Windows 10: USB flash drive --assign drive letter back to dynamic from static

Hi,
I have a USB flash drive that the Media Creation Tool messed up when it was formatting it to create installation media.
Ive worked out how to fix the flash drive. I just have to use disk management to create a new simple volume on it, I then have no option but to assign the flash drive with a drive letter, and format it to Fat32 and the flash drive is recognised again in windows.
The question I have is. It appears that the drive letter I give it then becomes a static drive letter.
I don't really want it to be static. Id rather put it back to the way it was when I bought the USB flash drive so that Windows assigns the drive letter dynamically every time its inserted into the PC. Is there a way of doing this or When you create a new simple volume does the drive letter have to be static?
My PC only has Drive C: (operating system and D: (DVD drive). The removable USB flash drive when inserted has always been Drive E: I have a few flash drives that I use and Id like windows to just assign them all dynamically if its possible. Ive never had this issue before...its just this one USB drive that the Media Creation Tool messed up..the others are fine. I just want to put this USB back to its defaults..as it was when I purchased it if possible
Thanks

:)

 

Problem with USB flash drive letter using Disk Management

Was I misunderstanding the way drive letter assignment works? I was thinking if you assigned a drive letter using the New Simple Volume Wizard in Disk Management that the chosen letter would be permanently attached to the flash drive unless I went
back into Disk Management and manually changed the drive letter.

Am I correct now in thinking then that if someone put a letter on a flash drive with the intent of it being a fixed letter
in Disk management e.g letter Z. If later on another flash drive was plugged in that also had a fixed drive letter Z that had been set up using Disk Management that the last one inserted would still dynamically change itself to the next available
drive letter?

I suppose what I'm asking is..even if someone wanted to have a fixed drive letter on a flash drive. It would still only be fixed until another flash drive is inserted that has the same drive letter. Then the last one inserted would be dynamically assigned
the next available drive letter by Windows so there wouldn't be a conflict where one of them wouldn't be recognised in Windows.

In other words USB flash drive letters will always be dynamically assigned with the next available drive letter no matter what?

 

Problem with USB flash drive letter using Disk Management

In other words USB flash drive letters will always be dynamically assigned with the next available drive letter no matter what?

-> Yes, but drive letters remain fixed while no conflicts exist.

 

You might try what @Bree posted yesterday.

Windows 10 Not "Seeing" my USB Stick


Ken

 

Hi, Ken. That wouldn't be relevant to me. The Media Creation Tool left the USB visible but uder space, usage etc under properties everything was zero. The Media Creation Tool had obviously screwed up whilst formatting etc. So I tried formatting it and it said insert disc. It wouldn't allow me to do anything with it. What I did above sorted everything out again (formatting etc) its just that I had to assign a drive letter to the usb flash drive which I don't want ideally.. id prefer it to go back to the default method of dynamically assigning the drive letter

 

Got nothing to lose by telling Windows to forget this USB key, my opinion.

 

It may well still be relevant. amongst other things uninstalling the USB would 'forget' would be pre-assigned drive letters.

 

What would be the best way to try this method Bree, Ken?
Ive set the 16GB USB flash drive back to scratch to start again from the beginning so At the moment it has no drive letter in disk management and all space is unallocated. You can only format it after you've put a New Simple Volume on the drive if I understand the method correctly. However, when you set up the New Simple volume you have to assign a drive letter.
If I'm understanding you correctly..do I now create a new simple volume, assign a drive letter (f: for example), select FAT32 and quick format?
Then, once that's been done, go into device manager, under hidden devices select to forget the USB flash drives by uninstalling them all. Then, Restart the PC. Should Windows have then forgotten that Id just set up the USB flash drive with a static F: drive letter. So it would then revert to the dynamic Drive E: letter that Ive always had for my removable drives?
Have I got that right..or have I got badly confused somewhere along the way? lol

 

Hmmm ....

What you stated sounds right. Go ahead, format and assign drive letter, eject, show hidden devices and forget.

Can I ask why don't you just assign it as E:

Do you have batch files that are looking for E: ?

 

That is what I would have expected it to do, but apparently it doesn't (I've just tested it).

This seems to remove the assigned letter and return the USB to a dynamic letter, using DISKPART in a Command Prompt (Admin). In this case my 16GB USB was disk 1, list the disks first to make sure you select the right disk to work on *Smile

Code: DISKPART> LIST DISK Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt -------- ------------- ------- ------- --- --- Disk 0 Online 465 GB 0 B Disk 1 Online 14 GB 0 B DISKPART> SELECT DISK 1 Disk 1 is now the selected disk. DISKPART> SELECT PARTITION 1 Partition 1 is now the selected partition. DISKPART> ASSIGN DiskPart successfully assigned the drive letter or mount point. DISKPART>[/quote]

 

Hi Ken. My reason behind assigning drive f: instead of drive e: is that if I assign it as drive e: I wont know if uninstalling/forgetting the usb flash drive has worked or not. If I assign it drive e: when I'm setting up the simple volume it may still be static and I wouldn't know

 

[/quote] I'll try that method with Diskpart then Bree. Im not that familiar with Diskpart. I'm a bit confused by select partition 1 above. Is a partition the same as a volume?..bearing in mind that I will have set up a new simple volume on the USB flash drive. Is there a way of telling if its worked or not afterwards by looking in Disk Management. If Ive assigned the USB flash drive as drive f: when I set up the simple volume...after using the Assign command in Diskpart...will it revert back to a dynamically assigned letter instead of the static f: drive letter and show up in disk management as drive e: as my flash drives always have in the past?

 

I'd assigned my test USB the letter X: before the test. After using Diskpart it got (my usual) dynamic letter F: and when inserted with another USB already using F: it got G:

 

I was adding something to my post as you were replying Bree You'll see it in my previous post before you answered. I'd also asked -
I'll try that method with Diskpart then Bree. Im not that familiar with Diskpart. I'm a bit confused by select partition 1 above. Is a partition the same as a volume?..bearing in mind that I will have set up a new simple volume on the USB flash drive.

 

Hi,

No. But the partition on the USB drive will be the same as a volume in this case.
If you do as @Bree has shown in Diskpart W10 will then assign a drive letter dynamically.

Cheers, *Wink