Windows assigns drive letters in alphabetical order, starting with “C.” “A” and “B” are reserved for floppy disk drives. Since the first partition to be created is the system drive, it is usually labeled “C” by default. For a partition to show up in Windows Explorer, it must have a drive letter assigned to it. Otherwise, you cannot access the partition. This is also true in case you attach a USB flash drive to your computer.
Is it Possible to Change System Drive Letter?
Before we discuss how to change a drive letter, we must inform you that you cannot change the drive letter of the system drive, after the operating system has been installed on it. This is because many dependent applications and programs are installed which require the complete path to files to function properly. If the drive letter in the path to a file is changed, the associated app may no longer function. For example, if the initial path “C:\Windows\System32” was changed to “J:\Windows\System32,” certain components of the app may no longer find the file required. Similarly, if an app or program is installed on another partition other than the system partition, and it does not automatically pick up the changed path (which most modern apps usually do), you may have to make manual changes to the Windows Registries to provide the new path. Let us now show you 5 ways to change drive letters in Windows.
How to Change Drive Letters in Windows
Change Drive Letter using Disk Management Console
The Disk Management Console provides several options to manage your storage partitions and volumes, such as formatting or creating new partitions, shrinking or expanding them, or assigning/changing drive letters. Follow the steps given below to change the partition’s assigned drive letter: You will now see that the drive letter has been successfully changed. Note: If you see that the option is not available or has been greyed out, then the partition’s drive letter cannot be changed.
Change Drive Letter using Command Prompt
If you are a command-line guy, you can also change the drive letter of a partition using the Command Prompt. Here is how: The new drive letter will now be assigned. You may now close the Command Prompt since the partition will now automatically open in Windows Explorer. Replace [Number] in the command below with the volume number you see in the table obtained in Step 3 above. Replace [Alphabet]] with the new drive letter that you want to assign.
Change Drive Letter using PowerShell
Changing the drive letter using Windows PowerShell allows you to do so using the Command Line Interface (CLI) in a few easy cmdlets, as opposed to the lengthy process of using the Command Prompt. Here is how: The drive letter will now change, and the partition will now automatically open in Windows Explorer. Replace [OldLetter] with the current drive letter for volume, and [NewLetter] with the new drive letter which you want to assign to the volume.
Change Drive Letter from Windows Registry
You can also change the drive letter directly from the Windows Registry. Here is how: When the computer reboots, you will see the drive letter has been changed. You can also use our top selection of disk imaging and backup software so you never lose your data or operating system again. Right-click on the drive letter you want to change, and then click Rename from the context menu. For example, to change “J”, right-click “\DosDevices\J:” and then click Rename.
Use Drive Letter Changer
Drive Letter Changer is a third-party freeware that can be used to perform a number of different tasks, including changing a partition’s drive letter. Moreover, it is portable software, which means it does not need to be installed on your PC. Perform the following steps to download and use Drive Letter Changer to change drive letters: The drive letter will now change in an instant. The application will now automatically detect existing partitions and drive letters.
How to Swap Drive Letters Between Volumes
Unfortunately, there is no direct way of swapping drive letters between 2 partitions; you can only assign a vacant drive letter or remove it. Therefore, if you wish to swap drive letters between two partitions, you must first change the drive letter of the primary partition to something else, so its initial drive letter becomes vacant. Then, change the drive letter of the secondary partition and assign the drive letter recently vacated from the primary partition. Now you can assign the vacated drive letter from the secondary partition to the primary partition. This can be a bit confusing, so we have drafted down the process in the methods below.
Swap Drive Letter from Disk Management Console
You can apply the same logic to switch drive letters between 3 or more partitions as well.
Swap Drive Letter using Command Prompt
You can also switch the drive letters between 2 partitions (or more) using the same logic. Here is how: The drive letters have been swapped successfully. You can now close the Command Prompt. Replace [Number] in the command with the volume number you see in the table obtained in Step 3 above. Replace [Alphabet] with the drive letter currently assigned to this volume. Replace [Number] in the command with the volume number you see in the table obtained in Step 3 above. Replace [Alphabet] with the drive letter initially assigned to the primary volume. You can apply similar logic to other methods to swap drive letters between 2 or more drives. This can be done using Windows PowerShell, Windows Registry, and the Drive Letter Changer software.
How to Fix Affected Programs After Changing Drive Letter
As we already mentioned, changing a drive letter where an app or program may be installed might break it. If the problem is not fixed automatically after a reboot, you may have to fix it manually. Here are a few solutions that might work.
Change Path for Shortcut
If you are trying to run an app or program using its shortcut, then just fixing the path of the shortcut might fix the problem. Now try re-running the program using the shortcut.
Revert Drive Letter
If the issue occurs after changing the drive letter, then you can try changing it back to the old one using the given methods above. This is not an ideal case, but it will probably solve the problem. If you do not wish to revert to the drive letter, you can skip this method and try out the ones discussed below.
Change Drive Letter in Windows Registry
It may be possible that the drive letter change has not been updated in the Windows Registry, therefore it needs to be manually updated. Here is how: After the computer reboots, check to see if the issue has been resolved.
Reinstall Program
If none of these methods have worked for you, you can try reinstalling the program. Simply delete the app, download the new setup from the vendor’s website, and perform a new install.
Closing Words
People often mistake the drive letter for the name of the volume. However, these 2 are totally different. A drive letter is an alphabet defining a volume/partition on the disk, whereas a name could be anything you want it to be. By default, Windows names a new volume as “New Volume.” You can change the name of the system volume, but cannot change its drive letter. That said, we would like to know what prompted you to change the drive letter(s) on your system.
