Windows 10: Drive Letter not showing in File explorer, no matter which drive is used

Windows 10I have had this niggling problem for a while now, where the drive letter M: is not recognised in file explorer.It doesn't matter what drive is connected or if I reassign a known working drive to the letter M, it is not seen in file explorer.Given this is seen in Disk Management with the drive letter showing I can reassign a different drive letter, which is what I have done in nearly all cases.I have this feeling that the drive letter may have been hidden at some point in time, but have no idea how to unhide it.At the moment I have a card reader attached, which when an SD card is plac

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File Explorer- no drive letters are listed.

Original Title: File Explorer

I am trying to open File Explorer with my drives listed on the right. I only have the files in the first column and no drive letters are listed.

 

Windows 11 File Explorer not showing external drive

If Windows 11 File Explorer is not showing an external drive that is connected to your device, there are a few steps you can take to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Check the connection: Make sure that the external drive is properly connected to your device. Try unplugging and replugging the drive, or connecting it to a different USB port.
   
2. Check Disk Management: Open Disk Management by pressing Windows key + X, then selecting Disk Management. Look for the external drive in the list of drives. If it appears but has no drive letter assigned, right-click on it and select "Change Drive Letter and Paths". Assign a drive letter to the external drive, and then check if it appears in File Explorer.
   
3. Update drivers: Make sure that your device's drivers are up to date, particularly the drivers for your USB ports. Use the Device Manager to check for any outdated or malfunctioning drivers, and update or reinstall them as needed.
   
4. Check power supply: If the external drive requires a separate power supply, make sure it is properly connected and functioning.
   
5. Test on another device: Try connecting the external drive to another device to see if it appears in File Explorer. This will help determine if the issue is with the drive itself or your device.
   

By following these steps, you may be able to resolve the issue of Windows 11 File Explorer not showing an external drive.

 

How in WIN 11 do I change the drive letter of the CD/ROM drive?

Thanks, Greg.

So this is what worked, step by step.

Reboot

Drive is listed as E: in file explorer.

Drive not listed in Disk Management.

Insert DVD, it plays after short pause.

Disk management now shows Audio CD as E:

Right click, change letter to R: (while playing!)

Reboot.

Drive now shows as BD-RE drive as R: in File Explorer.

The bottom line is

- File Explorer does not provide for changing drive letter afics.

- Disk Management seems to need a disk to be in the drive for it to "see" the drive. I can't recall is this is Win 10 behaviour

I don't recall having any difficulty with this in Win 10 (its possible that the Win 10 default drive allocation was "after" my external drives; or I "just changed it").

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.