How to Re-Assign Computer Drive Letters

Reassigning the drive letters on your computer will allow you to organize the devices on your system. This is especially useful if your drive contains multiple partitions, or if you dual boot your system.

Reassigning the drive letters on your computer is an extremely simple process. To change the drive letter of a device, you can use Windows' Disk Management utility.

Instructions

1. Click "Start," then click "All Programs." Click "Accessories" and then "Run." If you are using Windows XP, simply click "Start," then "Run." Type "diskmgmt.msc" into the dialogue box, then click "OK."

2. In the lower half of the "Disk Management" window, right-click the drive or partition you want to assign a different letter to. Click "Change Drive Letter and Paths."

3. Click "Change," then click "Assign the Following Drive Letter." From the drop-down menu, select the letter you want to change the drive to.

4. Click "OK" to reassign the drive letter. Click "OK" again. Repeat the process for any other drive letters you want to change.

Tips & Warnings

• You cannot assign the same letter to multiple drives. For example, if you want to assign the letter "D" to a partition on your hard drive, but the CD or DVD drive is already using "D," you must change the CD or DVD drive letter to something else before you can change the partition to "D."

• Do not change the drive letter of your primary drive.

• Changing the drive letter of a bootable disk can cause certain programs or system process to no longer run.

References

• Microsoft: How to Change Drive Letter Assignments in Windows XP