Why Can’t Change or Add a Drive Letter as Wanted

Surprised, why can’t you change or add a drive letter as wanted? The blog provides the nuances of drive letter; how and when can it be modified. Read on to know the practical details.

Every computer has attached secondary storage device that is partitioned and assigned unique drive letters. The system partition that contains Windows operating system is assigned the exclusive letter C by default (you can also install Linux or Mac operating system in a different dedicated partition).

Apart from the OS partition, there are other two hidden partitions—OEM partition and Recovery partition. Hidden partitions do not have any assigned drive letters. While CD/DVD RW drive or other connected device are automatically assigned subsequent drive letters in alphabetical order.

Using the Windows 10 built-in system utility—Disk Management, you can add, change, or remove a drive letter. But the alteration in drive letter requires some basic understanding of how and when can you do the same.

To add, change, or remove a drive letter of your storage medium according to your own preference, you need to login to your PC with an administrator account and follow the succeeding steps:

• Right-click the Start button or press Windows + X to open Power User Menu
• Click Disk Management from the menu to open the Disk Management window
• Right-click the drive that you want to change to open the context menu
• Click “Change Drive Letter and Paths…” to open its dialogue box
• To add a new drive letter, click Add
• Click Browse to mount the drive in an empty NTFS folder, then click OK
• To assign a new drive letter, click Change
• Opt for the available letter from the drop-down list, then click OK
• To remove a drive letter, click Remove and then click Yes to confirm

To your surprise, you might not be able to add, change, or remove a drive letter as wanted. Situations that do not allow you to perform these operations and the corresponding resolution if any are listed below:

Situation 1: The drive letter is a boot drive or hidden drive 

Resolution: None. Drive letter cannot be changed or removed for an operating system drive or hidden drive

Situation 2: The drive letter might be in use

Resolution: Close all the windows or programs that use the drive and try again

Situation 3: The drive letter is assigned to a connected device

Resolution: Unplug the device and try again

The task of changing or adding a drive letter does not cause any data loss. This is because the change operation just assigns a new name to the partition, while add operation mirrors a simple volume. The remove operation needs a little insight before you can perform it. When you remove the drive its file system is removed and partition table is updated, thereby making the drive letter completely disappear from the system. As a result, you lose all the drive content. 

Disk Management utility also has the functionality to extend volume, shrink volume, delete volume, and format. These crucial operations need to be performed after taking backup to avoid data loss. 

Whenever you lose your valuable data due to any reason from your storage drive be it internal or external, you can rely on Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery – Home. The data recovery software for Windows is one of the most used, trusted, and safe utility available in the international market. The three-step process of the software—select, scan, and recover—is quite intuitive and easy to perform. 

Conclusion

Disk Management utility present in Windows permits you to add, change, or remove drive letter through its “Change Drive Letter and Paths…” option. The blog points out situations that restrict you to change or add a letter as you wanted. Using the method described for drive letter alteration, you could successfully perform the task. The Add and Change option does not have the risk of losing data, but Remove operation can cause data loss due to inaccessibility. Use Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery – Home, to recover your lost data in any kind of data loss situation and from any type of storage media. The DIY software is easy to use due to its intuitive interface and instruction based wizard, which guides you to select, scan, and recover.