You're right. It's using the device parameters, the disk ID, but keeps that
in the system registry. I guess each letter has it's own set. If you assign
another drive to the same letter the previous assignment is lost and next
time when you connect the first device it will get the letter by default.
When the partition is reformatted it also loses the drive letter since the
ID is changed. I use tons of external drives for camcorder, digital camera,
different card readers, backup enclosures, and this is a huge problem to
remember the letters of all of them and especially to keep them permanent. I
think I know why I wrote this nonsense in my previous message. For one very
long period of time, maybe in the first implementations of this feature,
Windows was making some remarks on the disks/partitions and I remember that
as soon as I was deleting these strange hidden/system files on the root of
the drives, the letters were changing after the next reboot. Then they
completely moved this info to the system registry.
I actually was the one who gave this idea to MS many years ago. It was very
convenient in OS/2 where you could assign any drive letter to CD drive and
keep it forever, adding new internal as well as all external and network
drives right after your primary internal drives. A few months later this
idea was implememted in Windows and it was propagated even to DOS where you
could make a reservation of the drive letters keeping Z: unused so that the
CD drive would occupy Z: - that's I always do. I was able to assign 3
letters to my 3 CD and DVD drives - X:, Y: and Z: and it was a great jump
ahead. Actually I use the virtual CD app from Nero and always keep X/Y drive
leters for these drives - very convenient.
Just D.
Bill Blanton
