How to Change External Hard Drive Letters

In the Microsoft Windows XP operating system, every time that you connect a new external or internal hard drive to your computer, the system automatically assigns a drive letter as a way of recognizing the device in the future. However, you can manually change the drive letter of a hard drive through the Control Panel function. By default, new external hard drives are usually assigned to be either the E or F drive.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• PC running Windows XP
• External hard drive

1. Connect the external hard drive to your computer and log on with an administrative account.

2. Open the Start menu and choose "Control Panel."

3. Double-click on "Administrative Tools" and then open "Computer Management."

4. Choose "Disk Management" under the "Storage" options on the left side of the window.

5. Right-click on the letter of the drive you want to change and select "Change Drive Letter and Path."

6. Click on the "Change" button and then choose a new letter for the drive. Click "OK" and the new drive letter will now show up in the "My Computer" window.