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Nov 8, 2018 · I can/have to assign a drive letter (example the drive letter is J:). But after ejection of the drive using 'Safely remove hardware and eject media' form taskbar and re-plug in the drive, that drive letter (J:) is not seemed to be reassigned to this drive any more.
- Manually assigning a drive letter using CMD/Diskpart
Applies to: Windows 10 & 11. In some cases, Windows will not...
- Manually assigning a drive letter using CMD/Diskpart
- Overview
- 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
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How-to
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.
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.
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.
To assign a drive letter using Command Prompt, use these steps:
•Open Start.
•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
Alternatively, you can also use PowerShell to change a drive letter on Windows 10 using these steps:
•Open Start.
•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 ZIn 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.
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
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Feb 25, 2022 · Applies to: Windows 10 & 11. In some cases, Windows will not assign a drive letter automatically to an inserted drive. For example, this can happen when using a Windows installation media. In that case, you can use diskpart to manually assign a drive letter.
Jan 2, 2024 · If Windows cannot assign drive letter to partition automatically yet after you apply the above methods, you can try assigning a drive letter manually. In this part, this post summarizes several ways that can help you complete the drive letter assignment.
- Press the Win+R keys to open Run, type diskmgmt.msc into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Disk Management.
- Right click or press and hold on the drive (ex: "F") you want to change the drive letter of, and click/tap on Change Drive Letter and Paths.
- Click/tap on the Change button.
- Select (dot) Assign the following drive letter, select an available drive letter you want to assign, and click/tap on OK.
Aug 12, 2020 · How does Windows 10 drive letter assignment work? For the most part, Windows 10 automatically assigns letters to drives as they’re connected, in alphabetical order.
Apr 6, 2017 · Step-by-step instructions for assigning a specific drive letter to an external drive, SD card, or hard drive partition in Windows 10. When you connect a new drive to your PC, Windows...
