Do you want to change the standard drive letter to a more original one? Or, when installing the OS, did the system itself assign the “D” drive, and the system partition “E”, and you want to put things in order? Need to assign a specific letter to a flash drive? No problem. Standard Tools Windows makes it easy to do this.
Windows contains all the necessary tools for renaming local disk. Let's look at them and specialized program Acronis.
Method 1: Acronis Disk Director
Acronis Disk Director allows you to make changes to your system more securely. In addition, it has a wide range of capabilities in working with various devices.
After a minute, Acronis will perform this operation and the disk will be determined with a new drive letter.
Method 2: "Registry Editor"
This method will come in handy if you are looking to change the letter system partition.
Remember that it is absolutely impossible to make mistakes in working with the system partition!
Method 3: "Disk Management"
Everything is ready.
Be extremely careful when renaming the system partition so as not to kill the operating system. Remember that the programs have a path to the disk, and after renaming they will not be able to start.
This article will explain in detail how to change the drive letter in different versions Windows operating systems. XP, 7 and 8 will be considered. In principle, all 3 cases are somewhat similar to each other. However, there are still small differences.
Windows XP
Let's talk about Windows XP first. The first thing to do is to log in with an account that has administrator rights. Next, go to the "Start" menu, select "Control Panel" there.
Then click on "Performance and Maintenance".
A window will appear in which we click on "Administrative Tools", after which you need to double-click on the line "Computer Management".
On the left side of the screen, you will see a kind of panel with a number of available functions. There you need to select the item we need, namely “Disk Management”.
This completes our journey to the location in Windows XP where you can change the drive letter. It remains only to select the drive you need, right-click on it and select the line called "Change drive letter or drive path" in the drop-down menu.
To specify your letter, click Change.
As a result, the user is offered a choice of all the letters of the Latin alphabet from A to Z. Select the desired letter and click "OK".
A confirmation window opens again in front of us, in which you just need to click on the "Yes" button.
Ready! Congratulations, you have changed the local drive letter in Windows XP.
Windows 7
However, not all modern users currently have a computer equipped with the Windows XP operating system. Many have switched to the Windows 7 generation, so it would be appropriate to write detailed instructions to change the drive letter for this system as well.
In principle, the process is practically no different from XP, with the exception of some changes in the path of opening the final menu that displays local drives. And yet, how to change the letter Windows disk 7? Let's take a closer look.
First, you need to open the well-known Start menu - in the lower left corner of the screen and select the Control Panel item.
Now click "Administration".
Then you should double-click on the line "Computer Management". There is important point. If on account administrator password is set, you will be prompted to enter it, otherwise you will not be able to continue this operation. This is done so that an ordinary user cannot make any changes without the supervision of an administrator.
After all the above operations, a window appears in front of you, in which you will need to select the item: "Disk Management".
Next, a list of all disks appears. From this point on, the process is no different from Windows XP. We right-click on the local disk of interest to us and in the drop-down window select the line: "Change drive letter or drive path." Click the "Change" button.
Choose the appropriate letter from A to Z, and click OK.
A message will appear to remind you that the programs that are on this drive may stop working. We press "Yes".
Congratulations, you have successfully changed the letter hard drive in Windows 7.
Windows 8
Technological progress continues to move steadily forward with huge strides. Hundreds of new gadgets, games and programs appear every year. Microsoft Corporation is also keeping up with the global trend of the 21st century, and not so long ago, a completely new operating system called Windows 8 was released. Many people around the world are gradually moving to this system. What should they do in a situation where they urgently need to change the letter of the local drive? After all, despite the fact that Windows 8 is just a slightly improved Windows version 7, it no longer has the familiar Start menu. Although it can be returned, I will talk about this in detail in another article.
To change the letter in Windows 8 you need to be logged in as an administrator.
Windows 8 has two interfaces - tiled and standard desktop. Our task is to launch the control panel, after which it is necessary to repeat the steps as in the situation with Windows 7. In the tiled interface, it is enough to start typing the phrase: “Control Panel” on the keyboard. As soon as you start typing text, the system will automatically search for applications and it will appear in front of you in the first place.
Operating system Windows, in my opinion, is the most flexible and intuitive operating system, however, despite this, I am aware that there are a lot of controversial points in it, in particular those concerned with its settings. Sometimes when it needs to be done slight changes or perform a couple of actions in this OS, you may encounter hours of searching for the necessary parameters or options, as the developers did not consider it necessary put them in a conspicuous place and make life easier for users. One such setting is ability to change drive letter installed on the computer. And now I'm talking about it I will tell you in detail.
background
When I had desktop computer, it was installed somewhere six hard drives different volume. And it was extremely convenient, since in total I had memory in ten terabytes. But the only thing that upset me when you first start your computer with all the media installed, that's what they got their letters on the system in a completely random way. Yes, the most capacious could have first letters alphabet, and those that less subsequent.
What is the problem? Actually there was no problem, I just used to keep everything in more or less logical order, therefore, such chaos that was happening in my computer irritated my eyes. And in the end I just took and swapped all existing disks, changing their letters and placing from smaller volume to larger. On this, my "problems" were exhausted, but much more interesting How do I get rid of them.
How to change the drive letter?
To begin with, it is worth understanding that changing the drive letter on which at least one program installed, will disrupt its operation, since the path along which it has been added to the system, will cease to exist. So if this happens, then the only way return it to its original state reinstallation. Therefore, I am extremely do not recommend make such changes if the disk is used for a long time and it has a large number of programs you need.
herself change drive letter is nothing complicated. To get started, you need to go on the following path:
- Start Menu - Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Disk Management
Once window will load and will appear before you list of drives with assigned drive letters, you can start setting up. To do this, click on the disk right click and select " Change Drive Letter or Drive Path...", then press the button" Change" and on the right side of the window click on a letter, which will expand list of all options . Once you've made your choice, click " OK", answer the question" Yes" and your disk will receive new letter, which means that its place in the "" hierarchy will change.
When in front of you a list of disks will appear, there is a high probability that it will contain those whose existence you didn't even suspect. These discs you can't touch! In fact, these are sections in which stored backup files for system recovery and other operations, which are embedded in the computer by the manufacturer. Most often, these sections are present in devices assembled at factories under the brand name of any eminent brand, so it is desirable don't touch them at all. so as not to disturb the operation of the computer. On the same devices that you collected yourself, similar sections will not be so worry about it in this case not worth it.
If the letter you wanted to use busy, then for a start it is worth freeing it, by changing the value of the disk occupying it. Just make sure this the disk is not the key to the operation of the computer and you can change its location.
In addition to discs, change drive letter, which also has it and is displayed in " Explorer". I usually appoint him last, to the very first of the remaining free letters.
NEVER change the drive letter C! This disc is fundamental, so any changes to it will lead to very bad consequences, in particular to the failure of the computer.
Now we can!
Actually everything. On this this extremely short and simple instruction ends. Yes, I understand that few people can use it, but what if there are more people who want to use it after they find out that similar can be implemented? Well, what if?
Change hard drive letter in Windows XP for a knowledgeable person it will not be difficult, so I am writing for those who do not yet know.
In my computer troubleshooting activities, I often encountered a problem when employees insert a USB flash drive into a USB port. system block, and it is not assigned a letter. More precisely, a letter is assigned to the flash drive, but a network drive is already associated with this letter (for example, F:\), as a result, the flash drive does not appear in Windows Explorer xp. You have to change the drive letter assigned to the flash drive to an unoccupied one. This can be done in two ways.
The first way to change the hard drive letter
Thus, you can change the letters of all drives, except for the one on which Windows is installed. This is usually the C:\ drive. But there is a way that allows you to change the letter of the system drive.
The second way to change the drive letter
This can be done in the system Windows registry. Without special need for poorly versed people to do this Not recommended, as this may cause a malfunction of the computer and loss of information on the .
Before any changes in the registry, it is recommended to make a copy of it (in the registry editor: File -> Export) and backup system status and data on the computer.
Partitioning a hard disk into logical disks simplifies the work with the computer and optimizes data storage. For example, if the operating system and all programs are kept on the system drive, and important data is on the logical drive, then in case of failures, you can simply clean system disk and reinstall OS. The data will not be affected. We figured out the advantages of several logical drives, now let's move on to the main topic - how to set up drive letters in your system in your own way.
Why would anyone need to change the drive letter? Yes, many reasons. Someone just wants to designate a logical drive, say, not E, but D. But more often this is necessary not out of idle curiosity, but for the sake of order in the system. At Windows installation, the system assigns the system drive C, drive D, and only then gives letters to logical drives - E, F, etc. I really want to see the disks in order, and only then the drive, which will require changing the drive letter.
You may need to change the drive letter when connecting a USB flash drive. Special programs, such as a client bank, are configured to read key files from a flash drive, which is assigned a specific letter. When connecting other drives, the flash drive may be assigned a different letter, and the client bank will not be able to work. In order not to reconfigure the program, you can simply change the drive letter assigned to the flash drive.
How to change the drive letter?
There are many hard drive programs that can do this. For example, suitable Partition Magic or software from Acronis. But they are paid and require certain skills to use. But you can do without these "monsters". The system already initially includes everything you need to easily change the drive letter.
To change a letter logical drive, you need to go to the "Disk Management" snap-in. It can be done different ways, but by a user with administrator rights:
For those who like to click the mouse: Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management. On the left you will need to find the item "Disk Management";
Faster way: right-click on "my computer", there is a drop-down menu item "Management";
Another way is Start > Run ... (or win + r) > diskmgmt.msc.
In this snap-in, we see the current disk settings. To change the drive letter, right-click on desired disk and select the item "Change drive letter or drive path ...". You can't go wrong next. If you need to swap drive D and E, then you will not be able to immediately assign a drive letter. First you need to change the letter of any of the disks to an unoccupied one, for example, change E to X, then assign the letter E to drive D, and only then change the drive letter X to D.
Changing the letter of the system or boot disk
This operation is more complicated, and one awkward movement can cause the system to stop booting. And you have to reinstall everything. And in general it is assumed that the drive letter D was assigned incorrectly and should be changed to the letter assigned in this moment drive C. So the following instructions are for those who want to cure the system, and not play with the settings.
The following steps will swap the drive letters C and D. If you just want to change the drive letter, set \DosDevice\letter: as the value to any letter that is not currently in use. The instructions are taken from the official Microsoft website.
1. Back up the system state and data on your computer.
2. Log in with administrator rights.
3. Run the Regedt32.exe program.
4. Navigate to the following registry key:
5. Click the MountedDevices section.
6. From the Security menu, select Permissions.
7. Grant the Administrators group the Full Control right. After following the steps below, you need to restore the rights that existed before.
8. Close the Regedt32.exe program and run the Regedit.exe program.
9. Locate the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevice
10. Locate the option containing the letter to be assigned to the drive. In this case, this is the "\DosDevices\C:" parameter.
11. Right-click the \DosDevices\C: setting and select Rename.
Note. You must use Regedit instead of Regedt32 to rename this setting.
12. In the new name, specify one of the currently unused letters (eg "\DosDevices\Z:").
Now the letter C is free.
13. Locate the option corresponding to the drive letter you want to change. In this case, this is the "\DosDevices\D:" parameter.
14. Right-click the \DosDevices\D: setting and select Rename.
15. Specify a name based on the new drive letter (in this case, "\DosDevices\С:").
16. Right-click the \DosDevices\Z: option, select Rename, and change the name to "\DosDevices\D:".
17. Close Regedit and run Regedt32.exe.
18. Set the previously existing permissions for the "Administrators" group (as a rule, this permission is "Read Only").
19. Restart your computer.
All of the above instructions will work for any Windows from 2000 to Windows 7.