How to Change Drive Letters

by Barry Dysert
(last updated December 9, 2019)

If you don't like the way the drive letters are assigned to your disk drives, Windows gives you a way to change them. You can even assign a static drive letter to a particular USB port, so that any device plugged into that port will take on that drive letter.

Changing the drive letter is a rather easy task, provided you know where to look. You can make the changes by using the Computer Management utility. The easiest way to start the utility is to use the search capabilities of Windows to look for "computer management" (without the quote marks). Once started, expand the Storage option (left side of the screen) and click Disk Management. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Disk Management details.

Notice that I have a volume called "TIPSNET" that's associated with drive letter "F:". Say that I want the drive letter to be "G:" instead. If I right-click on the volume name and select "Change Drive Letter and Paths" from the resulting Context menu, Windows displays a dialog box that shows the drive letter assigned to the drive. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. The Change Drive Letter and Paths dialog box.

All I need to do is select the current drive, then click on the Change button. Windows displays a dialog box that includes a drop-down list where I can pick a drive letter to be used for the drive. (See Figure 3.)

Figure 3. Changing the Drive Letter.

As soon as I pick a drive letter and click OK, Windows verifies that I really want to make the change. Assuming I answer in the affirmative, the change is made and reflected in the Computer Management utility.

 This tip (5668) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Barry Dysert

Barry has been a computer professional for over 35 years, working in different positions such as technical team leader, project manager, and software developer. He is currently a software engineer with an emphasis on developing custom applications under Microsoft Windows. When not working with Windows or writing Tips, Barry is an amateur writer. His first non-fiction book is titled "A Chronological Commentary of Revelation." ...

MORE FROM BARRY

Using Windows in Safe Mode

There may come a time when your system is no longer operating properly. This could be the result of Registry changes, a ...

Discover More

Adding Locations to the Search Index

You can fine-tune Indexed Searches by adding locations to the search index. This tip tells you how.

Discover More

What is the Purpose of the System Event Log?

The System event log holds messages generated by device drivers. This tip explains more about it.

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Saving Search Queries

Windows Explorer has a good search utility built into it. As you use it, you may wish to save your commonly typed ...

Discover More

Undoing a System Restore

Having the ability to restore your system back to when it was working properly is great, but what if, for some reason, ...

Discover More

Stopping Windows from Creating Thumbs.db Files

Many times, the automatically created Thumbs.db file is more trouble than it's worth. If you want to stop Windows from ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WindowsTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is one more than 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WindowsTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2020 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.