cannot boot into Windows at all. Even if it were able to boot, there would be a huge number of programs that would not be able to run.

Technically speaking, while they are commonly called drive letters, each letter actually refers to a partition on a disk. If you have multiple partitions on a single disk, you will need to assign a letter to each partition to make them all accessible. If a disk has just a single partition, it will just have a single letter pointing to that partition. (However, you do not have to assign a letter to each partition. Partitions without drive letters will not appear in File Explorer and elsewhere.)

Changing a drive letter is pretty simple. Click the Start button, type "Disk Management" in the search bar, and then hit Enter.

The program name displayed in the search will not be Disk Management. It will be "Create and format hard disk partitions."

You could also hit Windows+X or right-click the Start button, and then click "Disk Management."

Identify the drive you'd like to change in the Disk Management Window. In this example, we'll change the letter of the D:\ drive to J:\. You can right-click the drive on the text list, or on the menu below. Either works.

Select "Change Drive Letter and Paths" in the right-click menu that appears.

In the window that pops up, click "Change."

Select whatever letter you want from the drop-down menu. Then click "Ok."

Two popups will warn you about changing your drive letter. Click "Yes" on both of them, and then restart your computer.

Once Windows has restarted, the drive letter should be changed.

There are a few ways you can fix a program broken by changing the drive letter.

Fix The Shortcut

If you're lucky, the only thing that is broken is the shortcut. Fix a shortcut by right-clicking the shortcut on your desktop, and then click Properties.

You need to change the target of the shortcut to the new drive letter.

For example, if GIMP was previously installed at " D :\GIMP 2\bin\gimp-2.10.exe," and you changed the D drive to J, change the target of the shortcut to " J :\GIMP 2\bin\gimp-2.10.exe."

Finalize the change by clicking "Apply" and then "Ok."

Reinstall the Program

Reinstalling the program will generate new entries in the registry, so everything on the computer will know where to look for the program. Some installers won't like reinstalling directly over existing files, so you may need to rename or delete the old installation first.

Change the Drive Letter Back

If you changed the drive letter of a drive with a lot of programs installed, it might be easier to change the drive letter back. Changing the drive letter back should automatically fix any programs and file associations that were broken.

Edit the Registry

You can break programs, or even Windows itself, by editing the registry. Be careful, and learn about how to edit the registry before you try it. Make sure you backup the Windows registry first. You should not attempt this method unless you have no other options.

Windows, and a lot of programs, track where programs are installed via the Windows registry. It is possible to manually adjust the registry to fix broken programs. Keep in mind that there could be dozens of registry entries you need to edit. A program like GIMP can have registry entries for the context menu, for the "Open With" menu, for any file associations, and for the location of its executables. Other programs may only have a few entries related to where it is installed.

If you're not deterred, here's how you do it.

First, you need to know where the program was previously installed. In this case, the program was installed to the "D:\GIMP 2" folder, and the executables were found the "D:\GIMP 2\bin" sub-folder. It is now located at "J:\GIMP 2" instead.

We need to update the registry to reflect the change in location. Click the Start button, type "regedit" into the search bar, right-click Regedit, and click "Run as administrator."

In Regedit, hit Ctrl+F to bring up a search window. Type in the old location for the program you're trying to fix --- "D:\GIMP 2" for our example --- then click "Find Next."

Once Regedit has found something with "D:\GIMP 2" as part of a path, it'll show it to you. Here is an example from the GIMP search.

To actually change them, double click the name of the registry entry you want to modify. Then change the drive letter to J, or whatever you chose. If you didn't otherwise move the folder, leave the rest of the path alone. Then click "Ok."

You'll need to repeat this multiple times. To find the next result using your search term, you can hit the F3 key. There will be a popup once you've found all of the entries.

Changing drive letters can be a simple way to customize your PC. Do it before you install anything on the drive, however. You'll prevent any problems before they occur, and probably save yourself quite a bit of troubleshooting.

How to assign permanent letters to drives on Windows 10

You can assign drive letters manually, and in this guide, we show you how on Windows 10.

On Windows 10, when connecting a removable storage device or an internal hard drive, the system detects and assigns a drive letter automatically to make it usable. However, when reconnecting an external drive (such as a USB flash drive or SD or microSD cards), the system can end up assigning a different letter, which can be annoying.

If you want to see the same drive letter on a particular device, you can manually assign a permanent letter to any drive connected to your computer, and on Windows 10 , you can do this in at least three different ways, using Disk Management, Command Prompt, or PowerShell.

Using this approach will prevent Windows 10 from assigning a new letter or trying to set a letter already in use, which can cause conflicts. Also, it helps to select a drive letter that makes more sense to you.

In this Windows 10 guide, we walk you through several methods to manually assign a permanent letter to a drive, as long as you're connecting the drive to the same device and the letter isn't already in use.

How to assign a drive letter using Disk Management

How to assign a drive letter using command prompt, how to assign a drive letter using powershell.

To manage drive letters with the Disk Management tool, use these steps:

• Open Start .
• Search for Create and format hard disk partitions and click the top result to open the Disk Management experience.
• Right-click the drive and select the Change Drive Letter and Paths option.

• Click the Change button.

• Select the Assign the following drive letter option.
• Use the drop-down menu to assign a new drive letter. Quick tip: To avoid the system trying to assign the same letter to another drive, it's a good idea to start adding letters in backward order. For instance, instead of using D, E or F, it better to start with Z, Y or X when assigning a new letter.

• Click the OK button.
• Click the OK button again.

Once you complete these steps, the drive will permanently retain the assigned letter, even after reconnecting it. However, if you connect the drive to another device, it may receive a different letter.

While the easiest way to assign a new drive letter is to use Disk Management, you can also use DiskPart in Command Prompt to perform the same task.

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To assign a drive letter using Command Prompt, use these steps:

• Search for Command Prompt , right-click the result, and then select the Run as administrator option.
• Type the following command to start DiskPart and press Enter : diskpart
• Type the following command to list all the available volumes and press Enter : list volume
• Type the following command to select the volume (drive) to assign a new letter and press Enter: select volume 3 In the command, make sure to change "3" to the number that represents the drive on your device.
• Type the following command to assign a new drive letter, and press Enter : assign letter=Z The command assigns the letter "Z" to the drive assuming it's available. However, you need to make sure to change the letter for the one that you want to use.

After completing these steps, similar to Disk Management, every time you reconnect the storage to the same device, Windows 10 should assign the same letter automatically.

Alternatively, you can also use PowerShell to change a drive letter on Windows 10 using these steps:

• Search for PowerShell , right-click the result, and then select the Run as administrator option.
• Type the following command to list the available drives and press Enter : Get-Disk
• Type the following command to assign a permanent letter to the drive and press Enter : Get-Partition -DiskNumber 1 | Set-Partition -NewDriveLetter Z In the command, make sure to change "1" to the number that represents the drive that you want to modify, and change "Z" for the new letter that you want to use.

Once you complete the steps, the drive will be accessible through File Explorer using the letter that you assigned, and Windows 10 won't try to change it.

Updated March 7, 2019: We revised this guide to make sure it's current with the latest version of Windows 10.

More Windows 10 resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

• Windows 10 on Windows Central – All you need to know
• Windows 10 help, tips, and tricks
• Windows 10 forums on Windows Central

Mauro Huculak is technical writer for WindowsCentral.com. His primary focus is to write comprehensive how-tos to help users get the most out of Windows 10 and its many related technologies. He has an IT background with professional certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, and CompTIA, and he's a recognized member of the Microsoft MVP community.

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6 Ways to Change the Drive Letter in Windows

If your PC suddenly stops showing one of your internal drives in the file explorer or not list your external drive, it could be due to the OS getting confused with the drive letters. Simply changing your assigned drive letters can help you bypass this conflict. Here are six ways to change the drive letter.

1. Change the Drive Letter Using Settings

2. using command prompt, 3. disk management, 4. registry editor, 5. windows powershell, 6. drive letter changer software, frequently asked questions.

Also read: How to Clean Up and Make Space on Your Windows “C” Drive

Is It Safe to Change a Drive Letter in Windows?

Changing the drive letter is not entirely harmless and can cause significant problems based on the contents of your drive. If you have applications and software installed on your drive, those applications may cease to work.

For example, if you change the name of your D: drive to an F: drive, then the software installed in the D drive will still search for code in the D: file. While you can still access the data inside, there may be errors that will cause a nuisance in your day-to-day usage.

However, you may safely change the letter of some drives. If a partition simply includes data files that you rarely use, changing the drive letter may cause minor inconvenience, but nothing serious. The letters of external drives can almost always be changed without any problems.

• Press Win + I to open the Settings app, then select the “System” tab. Scroll down and click on “Storage.”

• Scroll down on the right side and click on “Advanced storage settings.”

• Under Advanced storage settings, click on “Disks & Volumes.”

• Select the drive whose letter you want to change, then click on the “Properties” button for that drive.

• In the Drive Properties, you will find the option to change the drive letter of the selected drive.

• Once you click on the option to change the drive letter, you will find a drop-down menu that will allow you to change the drive letter.

• Click on the letter you want to assign.

• Once you have selected your preferred letter, click on “OK” to confirm your choice.

Also read: How to Format a Drive in FAT32 in Windows

• Search for the command prompt on the start menu by typing cmd , right-click on it, and select “Run as administrator”.

• On the command prompt home screen, type:

• Press Enter , then type:

• Press Enter. You’ll see a list of your system’s drives. Make a note of the volume number of the drive. In the example pictured, it’s “Volume 3”.

• Type the following code:
• Type the following code to assign the new letter:

Instead of “new drive letter,” type the letter you want. For example: assign letter=S

The drive letter will be changed to your preferred letter.

Also read: 8 Ways to Customize Windows Terminal

• Right-click on the Windows button and open “Disk Management.”

• Under the “Volume” column, you will find the various partitions of your storage. You need to find the drive whose letter you’ll change and right-click on it.

• In the dialog box that appears, click on “Change.”

• Click the drop-down menu next to “Assign the following drive letter,” then select your letter and press “OK.”

• A warning message will pop up. Click “Yes” if you are sure about your decision to change the drive letter.

Also read: Which Allocation Unit Size Is Best for Your Drive?

• To change the drive letter through registry editor, first press Win + R to open the Run dialog and type regedit .

• Type in the following address at the top of the application:

and press Enter .

• Navigate to the list of binary keys. Select the key that corresponds to the drive letter that you want to change. For example, if we want to change the letter of the D: drive, we would look for “\DosDevices\D:”
• Right-click on the selected registry and rename the drive letter to what you want, just as you would rename any other file.You will have to restart your computer for the effects to take place.

Also read: 16 Useful Windows Registry Hacks to Optimize Your Experience

• Using the search button on the taskbar, search for “Powershell” and run it as administrator.

• Type the following command:

• A screen will show you your disk partitions. Make a note of what drive letter you want to change.

• To change the drive letter, type the following command:

Make sure to substitute “current drive letter’ and “new drive letter” with the actual drive letters, then press Enter .

Also read: How to Map a WebDAV Drive in Windows

If you are looking for a tool that can help you manage your partition and drives, these software will help you change your drive letter.

• MiniTool Partition Wizard
• AOMEI Partition Assistant
• EaseUS Partition Master

These tools are easy to use and have GUI interfaces that make them simple to use and also a one-stop destination for you to manage your storage devices. For the purposes of the demonstration, we are using MiniTool Partition Wizard to change the drive letter.

• Download MiniTool Partition Wizard. (It is a direct download link.)

• Run the installer and launch the app. You will get a listing of all your drive partitions mentioned below.

• Right-click on the target drive partition and select “Change Letter.”

• Open the drop-down list and select a new drive letter for your target drive.

• Click on “Apply” to save the changes.

• You will receive a warning pop-up asking you to close all background applications. Click “Yes.”

• You will now receive a confirmation message telling you that the new changes have been applied.Click “OK.”

Also read: How to Format Your USB Drives in Windows

1. How are drive letters assigned in Windows?

Drive letters are assigned to every new drive in alphabetical order. Traditionally, the A: and B: drives were used for floppy disks, and the system drive on which Windows is installed is named C: by default.

2. Can I change the drive letter for the System Drive?

No, changing the drive letter on the system drive is not possible, as Windows is installed on the system drive. If that was changed, the system drive would not be found and the computer would cease working.

3. Can I switch drive letters among two drives?

No, there is no functionality in Windows to switch drive letters directly between two drives. If you want to switch the drive letters between the D: drive and the E: drive, you will have first change the D: drive to another letter (so as to free up the D:), change the E: to D:, then change the first one to E:.

Image credit: Plastic magnetic letters by 123RF

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Change a drive letter

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Applies To: Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2019, and Windows Server 2016

If you want to change a drive letter assigned to a drive, or you have a drive that doesn't yet have a drive letter, use Disk Management to change it. You can also mount the drive in an empty folder so that it appears as a folder. For more information, see Mount a drive in a folder .

If you change the drive letter of a drive that already contains Windows or apps, apps might have trouble running or finding the drive. We suggest not changing the drive letter of a drive that already contains Windows or apps.

The following steps show how to change the drive letter.

Open Disk Management with administrator permissions.

In Disk Management, select and hold (or right-click) the volume on which you want to change or add a drive letter and select Change Drive Letter and Paths .

If you don't see the Change Drive Letter and Paths option or it's grayed out, the volume either isn't ready to receive a drive letter or it's unallocated and needs to be initialized . It might also be that the drive isn't accessible, which is the case with EFI system partitions and recovery partitions. If you've confirmed that your volume is formatted with a drive letter that you can access but you're still unable to change it, that's beyond the scope of this article. We suggest contacting Microsoft Support or the manufacturer of your PC for more help.

To change the drive letter, select Change . To add a drive letter if the drive doesn't already have one, select Add .

Select the new drive letter and choose OK . Then select Yes when prompted about how programs that rely on the drive letter might not run correctly.

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5 Ways To Change Drive Letter In Windows 11, 10

Windows is programmed to assign drive letters automatically when a new partition is created. If you do not like the drive letter assigned to a partition, or for any other reason, you can change it.

Windows assigns drive letters in alphabetical order, starting with “C.” “A” and “B” are reserved for floppy disk drives. Since the first partition to be created is the system drive, it is usually labeled “C” by default.

For a partition to show up in Windows Explorer , it must have a drive letter assigned to it. Otherwise, you cannot access the partition. This is also true in case you attach a USB flash drive to your computer.

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Is it possible to change system drive letter.

Before we discuss how to change a drive letter, we must inform you that you cannot change the drive letter of the system drive, after the operating system has been installed on it. This is because many dependent applications and programs are installed which require the complete path to files to function properly.

If the drive letter in the path to a file is changed, the associated app may no longer function. For example, if the initial path “C:\Windows\System32” was changed to “J:\Windows\System32,” certain components of the app may no longer find the file required.

Similarly, if an app or program is installed on another partition other than the system partition, and it does not automatically pick up the changed path (which most modern apps usually do), you may have to make manual changes to the Windows Registries to provide the new path.

Let us now show you 5 ways to change drive letters in Windows.

How to Change Drive Letters in Windows

Change drive letter using disk management console.

The Disk Management Console provides several options to manage your storage partitions and volumes, such as formatting or creating new partitions, shrinking or expanding them, or assigning/changing drive letters.

Follow the steps given below to change the partition’s assigned drive letter:

Open the Disk Management Console by typing in “ diskmgmt.msc ” in the Run Command box .

Right-click on the partition you want to change the letter for, and then click “ Change Drive Letter and Paths ” from the context menu.

Note: If you see that the option is not available or has been greyed out, then the partition’s drive letter cannot be changed.

From the pop-up wizard, click  Change .

Select an available drive letter from the drop-down menu in front of “ Assign the following drive letter: ” and then click  Ok .

Click Yes on the confirmation dialog box .

[Conditional] You may then see another warning message. If you do, click  Yes  again, and then  restart  your computer for the changes to fully take effect.

You will now see that the drive letter has been successfully changed.

Change Drive Letter using Command Prompt

If you are a command-line guy, you can also change the drive letter of a partition using the Command Prompt. Here is how:

Open Command Prompt with administrative privileges .

Enter the disk partition mode by typing in the following, and then hitting Enter :

Run the following to obtain a list of current partitions and their details.

Now select the volume for which you wish to change the drive letter by running the following cmdlet.

Replace [Number] in the command below with the volume number you see in the table obtained in Step 3 above.

Now use the following command to assign a new, vacant drive letter to this volume.

Replace [Alphabet]] with the new drive letter that you want to assign.

The new drive letter will now be assigned. You may now close the Command Prompt since the partition will now automatically open in Windows Explorer.

Change Drive Letter using PowerShell

Changing the drive letter using Windows PowerShell allows you to do so using the Command Line Interface (CLI) in a few easy cmdlets, as opposed to the lengthy process of using the Command Prompt. Here is how:

Launch Windows PowerShell with administrative rights .

Run the following cmdlet to get the current partitions and their associated details:

Now use this information to change a partition’s drive letter.

Replace [OldLetter] with the current drive letter for volume, and [NewLetter] with the new drive letter which you want to assign to the volume.

The drive letter will now change, and the partition will now automatically open in Windows Explorer.

Change Drive Letter from Windows Registry

You can also change the drive letter directly from the Windows Registry. Here is how:

Note: Misconfiguration of critical values in the system’s registry could be fatal for your operating system. Therefore, we insist that you create a system restore point or a complete system image backup before proceeding forward with the process.

You can also use our top selection of disk imaging and backup software so you never lose your data or operating system again.

Open the Registry Editor by typing in “ regedit ” in the Run Command box.

Now paste the following into the navigation bar at the top of the Editor for quick navigation:

In the right-hand pane, look for the values whose name starts with “ \DosDevices .” This will display the current drive letters for the partitions on your computer.

Right-click on the drive letter you want to change, and then click Rename from the context menu.

For example, to change “J”, right-click “ \DosDevices\J: ” and then click Rename .

Now rename the value and replace the old drive letter with the new one, as we did in the image below.

Now restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

When the computer reboots, you will see the drive letter has been changed.

Use Drive Letter Changer

Drive Letter Changer is a third-party freeware that can be used to perform a number of different tasks, including changing a partition’s drive letter. Moreover, it is portable software, which means it does not need to be installed on your PC.

Perform the following steps to download and use Drive Letter Changer to change drive letters:

Download the Drive Letter Changer here .

Extract the contents of the compressed folder.

Run the application labeled “ dChanger .”

The application will now automatically detect existing partitions and drive letters.

Right-click on the drive letter you want to change, expand “ Change drive letter ,” and then select a vacant drive letter that you wish to assign.

The drive letter will now change in an instant.

How to Swap Drive Letters Between Volumes

Unfortunately, there is no direct way of swapping drive letters between 2 partitions; you can only assign a vacant drive letter or remove it.

Therefore, if you wish to swap drive letters between two partitions, you must first change the drive letter of the primary partition to something else, so its initial drive letter becomes vacant. Then, change the drive letter of the secondary partition and assign the drive letter recently vacated from the primary partition. Now you can assign the vacated drive letter from the secondary partition to the primary partition.

This can be a bit confusing, so we have drafted down the process in the methods below.

Swap Drive Letter from Disk Management Console

Open the Disk Management Console by typing in “ diskmgmt.msc ” in the Run Command box.

Right-click on the primary partition and click “ Change Drive Letter and paths “  from the context menu.

From the popup wizard, click  Remove .

If prompted for a confirmation, click  Yes .

You may then see another warning message. If you do, click  Yes  again.

Now right-click on the secondary partition and click “ Change Drive Letter and paths ” from the context menu.

Now assign the drive letter from the primary partition and click  Ok .

In the confirmation box, click  Yes .

Now right-click on the primary partition again, and click “ Change Drive Letter and Paths ” from the context menu.

From the pop-up wizard, click  Add .

Now assign the drive letter initially assigned to the secondary partition, and click  Ok .

(Optional, but recommended) Now restart your computer so the changes can be finalized.

You can apply the same logic to switch drive letters between 3 or more partitions as well.

Swap Drive Letter using Command Prompt

You can also switch the drive letters between 2 partitions (or more) using the same logic. Here is how:

Enter the disk partition mode by typing in the following, and then hitting Enter .

Now paste the following to obtain a list of current partitions and their details:

Now select the  primary  volume using the cmdlet below.

Replace [Number] in the command with the volume number you see in the table obtained in Step 3 above.

Now remove the assigned drive letter using the following cmdlet.

Replace [Alphabet] with the drive letter currently assigned to this volume.

Now select the  secondary  volume using the cmdlet below.

Now assign the recently-vacated drive letter from the primary partition to this volume using the given cmdlet.

Replace [Alphabet] with the drive letter initially assigned to the primary volume.

Now select the primary partition again.

Now assign the drive letter from the secondary partition to this volume.

The drive letters have been swapped successfully. You can now close the Command Prompt.

You can apply similar logic to other methods to swap drive letters between 2 or more drives. This can be done using Windows PowerShell, Windows Registry, and the Drive Letter Changer software.

How to Fix Affected Programs After Changing Drive Letter

As we already mentioned, changing a drive letter where an app or program may be installed might break it. If the problem is not fixed automatically after a reboot, you may have to fix it manually. Here are a few solutions that might work.

Change Path for Shortcut

If you are trying to run an app or program using its shortcut, then just fixing the path of the shortcut might fix the problem.

Right-click on the shortcut and click  Properties .

Switch to the Shortcut tab, change the drive letters in the “ Target ” and “ Start in ” fields with the new drive letters, and then continue to click Apply and Ok .

Now try re-running the program using the shortcut.

Revert Drive Letter

If the issue occurs after changing the drive letter, then you can try changing it back to the old one using the given methods above.

This is not an ideal case, but it will probably solve the problem.

If you do not wish to revert to the drive letter, you can skip this method and try out the ones discussed below.

Change Drive Letter in Windows Registry

From the Registry Editor, click Edit and then click Find .

Type in the old location for the app you are trying to troubleshoot, and then click “ Find Next .”

When the search wizard finds a match, double-click on the Value in the right pane, and then change the old drive letter with the new one in the text field under “ Value Data .”

Now repeat steps 2 through 5 until all paths have been updated with the new drive letter.

Once done, close the Registry Editor and restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

After the computer reboots, check to see if the issue has been resolved.

Reinstall Program

If none of these methods have worked for you, you can try reinstalling the program. Simply delete the app, download the new setup from the vendor’s website, and perform a new install.

Closing Words

People often mistake the drive letter for the name of the volume. However, these 2 are totally different. A drive letter is an alphabet defining a volume/partition on the disk, whereas a name could be anything you want it to be.

By default, Windows names a new volume as “New Volume.” You can change the name of the system volume, but cannot change its drive letter.

That said, we would like to know what prompted you to change the drive letter(s) on your system.

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How to Change a Drive Letter in Windows 10

Lee Stanton Lee Stanton is a versatile writer with a concentration on the software landscape, covering both mobile and desktop applications as well as online technologies. Read more November 19, 2022

Changing drive letters in Windows certainly has its benefits. You can hide a specific drive from all apps on your computer, thus preventing these apps from writing on a specific partition or edit the drive letter after adding a new HDD or SSD.

If you’re looking to change drive letters in Windows 10, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll provide you with detailed steps on how to change or remove various drive letters.

There are a couple of different ways to change a drive letter in Windows 10. Below, we’ll show you how to do so with Disk Management. This is the most straightforward way to apply changes to your drive letters in Windows 10.

You have now successfully changed a drive letter in Windows 10.

How to Change Drive Letter in Windows 10 Using Command Prompt

Another way to change drive letters in Windows 10 is using Command Prompt. This process is relatively simple:

• Make sure you’re running your PC in Admin mode.

You have now changed your drive letter in Windows 10.

How to Remove a Drive Letter in Windows 10

If you want to remove a drive letter in Windows 10, you can do so from Desk Management. Just follow these simple steps:

• Click OK to confirm the operation.

You have now successfully removed a drive letter in Windows 10. After removing a drive letter, you won’t be able to see it in your File Explorer any longer. Also, to remove a letter, you must sign in as the administrator.

How to Change a Network Drive Letter in Windows 10

Changing a network drive letter in Windows is a pretty straightforward process. Just follow these steps, and you’ll be good to go:

Additional Steps if You Receive an Error Message:

You’ll now see your network share in the This PC screen.

How to Change a USB Drive Letter in Windows 10

You might want to change a USB drive letter in Windows 10 if Window Explorer doesn’t recognize the external hard drive. For this or any other reason, just follow the simple steps shown above for an HDD/SSD to change your USB drive letter.

How to Change DVD Drive Letter in Windows 10

Changing a DVD drive letter in Windows 10 can be done easily through Disk Management. Just follow the steps shown above to also change the DVD drive letter.

You have now successfully changed your DVD drive letter in Windows 10.

How to Change Recovery Drive Letter in Windows 10

Changing your recovery drive will only take a few seconds. Just as before, follow the directions shown previously to quickly change your recovery drive letter.

How to Change Boot Drive Letter in Windows 10

Unfortunately, changing your boot drive letter in Windows is not possible through Desk Management.

We only recommend changing your boot drive in case of an emergency. Otherwise, you shouldn’t make any changes to your boot drive. If you make a wrong step, you might not be able to run your system properly. For that reason, please follow the steps we’ve provided carefully. You should also make a system backup before proceeding any further.

Below, we’ll explain how to swap drive C and D letters. To assign your C drive with another letter, you should rename the \DosDevice\letter: value to another letter that’s not already in use.

Also, before you mess with the Register, it’s a good idea to create a copy of the Register before it’s been edited.

• Close the Registry Editor, wait a few seconds, and then open it back up.

• Click Rename .
• Rename the file to a new drive letter \DosDevices\Z:. This will empty your C partition.
• Locate the drive you wish to change the letter of. Find \DosDevice\D:. Right-click on it and click Rename .
• Change the name to the new drive letter \DosDevice\C:.
• Choose the appropriate value for \DosDevices\Z: and click Rename .
• Change the name to \DosDevices\D:.
• Close Regedit and open it back up.
• Change the Admin permission settings to Read Only .
• Restart your PC.

You have now successfully changed your boot drive letter in Windows 10.

Additional FAQs

Is it safe to change drive letters.

Changing drive letters is not a problem in itself. But if your computer needs to run a file that’s written in that very drive, you might have an issue. It’s not just for any reason that Windows warns you before changing a drive letter.

Generally, it’s not recommended to change drive letters unless that would help solve a specific issue. For example, if your Windows Explorer doesn’t recognize an external device under a certain driver, it’s okay to change its name.

There are some drives you can change the letters of without consequences. For example, to a partition that has files you rarely use. Also, you can change an external drive’s letter without problems.

Changing Drive Letters in Windows 10

In this article, we’ve provided you with some useful tips on how to change drive letters in Windows 10. Remember, only do this if strictly necessary, as it might cause some apps on your computer to not run properly.

Have you ever had to change your drive letters for a specific reason? Did you run into any problems? Share your experiences in the comments section below.

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To Change or Remove Drive Letter Manually in Registry Editor

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices

A) Right click on a listed /DosDevices\ (drive letter) (Ex: /DosDevices\D: ) that you want to change the drive letter of, then click on Rename . (see screenshot above) B) Rename it with a drive letter that you want to use, and is not already listed here, and press enter. (see screenshot above) For Example: If I wanted to change it from D: to K: , then I would rename it to /DosDevices\K: instead .

A) Right click on a listed /DosDevices\ (drive letter) (Ex: /DosDevices\D: ) that you want to remove the drive letter of, then click on Delete . (see screenshot above) B) Click on Yes to confirm the deletion. (see screenshot below)

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Home » Tech Tips » Windows » How to Assign or Change Drive Letter in Windows 11?

How to Assign or Change Drive Letter in Windows 11?

Windows by default uses C drive (C:) for hosting system and application files. You can choose different drives like D: instead of C: while installing Windows on your computer. Similarly, it is also possible to manually change the installed app’s location , though generally users install apps on C: drive. Did you anytime think of changing the existing drive letters in your system? Here is how you can do that in Windows 11 PC.

Default Drive Name Assignments in Windows 11

Let us say, you have two partitions C: and D: volumes on your hard disk. Here is how the default drive letter assignment in Windows work:

• A: – floppy disk drive for IBM computers (obsolete)
• B: – floppy drive for MS-DOS and Windows computers (obsolete)
• C: – Windows and app installation files
• D: – storage space partition
• E: – the letter after your storage partition for CD drive (if CD/DVD drive is available)
• F: onwards – removable storage disks like USB and external hard disks

When you have more partitions on the hard drive, system will use the next drive letters like E: or F: when you insert an external drive. For example, when you have C: and D: drives on your hard disk and insert an USB drive , it will take the letter E: or later.

Changing Drive Letters in Windows 11

It is not necessary to live with the assigned drive letters forever on your system. You can either reduce / increase the drive’s space and assign new letters or simply change an existing drive’s letter. For example, you have 400GB D: drive which you can simply change to F: drive. Alternatively, you can divide it into 200GB + 200GB drives and name them as G: and H: drives.

Windows 11 makes it easy to change the drive letters from the Settings app without using registry or changing system files. However, you can also do the same from Computer Management as with the case in Windows 10 .

1. Change Drive Letter from Windows 11 Settings

If you want to change the assigned drive letters for any partition on your hard disk except C drive then this is the option you should proceed with.

• Press “Win + I” keys or use Windows Search to find Windows Settings app.
• Once you are in the Settings app, go to “System” tab and then click on “Storage” option.

• Go down to the bottom of the “Storage” settings section and click on “Advanced storage settings” available under “Storage management” section.

• This will expand the section and click on “Disks & volumes” option.

• The “Disks and volumes” section will show all your existing drives and click on the one you want to change the letter name. it will show two buttons – “Explore” and “Properties” and click on the “Properties” button.

• On the next screen, you can see the buttons for “Change label” and “Change drive letter”.

• Click “Change drive letter” button and select your favorite letter from the dropdown to assign.

The dropdown will show all letters except C: and the current volume. In the above example, we want to change the D: drive and the system shows A to Z letters except C and D. Since D is the current volume, it is not shown in the list. But C is not shown because it is a system volume partition and you cannot change the drive letter for C. You will not see “Change drive letter” button when selecting properties of C drive. However, you can assign A and B for drive letters which were once reserved only for floppy disks. Since floppy disk is obsolete Windows allows you to assign those reserved drive letters A and B also.

2. Change Drive Letter from Disk Management in Windows 11

Though changing drive letter is easy with Windows Settings, it does not allow changing C drive letter. You can use Disk Management app for changing any drive letter with additional features.

• Press “Win + R” keys to Run prompt .
• Type compmgmt.msc and press “OK” button.

• This will open Computer Management app and select “Disk Management” from the sidebar available under “Storage” section.
• You will see all the drives available on your computer and select C or D or any drive that you want to assign a new letter.
• Go to “Action > All Tasks > Change Drive Letter and Paths…” menu.

• On the pop-up that appears, click on “Change…” button.

• Click on the dropdown against “Assign the following drive letter:” option.
• Select your favorite letter and click “OK” button.

Here you will see all the drive letters except D which is already assigned to another partition volume on the hard disk. Though it is possible to change drive letter for C, we do not recommend as it can affect the installed programs on your computer. Most programs by default install under “Program Files” section in C drive. Changing the drive letter may affect the installed programs and they may stop working. In such a case, you need to uninstall and reinstall the program on the new drive again. This will be a big task if multiple programs stopped working. Therefore, choose the system drive when you clean install Windows first time and stick with that. If you are using preinstalled Windows on C drive, then continue to use that without changing. You can change all other drives using Disk Management or Windows Settings app.

If you want to create parition, select the volume and right click on it. From the menu, select “Shrink Volume” option and select the reduced size for your volume. The remaining size will become unallocated for which you can assign a new label and letter as explained above. Learn more about how to create disk paritions in Windows computer .

Assigning Drive Letter to Removable Disks

As mentioned, Windows will assign the available drive letter for removable disks after the current partition volumes. The problem is when you have multiple removable disks, the assigned letters will change every time which may confuse you. The good part is that you can assign a drive letter as explained above for your removable USB or external hard disk. Windows will remember the assigned letter and use the same whenever you insert the external drive. However, make sure to use the letters clearly away from the current and CD/DVD drives. For example, you can use X or Y or even A or B which are generally not assigned.

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Drive Letter assignments in registry

• Thread starter rwavery
• Start date Nov 22, 2011
• Tags IP Routers Subnet
• Windows Legacy

Distinguished

• Nov 22, 2011

When I change drive letter assignments with Microsoft's Disk Management accessory, normally they remain as I assigned them once I reboot, but this is no longer happening. XP has its own idea of what devices it wants to belong to which drive letters, and every time I reboot, it's undoing my new assignments. Is there a way for me to change the assignments directly with regedit? Maybe then they will stick. Possibly related is that I am now getting a "Windows has installed new hardware message" asking me to reboot for the changes to take effect. This message is coming up every time I reboot, whether I have changed drive letter assignments or not, and I don't know how to make that go away. Note: The new hardware in question, whatever Windows seems to think it is (none has been added), is not assigned to any of the letters that have been changed. The system has already been checked for malware, in case you suspect that. It would take too long to explain how I got into this mess. Thanks for any assistance.  

• Nov 24, 2011

To start, change the drive letters in the Disk Manager, obviously except for the C:\ system drive, next go to Control Panel \ System \ System Restore tab \ select the all supervised drives one by one starting with the D drive, click on Settings \ slide the marker all the way to minimum and mark the box in Disable System Restore on this drive. Accept and do the same on the next partition... next close all applications and don't use any of the drives you changed letters on, before restarting the computer. Next go to Start \ Run \ and type: "regedit" (no quotes) and hit Enter... next Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices and delete all the REG_BINARY values on the right pane of the MountedDevices registry Key... and immediately restart the computer. It's perfectly safe to delete all the Mounted Devices values, I have done this many times and never experienced a problem. Most of these values are leftover from previous drive letters... for instance; there should be two values for each drive (one starting with \?? and one with \dos ) this is normal... but there will probably be more than two REG values... this is because each time you change a drive letter, the values that represent that drive are replaced by two... well, can't remember if only one REG value is replaced but the old values are replaced and not deleted. In your case, my guess is that when you change drive letters, you keep using the drives, this and giving the system enough time, allows it to discard your changes and use the same drive letters as before, so don't use the re-lettered drives again untill you restart the computer. So close all apps and disable System Restore on non system drives, 2nd change the drive letters, 3rd delete the REG_BINARY values, and 4th step, immediately restart the computer. If the drive letter changes stick as you set them up, re-enable System Restore on the drives you want it to supervise.  

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Change or Delete System Drive Letter via Registry to Remove Conflict USB or FireWire Drive Letter

I n Windows operating system especially Windows XP, when plug in external USB or FireWire mass storage device such as USB key, flash drive, portable hard drive, the drive is not been assigned a drive letter by the system, hence the USB drive or FireWire drive is not showing in Explorer and no AutoPlay or AutoRun window pops up, although the device has been detected, in Safely Remove Hardware (show device but with no drive letter) wizard.

The cause is probably due to ‘stupid’ behavior of Windows XP where it won’t find an available letter from free letters pool when the USB or FireWire external drive which has previously mounted and assigned a drive letter is been inserted to computer USB or FireWire port again, but that previously allocated drive letter has been taken up and used by another storage devices. Another possible reason is all 26 letters in alphabet has been used, but this situation is rare and unlikely.

There is a solution to USB or FireWire drive not showing in system error . However, the disconnect conflicted storage device to free up the drive letter fix may not practicable or usable by some, such as computer which are on a network or system running data transfer activity to all its drive assignments continuously flow without stopping, and thus disconnect or reassigning any mapped drives, networked drives, removable drives or other storage drives is not an option.

In this situation, there is another workaround hack to fix the no USB or FireWire drive issue. The workaround fix relies on the registry tweak below to change the drive letter that has been previously assigned to the mounted USB or FireWire portable mobile flash or hard disk drive. Or if users wish, can opt to delete any reference to the detected drives by the device so that when the storage device is plugged in again, the whole drive letter assignment will be start from fresh, and clean.

• Login to Windows as an Administrator.
• Open Registry Editor by typing regedit (or regedt32.exe in older Windows prior to XP) in Run command of Start Menu and then press Enter.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices

• Optional step which is not required in Windows XP or later: Right click on MountedDevices , then select Permissions . You can also click Permissions from the Security menu.
• If you run above 2 steps in OS earlier than Windows XP, quit regedt32.exe and run regedit.exe.

Here’s a guidelines that you can follow to quickly determine which registry key is linked to your conflicted drive letter:

• Exclude \DosDevice\A: and \DosDevice\B: which normally reserved for floppy disk drives.
• Exclude \DosDevice\C: which normally is the system root drive.
• If you have more than one fixed hard disk drives, then any drive letters that are using by them is not possible linked again, UNLESS the additional hard disk drive is added AFTER you first use the USB or FireWire device that now unable to show.
• Same case with CD-ROM or DVD-ROM optical drive as above reasoning.
• Change the drive letter (in the example is F) to another unused drive letter that hasn’t been used by another other drives, then press Enter.
• Now insert and plug in the USB or FireWire device into the port again (if it’s already inserted, take it out and re-insert again). The drive letter for the USB and FireWire should now appear and you can use the drive normally and properly again.
• For OS earlier than Windows XP which you have previously change the permissions for the registry key, quit Regedit.exe and start Regedt32.exe, and change the permissions back to the previous setting for Administrators (which should be Read Only).

It’s also possible to simply delete the devices registry keys instead of renaming it. Deletion is helpful is users really can’t find the the registry value for the drive letter that having problem. But make sure that you do a backup for the registry branch by exporting MountedDevices key, as mistake may cause your system unbootable. The delete all possible USB drives, FireWire drives and external drives which have drive letter temporarily only when inserted in the system, and DO NOT delete any of the fixed hard disk drives or CD/DVD optical drives registry values.

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Get a list of drive letters and types from the registry

I have several local drives such as C:, D:, F: and so on. Also several CDROM drives.

I want to know where windows store these data (drive letters and drive types).

Drive letters can be found here:

• Thanks, But What about Drive Types? –  Nofuzy Aug 4, 2011 at 8:24
• Thats in the Data column of the keys. –  cularis Aug 4, 2011 at 8:29
• But it is in Binary, how to translate them? which means local hard drive? Which means CD-Rom? –  Nofuzy Aug 4, 2011 at 9:25
• They are in Hex IIRC –  surfasb Aug 5, 2011 at 6:51
• Only hard-drives are in hex, other types have long, variable-length Unicode strings. If you open one in the Edit Binary Value dialog, you’ll see them. A CD/DVD will be something like \??\IDE#CdRomSony… , a flash-drive/memory-card might say _??_USBSTOR#Disk&Ven_SanDisk&Prod… , and a hard-drive will have a much shorter string (~12 bytes) of binary data that is not human-readable. You can also use DevCon and DevManView to get a list of hardware that is or has been attached to the system. –  Synetech Mar 21, 2014 at 16:37

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