I have an external hard drive that I keep plugged into a USB port and only
turn it on when I want to do a backup. Whenever I have turned it on, it has
always come on as drive letter J. My CD drive is device I. I temporarily
plugged in a card reader which also came up as J and worked fine. Now when
I turn on my hard drive it comes up as K, even though it is the only USB
device plugged in. This wont work with my backups which are pointed to J.
Any ideas how to get it back to J????
Frank

Use the disk management console (diskmgmt.msc). Change the drive letter to a
higher one (e.g. M and then edit your backups to work with this drive
letter.

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca


"Frank" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>I have an external hard drive that I keep plugged into a USB port and only
>turn it on when I want to do a backup. Whenever I have turned it on, it
>has always come on as drive letter J. My CD drive is device I. I
>temporarily plugged in a card reader which also came up as J and worked
>fine. Now when I turn on my hard drive it comes up as K, even though it is
>the only USB device plugged in. This wont work with my backups which are
>pointed to J. Any ideas how to get it back to J????
> Frank
>

On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 16:14:09 +0100, Frank <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> I have an external hard drive that I keep plugged into a USB port and
> only
> turn it on when I want to do a backup. Whenever I have turned it on, it
> has
> always come on as drive letter J. My CD drive is device I. I temporarily
> plugged in a card reader which also came up as J and worked fine. Now
> when
> I turn on my hard drive it comes up as K, even though it is the only USB
> device plugged in. This wont work with my backups which are pointed to J.
> Any ideas how to get it back to J????
> Frank
>
>

Hi Frank

To change the drive letter in this case; after ensuring that drive letter
J is available of course, simply right click on 'my computer' and select
'manage', then go to disk management and right click the drive.

there should be an option to change drive letter there.

if the drive letter is not available, then windows still thinks that there
is a drive on letter j

just a personal hint for the future that i found handy for myself. when i
am intent on the system persisting a drive letter for a removable device,
i always assign it a letter in the x y z range.

likewise, drive letters for removable drives are not guaranteed by the
system.

--
- Stefan Z Camilleri
- www.szc001.com

Thanks, that worked.
Frank
"Stefan Z Camilleri" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news(E-Mail Removed)...
> On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 16:14:09 +0100, Frank <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> I have an external hard drive that I keep plugged into a USB port and
>> only
>> turn it on when I want to do a backup. Whenever I have turned it on, it
>> has
>> always come on as drive letter J. My CD drive is device I. I temporarily
>> plugged in a card reader which also came up as J and worked fine. Now
>> when
>> I turn on my hard drive it comes up as K, even though it is the only USB
>> device plugged in. This wont work with my backups which are pointed to J.
>> Any ideas how to get it back to J????
>> Frank
>>
>>
>
> Hi Frank
>
> To change the drive letter in this case; after ensuring that drive letter
> J is available of course, simply right click on 'my computer' and select
> 'manage', then go to disk management and right click the drive.
>
> there should be an option to change drive letter there.
>
> if the drive letter is not available, then windows still thinks that there
> is a drive on letter j
>
> just a personal hint for the future that i found handy for myself. when i
> am intent on the system persisting a drive letter for a removable device,
> i always assign it a letter in the x y z range.
>
> likewise, drive letters for removable drives are not guaranteed by the
> system.
>
> --
> - Stefan Z Camilleri
> - www.szc001.com

"Frank" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Thanks, that worked.
> Frank
> "Stefan Z Camilleri" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news(E-Mail Removed)...
>> On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 16:14:09 +0100, Frank <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>
>>> I have an external hard drive that I keep plugged into a USB port and
>>> only
>>> turn it on when I want to do a backup. Whenever I have turned it on, it
>>> has
>>> always come on as drive letter J. My CD drive is device I. I
>>> temporarily
>>> plugged in a card reader which also came up as J and worked fine. Now
>>> when
>>> I turn on my hard drive it comes up as K, even though it is the only USB
>>> device plugged in. This wont work with my backups which are pointed to
>>> J.
>>> Any ideas how to get it back to J????
>>> Frank
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Hi Frank
>>
>> To change the drive letter in this case; after ensuring that drive letter
>> J is available of course, simply right click on 'my computer' and select
>> 'manage', then go to disk management and right click the drive.
>>
>> there should be an option to change drive letter there.
>>
>> if the drive letter is not available, then windows still thinks that
>> there is a drive on letter j
>>
>> just a personal hint for the future that i found handy for myself. when
>> i am intent on the system persisting a drive letter for a removable
>> device, i always assign it a letter in the x y z range.
>>
>> likewise, drive letters for removable drives are not guaranteed by the
>> system.
>>
>> --
>> - Stefan Z Camilleri
>> - www.szc001.com
>
>


For a drive letter that you want to not be disturbed you should use a letter
from the middle of the alphabet. External drives get enumerated from the
lowest available letter upwards and network drive mappings default to the
highest letter downwards.

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca

"Frank" wrote

> Thanks, that worked.

> "Stefan Z Camilleri" wrote

>> Frank wrote:
>>
>>> I have an external hard drive that I keep plugged into a USB port and
>>> only
>>> turn it on when I want to do a backup. Whenever I have turned it on, it
>>> has
>>> always come on as drive letter J. My CD drive is device I. I
>>> temporarily
>>> plugged in a card reader which also came up as J and worked fine. Now
>>> when
>>> I turn on my hard drive it comes up as K, even though it is the only USB
>>> device plugged in. This wont work with my backups which are pointed to
>>> J.
>>> Any ideas how to get it back to J????
>>> Frank

>> Hi Frank
>>
>> To change the drive letter in this case; after ensuring that drive letter
>> J is available of course, simply right click on 'my computer' and select
>> 'manage', then go to disk management and right click the drive.
>>
>> there should be an option to change drive letter there.
>>
>> if the drive letter is not available, then windows still thinks that
>> there is a drive on letter j
>>
>> just a personal hint for the future that i found handy for myself. when
>> i am intent on the system persisting a drive letter for a removable
>> device, i always assign it a letter in the x y z range.
>>
>> likewise, drive letters for removable drives are not guaranteed by the
>> system.

You're still going to run into that problem if you plug in another card
reader or other device. The way around this is as Kerry suggested. Assign
a higher drive letter to the external drive and leave the lower drive
letters right after the hard drives for other devices you might occasionally
attach.

--
Rock [MVP - User/Shell]

On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 10:14:09 -0500, "Frank"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I have an external hard drive that I keep plugged into a USB port and only
>turn it on when I want to do a backup. Whenever I have turned it on, it has
>always come on as drive letter J. My CD drive is device I. I temporarily
>plugged in a card reader which also came up as J and worked fine. Now when
>I turn on my hard drive it comes up as K, even though it is the only USB
>device plugged in. This wont work with my backups which are pointed to J.
>Any ideas how to get it back to J????
>Frank
>

Hi Frank,

Right click on My Computer, and click on Manage...

Drop down "Storage", then "Removable Storage."

Once there, you should see your disk in the right pane.

Right click on it, and you should be able to re-assign its
drive letter.

No expert I, but I hope this helps,

--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 19:14:22 -0500, Kenneth
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 10:14:09 -0500, "Frank"
><(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>I have an external hard drive that I keep plugged into a USB port and only
>>turn it on when I want to do a backup. Whenever I have turned it on, it has
>>always come on as drive letter J. My CD drive is device I. I temporarily
>>plugged in a card reader which also came up as J and worked fine. Now when
>>I turn on my hard drive it comes up as K, even though it is the only USB
>>device plugged in. This wont work with my backups which are pointed to J.
>>Any ideas how to get it back to J????
>>Frank
>>
>
>Hi Frank,
>
>Right click on My Computer, and click on Manage...
>
>Drop down "Storage", then "Removable Storage."
>
>Once there, you should see your disk in the right pane.
>
>Right click on it, and you should be able to re-assign its
>drive letter.
>
>No expert I, but I hope this helps,

Hi Frank (and others),

I posted my suggestion before updating and seeing that
others had pointed you in the right direction.

'Sorry,
--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 22:54:04 +0100, Rock <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> "Frank" wrote
>
>> Thanks, that worked.
>
>> "Stefan Z Camilleri" wrote
>
>>> Frank wrote:
>>>
>>>> I have an external hard drive that I keep plugged into a USB port and
>>>> only
>>>> turn it on when I want to do a backup. Whenever I have turned it on,
>>>> it has
>>>> always come on as drive letter J. My CD drive is device I. I
>>>> temporarily
>>>> plugged in a card reader which also came up as J and worked fine.
>>>> Now when
>>>> I turn on my hard drive it comes up as K, even though it is the only
>>>> USB
>>>> device plugged in. This wont work with my backups which are pointed
>>>> to J.
>>>> Any ideas how to get it back to J????
>>>> Frank
>
>>> Hi Frank
>>>
>>> To change the drive letter in this case; after ensuring that drive
>>> letter J is available of course, simply right click on 'my computer'
>>> and select 'manage', then go to disk management and right click the
>>> drive.
>>>
>>> there should be an option to change drive letter there.
>>>
>>> if the drive letter is not available, then windows still thinks that
>>> there is a drive on letter j
>>>
>>> just a personal hint for the future that i found handy for myself.
>>> when i am intent on the system persisting a drive letter for a
>>> removable device, i always assign it a letter in the x y z range.
>>>
>>> likewise, drive letters for removable drives are not guaranteed by the
>>> system.
>
> You're still going to run into that problem if you plug in another card
> reader or other device. The way around this is as Kerry suggested.
> Assign a higher drive letter to the external drive and leave the lower
> drive letters right after the hard drives for other devices you might
> occasionally attach.
>

I'm pretty sure Frank got the message considering that he has now
officially been given the same hint three times round

As for Kerry's point regarding network drives, I tend to disagree.
Network drive letter designation is generally a per-region thing. Where I
am from, central Europe, most network drives get assign letters in the F -
H range, whilst when I was working in Tripoli, they assigned drive letters
in the J - L range, and anyway, drive letters are not given automatically
by the system and have to be set manually.

--
- Stefan Z Camilleri
- www.szc001.com

"Stefan Z Camilleri" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news(E-Mail Removed)...
> On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 22:54:04 +0100, Rock <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> "Frank" wrote
>>
>>> Thanks, that worked.
>>
>>> "Stefan Z Camilleri" wrote
>>
>>>> Frank wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I have an external hard drive that I keep plugged into a USB port and
>>>>> only
>>>>> turn it on when I want to do a backup. Whenever I have turned it on,
>>>>> it has
>>>>> always come on as drive letter J. My CD drive is device I. I
>>>>> temporarily
>>>>> plugged in a card reader which also came up as J and worked fine.
>>>>> Now when
>>>>> I turn on my hard drive it comes up as K, even though it is the only
>>>>> USB
>>>>> device plugged in. This wont work with my backups which are pointed
>>>>> to J.
>>>>> Any ideas how to get it back to J????
>>>>> Frank
>>
>>>> Hi Frank
>>>>
>>>> To change the drive letter in this case; after ensuring that drive
>>>> letter J is available of course, simply right click on 'my computer'
>>>> and select 'manage', then go to disk management and right click the
>>>> drive.
>>>>
>>>> there should be an option to change drive letter there.
>>>>
>>>> if the drive letter is not available, then windows still thinks that
>>>> there is a drive on letter j
>>>>
>>>> just a personal hint for the future that i found handy for myself.
>>>> when i am intent on the system persisting a drive letter for a
>>>> removable device, i always assign it a letter in the x y z range.
>>>>
>>>> likewise, drive letters for removable drives are not guaranteed by the
>>>> system.
>>
>> You're still going to run into that problem if you plug in another card
>> reader or other device. The way around this is as Kerry suggested.
>> Assign a higher drive letter to the external drive and leave the lower
>> drive letters right after the hard drives for other devices you might
>> occasionally attach.
>>
>
> I'm pretty sure Frank got the message considering that he has now
> officially been given the same hint three times round
>
> As for Kerry's point regarding network drives, I tend to disagree.
> Network drive letter designation is generally a per-region thing. Where I
> am from, central Europe, most network drives get assign letters in the F -
> H range, whilst when I was working in Tripoli, they assigned drive letters
> in the J - L range, and anyway, drive letters are not given automatically
> by the system and have to be set manually.
>

Windows XP defaults to using the highest available drive letter when you
manually map a drive. Using logon scripts a network admin can use any drive
letter they want. The user also has the option of picking any available
drive letter when mapping a drive manually. Most network admins are slowly
switching to the XP default scheme as it alleviates conflicts with external
devices which are becoming more common. Starting at F: is a carry back to
early Novell and Banyan days when DOS was the OS. Back then it was very
unlikely a pc would have more than three storage devices installed. As time
and hardware progressed network admins started moving the starting point up.
It was also common for a while (again with Novell mostly) to use things like
S: for a searchable drive, P: for programs etc.. Many network admins grew up
with these old schemes and have never changed.

In the end it is a matter of personal preference as it is possible to change
drive letters as needed. I have found letting Windows use the lowest letter
and up for external media, map network drives from the highest letter down,
and use middle letters for special purposes to work well in almost all
situations.

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca