In Windows 10, when you connect a removable storage device (i.e. a USB stick or an external disk) or even when you insert a new internal hard disk or SSD to the PC, the system automatically detects and assigns a drive letter to make it usable .
The assignment of the letters to the computer disks can however be controlled manually, which becomes useful in order to be able to recognize the units more easily and to prevent the system from ending up assigning a different letter each time the USB stick or external drive is connected.
If you want to view the same drive letter, always, on a particular device, you can manually assign and change the letter to any disk or stick or smartphone connected to the computer, and on Windows, you can do it in at least three different ways, using Management disk, Command Prompt and also, in Windows 10, with PowerShell .
In this guide for Windows 7 and Windows 10 PCs we also make sure that you do not change the letter to the installation disk (typically with letter C) and that you are not setting a letter already in use, which can cause conflicts.
READ ALSO: How to hide private partitions or recovery drives
How to assign a drive letter using Disk Management
To manage the drive letters with the Disk Management tool, which I have already talked about, let's see what are the steps:
Open the Start menu, search for Disk Management to find the Create and format hard disk partitions utility.
Right click on the drive to be changed and choose the Change drive letter and location option.
Click on Change and then next to the Assign this drive letter option, choose the letter to be used to recognize that USB disk or pen or external drive.
Press OK and then OK again to save.
Once these steps are complete, the unit will permanently retain the assigned letter, even after you have reconnected it.
If you connect the stick or external drive to another PC, it may receive a different letter.
How to set the letter to internal or external drives using the command prompt
Although the easiest way to assign a new drive letter is by using Disk Management, you can also use the DiskPart command in Command Prompt to do the same thing.
Then open the Start menu, search for the command prompt, right click on it and click on the Run as administrator option.
At this point, write and execute (pressing Enter after each command) the following commands.
diskpart
To start the Diskpart tool.
list volume
To list all available volumes.
select volume 3
To select the volume (unit) to assign a new letter to (the number 3 is just an example here)
assign letter = Z
To assign the letter Z to the unit
After completing these steps, every time you reconnect the disk or USB drive to the same device, Windows 10 should automatically assign it the same letter.
How to change the letter on a disk using PowerShell
From the Windows 10 Start menu, search for PowerShell, press the right mouse button and then use the Run as administrator option.
Then run the following commands by pressing Enter after each one.
Get-Disk
To list the available units
Get-Partition -DiskNumber 1 | Set-Partition -NewDriveLetter Z
To assign the letter Z to unit 1
In the command, make sure to change "1" to the number that represents the disk to which to change the letter and choose the letter you prefer instead of "Z", provided that it is not already assigned to another unit.
Once the steps are complete, the drive will be accessible through File Explorer using the letter that has been assigned and Windows 10 will not attempt to modify it.
Final tips
To prevent the system from attempting to assign the same letter to another drive, it is recommended that you start adding letters in reverse order.
For example, instead of using D, E or F, it would be better to start with Z, Y or X when assigning a new letter.
Finally, keep in mind that if C is usually the letter of the hard disk, the letters A and B are also special and it would be better not to use them.
We talked about this in another article explaining what the letters A and B are for on Windows and why it would be better to leave them free.
In addition, the letter D is usually assigned to CD Rom or DVD Rom drives, so it would also be better to leave it as it is, even on a laptop without a CD player.
Be careful not to change the letter to internal disks where applications and programs are installed, which otherwise will no longer work.
READ ALSO: Initialize and format new or unrecognized disk (Windows)
The assignment of the letters to the computer disks can however be controlled manually, which becomes useful in order to be able to recognize the units more easily and to prevent the system from ending up assigning a different letter each time the USB stick or external drive is connected.
If you want to view the same drive letter, always, on a particular device, you can manually assign and change the letter to any disk or stick or smartphone connected to the computer, and on Windows, you can do it in at least three different ways, using Management disk, Command Prompt and also, in Windows 10, with PowerShell .
In this guide for Windows 7 and Windows 10 PCs we also make sure that you do not change the letter to the installation disk (typically with letter C) and that you are not setting a letter already in use, which can cause conflicts.
READ ALSO: How to hide private partitions or recovery drives
How to assign a drive letter using Disk Management
To manage the drive letters with the Disk Management tool, which I have already talked about, let's see what are the steps:
Open the Start menu, search for Disk Management to find the Create and format hard disk partitions utility.
Right click on the drive to be changed and choose the Change drive letter and location option.
Click on Change and then next to the Assign this drive letter option, choose the letter to be used to recognize that USB disk or pen or external drive.
Press OK and then OK again to save.
Once these steps are complete, the unit will permanently retain the assigned letter, even after you have reconnected it.
If you connect the stick or external drive to another PC, it may receive a different letter.
How to set the letter to internal or external drives using the command prompt
Although the easiest way to assign a new drive letter is by using Disk Management, you can also use the DiskPart command in Command Prompt to do the same thing.
Then open the Start menu, search for the command prompt, right click on it and click on the Run as administrator option.
At this point, write and execute (pressing Enter after each command) the following commands.
diskpart
To start the Diskpart tool.
list volume
To list all available volumes.
select volume 3
To select the volume (unit) to assign a new letter to (the number 3 is just an example here)
assign letter = Z
To assign the letter Z to the unit
After completing these steps, every time you reconnect the disk or USB drive to the same device, Windows 10 should automatically assign it the same letter.
How to change the letter on a disk using PowerShell
From the Windows 10 Start menu, search for PowerShell, press the right mouse button and then use the Run as administrator option.
Then run the following commands by pressing Enter after each one.
Get-Disk
To list the available units
Get-Partition -DiskNumber 1 | Set-Partition -NewDriveLetter Z
To assign the letter Z to unit 1
In the command, make sure to change "1" to the number that represents the disk to which to change the letter and choose the letter you prefer instead of "Z", provided that it is not already assigned to another unit.
Once the steps are complete, the drive will be accessible through File Explorer using the letter that has been assigned and Windows 10 will not attempt to modify it.
Final tips
To prevent the system from attempting to assign the same letter to another drive, it is recommended that you start adding letters in reverse order.
For example, instead of using D, E or F, it would be better to start with Z, Y or X when assigning a new letter.
Finally, keep in mind that if C is usually the letter of the hard disk, the letters A and B are also special and it would be better not to use them.
We talked about this in another article explaining what the letters A and B are for on Windows and why it would be better to leave them free.
In addition, the letter D is usually assigned to CD Rom or DVD Rom drives, so it would also be better to leave it as it is, even on a laptop without a CD player.
Be careful not to change the letter to internal disks where applications and programs are installed, which otherwise will no longer work.
READ ALSO: Initialize and format new or unrecognized disk (Windows)
