Windows 10: How to get drive letter assigned automatically ?

Every week I clone my SSD to two other SSDs; when I connect the first of those target SSDs, a drive letter is assigned, and so it shows in File Explorer, and cloning can proceed. The second target SSD appears in Disk Manager - where I can allocate a drive letter to it, and only then it shows in File Explorer. I want a reason for that discriminatory behaviour, or better still, a remedy to make drive letter allocation as automatic for the second as for the first SSD clone.

:)

 

Windows 10 bug - USB Drive vs NAS drive mapping conflict

Hello Hector,

NAS Drivers were assigned drive letters using the Command prompt with the /persistent:YES flag.

Internal SDD/HDD/CD/DVD were assigned drive letters using diskmgmt.msc.

My question is not, how to assign drive letters, but, why Windows 10, assigns a currently assigned drive letter (although not connected) to a USB drive, which then can't be seen ?

e.g. H: is assigned to \\HOME\MyUserId

the HOME NAS server isn't online, so the H: drive icon is shown with a Red x, indicating that it's unable to connect to that drive.

I now plug in a USB Drive. The drive is automatically given the drive letter H:, but because H: is already mapped to a NAS drive, the USB Drive isn't displayed until I delete the NAS drive mapping.

Why can't Windows 10, select the next available free drive letter ?

Are there any registry settings involved with the assignment of drive letters to external USB drives ?

 

Windows 10 doesn't assign letter for 2nd partition

I've formatted external USB drive (4TB) on Windows 7, creating 2 partitions (NTFS and exFAT).

When I plug this drive to Win7, all partitions are mount correctly and drive letters are assigned.

But when plug the same disk to Win10, drive letter is automatically assigned only to the first partition. The second partition is not visible in explorer till I assign letter manually. I thought that issue is related to conflicting drives with the same letter,
but it also happens when there are no any conflicting drives...

Is it some Win10 limitation? Why the second partition doesn't receive drive letter automatically?

 

Hi, you can allocate a drive letter to one external drive using Drive Management, and that will remain true... ideal for backup drives e.g.

However, you can only have one physical drive so assigned to that letter. Any other drive must be allocated a different letter.

If both are assigned the same letter, the last inserted 'steals' it.

Note: we strongly recommend using disk imaging to back up Windows, disks and partitions. E.g. Macrium Reflect (free).

 

Alternatively, you don't need to use drive letters - you can use the GUID of the drive which (should be) unique.

For example you can backup to \\?\Volume{e862fd21-bb78-4f82-8e79-30325125c9c2}\backups\ not F:\backups\.

That may be an option depending what software you use to make the backup (or clone). Macrium and Paragon allow this so presumably all the others do too. This is the option in Macrium...





Otherwise (as @dalchina said) just assign them different letters and as long as these letters aren't used by something else (like plugging in a USB stick) then they should remain the same. For that reason assign letters towards the end of the alphabet (but not Q as that is used by Office click-to-run).

 

I am quite satisfied with the cloning that I do and achieve; I am interested only in getting the second SSD allocated a drive letter as happens to the first. At the time of cloning they are BOTH INTERNAL HDDs - NOT externals. In case it needs saying, they are connected one at a time, NOT both together; so the PC has Primary-SSD and SSD1; OR Primary-SSD and SSD2.
I have used Macrium before and see no reason to change back to it from the cloner that I use. The PROBLEM occurs before cloning is attempted.

 

Using internal disks for your only backup isn't a great option- think power failure, flood, fire, theft... which is why we assumed you were talking about external disks. Anyway, it's your choice of course..