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| Practical Solutions | Step-by-Step Troubleshooting |
|---|---|
| Solution 1. Disk Management | Step 1. You need to open Disk Management with administrator privileges. Right-click the Start button...Full Steps |
| Solution 2. Partition Master Tool | Step 1. Run the Partition Master tool, right-click the target partition, and select "Change Drive Letter"...Full Steps |
| Solution 3. Command Prompt | Step 1. Open an elevated Command Prompt. Press Windows + S to launch the search box. Type 'cmd'...Full Steps |
"Drive Letter" refers to the alphabetical identifier assigned by an operating system to a computer's hard disk or other storage device, which is used uniquely to reference the drive within the file system. For instance, in the Windows operating system, hard drives are often assigned letters like "C:", "D:", "E:", and so on, while DVD drives or removable USB drives might be assigned "F:", "G:", and so forth. This letter assignment makes it easy for users to access and manage different storage locations.
A drive letter is an alphabet character that designates a physical computer disk or drive partition. Windows automatically assigns an available drive letter to any storage device, working its way through the alphabet from A to Z. By default, Windows assigns an available drive letter to any storage device.
The system reserves A: and B: for floppy disk drives and removable media, like tape drives, even if you don't have these installed on your computer. You can manually assign these letters if you want to, though. On a computer with a hard drive, the default drive letter is always C:. Optical drives or other disk drives take the last drive letters (like D:). This is because C: is the first available drive letter on the hard drive. The C: drive letter can only be assigned to a drive with Windows or MS-DOS installed on it.
Even if you have multiple operating systems installed, the Windows drive letter will always be C:. Most modern desktop and laptop computers now come with both a hard drive and a disc drive (such as a DVD drive), but no floppy disk drive. In this case, the C: drive will still be assigned to the hard drive, while the D: drive will be assigned to the DVD drive.
Windows assigns the last drive letter to a flash drive, smartphone, or other drives. For example, if the last drive letter is F: and you insert a new drive, it will be assigned G: until you remove it. If you install more drives or create new partitions, they'll be assigned drive letters after C:, like D:, E:, F:, G:, and so on. You can change the drive letter that Windows assigns to any other available drive letter.
How do drive letters assigned to drives work?
You can change the drive letter that Windows assigns to a drive. If you change a drive's letter, the Registry saves it by the drive and volume ID. This doesn't permanently assign a drive letter to the device, though. If you unplug the device or change it, the drive letter may be different on your computer.
If you use many USB drives, you might have noticed that the drive letter changes every time you insert one. When unassigned drives are connected, they're assigned letters starting from D and going forward. If a drive letter is assigned but the drive isn't connected, Windows will assign that drive letter to another drive. If you connect a drive with that drive letter later, it'll be assigned the next available letter.
Windows offers several ways to change a computer's drive letter. Through this guide, you'll learn how to assign a drive letter using three different tools. We'll use Disk Management, Partition Master, and the Windows Command Prompt.
Related: Drive Letter Not Available
Assign a drive letter to Windows 10 using Disk Management
The Disk Management tool that comes with Windows lets you manage your disks. You can change drive letters, create new partitions, delete existing ones, and more.
To change the drive letter, follow these steps:
Step 1: You need to open Disk Management with administrative privileges. Right-click the Start button and choose “Disk Management.”
Step 2. Right-click on the volume you wish to change or add a drive letter to in the "Disk Management" window. Click on "Change Drive Letter and Paths".
Click "Change drive letter and paths."
Step 3: Select "Change" to modify the drive letter, or "Add" to assign one to a drive that doesn't have one.
Step 4: Choose a new drive letter and click "OK". You'll receive a warning from Disk Management that some programs may not function properly. Click "Yes" to confirm and close the window.
Use a disk partition manager to assign or change a drive letter
Your team is working on a project that requires copying some files to a USB drive. However, you're unsure what letter your team's USB drive is assigned as a drive. Most people have encountered this issue. As a simple solution, you can use a disk partition manager tool to assign a drive letter to each drive.
Users don't need to go through a long process to manage disk with a partition manager tool. The program also offers advanced features like resizing/moving partitions to resolve low disk space issues, merging partitions, cloning disks, creating/deleting/formating partitions, wiping data, converting disk/partitions, and more.
Download this simple partition tool for free now, and assign drive letters with a click.
Run AOMEI Partition Assistant, right-click the target partition, and then choose "Change Drive Letter".
Step 2: In the new window, click on the drop-down arrow and select a drive letter for the partition from the drop-down menu, then click on OK.
Step 3: Click the «Run 1 Task» button in the top-left corner to commit the change, and then click «Apply» to change the drive letter of the selected partition.
【3】Assign a Drive Letter to Windows 10 Using Command Prompt
The Command Prompt can be used to assign a drive letter to any directory on your computer. This is especially helpful if you have many storage devices connected. Follow the steps below to learn how to change a drive letter using the Command Prompt.
1. Open an elevated Command Prompt. Press Windows + S to open the search box. Type in cmd. When the Command Prompt appears in the search results, right-click it and select "Run as administrator."
Step 2: Type diskpart at the command prompt, and then press Enter.
Step 3. Type list volume, and press Enter.
Step 4. Note the drive letter you want to change. Type select volume and replace
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Step 5: Type assign letter. Replace the <> with the new drive letter you want to use. Done. When finished, you can close the Command Prompt window.
Conclusions
You can assign different letters to your drives in various ways, such as using the Windows Disk Management or from the Command Prompt. However, a partition manager tool gives you full control over your hard drive.
In addition to assigning drive letters to any drive or partition, the Partition Master can do much more. Apart from changing drive letters, you can delete, split, and wipe partitions. None of this requires multiple restarts of your PC or risks losing data. These features make it easier to handle multiple partitions without complicated operations.