How to Change a Drive Letter in Windows 10

To change a drive letter in Windows 10, right-click Start and select Disk Management. Right-click the drive, select Change Drive Letter and Paths, and then select Change. Pick a new letter, select OK, and then select Yes.

Applies to: Windows 10. Checked against Microsoft Learn on September 27, 2026.

Don’t change the letter of your C: drive, or of any drive where you installed apps. Microsoft warns that apps might not run or might not find their files.

Change the letter in Disk Management

1. Right-click Start and select Disk Management. See how to open Disk Management in Windows 10.
2. Right-click the drive you want to change and select Change Drive Letter and Paths.

3. Select Change.
4. Choose a letter from Assign the following drive letter, and select OK.

5. Windows warns that some programs might not run correctly. Select Yes to continue.

The drive now shows the new letter in File Explorer.

Give a drive a letter

If a drive doesn’t show in File Explorer, it may not have a letter. In Disk Management, right-click it, select Change Drive Letter and Paths, select Add, pick a letter, and select OK.

Change the letter with diskpart

1. Right-click Start and select Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin).
2. Type diskpart and press Enter.
3. Type list volume and find your drive by its size and label.
4. Type select volume 3, using your volume’s number.
5. Type assign letter=G with the letter you want, then type exit.

In PowerShell, one line does the same job: Get-Partition -DriveLetter F | Set-Partition -NewDriveLetter G.

Remove a letter or use a folder instead

• Hide a drive: in Change Drive Letter and Paths, select the letter and choose Remove. The drive and its files stay, but it won’t show in File Explorer.
• Open a drive as a folder: select Add, choose Mount in the following empty NTFS folder, and pick an empty folder. This is handy if you run out of letters.

Things to know

• You need an administrator account.
• Shortcuts and apps that point to the old letter stop working. Update them to the new letter.
• If Change Drive Letter and Paths is grayed out, the drive may not be formatted yet, or Windows may be using it. For a new, empty drive, see how to format a drive in Windows 10.

If the drive letter won’t change

• The letter you want isn’t listed: another drive, card reader or mapped network drive is using it. Change or disconnect that one first.
• A USB drive gets a different letter each time: give it a letter near the end of the alphabet, such as U:. Windows usually remembers it for that drive.
• A recovery partition suddenly has a letter: Disk Management may not let you remove it. In diskpart, select that volume and type remove letter=X, using its letter.

Frequently asked questions

How do I choose the letter for a network drive?

You pick it when you map the drive. See how to map a network drive in Windows 10.

Can I split a drive so it gets two letters?

Yes, by making a new partition. See how to partition a hard drive in Windows 10.

Which letters can I use?

Any free letter from A to Z, except C: for Windows. A: and B: were once kept for floppy drives, but you can use them.

Will changing the letter delete my files?

No. Only the letter changes. Everything on the drive stays where it is. If an app installed on that drive stops working, change the letter back.

How do I swap the letters of two drives?

Give the first drive a spare letter, such as Z:. Then give the second drive the first drive’s old letter. Finally, give the first drive the letter you want.

Does the new letter apply to every account?

Yes. Drive letters belong to the PC, so everyone who signs in sees the same letter.

To add a drive letter or show a drive as a folder, see how to mount a drive in Windows 10.

Microsoft’s reference is Change a drive letter. More help is on our Windows Help & Guides page.