XP Home, Static Drive Assignment

[duane123]

XP states: "Windows 2000 and Windows XP allow the static assignment of drive letters on volumes, partitions, and CD-ROM drives. This means that you permanently assign a drive letter to a specific partition, volume, or CD-ROM drive. When you add a new hard disk to an existing computer system, it will not affect statically assigned drive letters. "

Where is this switch/command located? I can only find how to assign, change, or remove a drive letter, but not where to make it permanent (static). I have already had this drive get it's letter changed twice and cannot afford that happening again as I have programs mounted on it (not the primary, which is out of space).

 

[Beowulf005]

Disk Manger

Click Start
Right Click on my computer
Select Manage
Open the Disk Mangement Console
Right click on the drive and change the letter

When frustrated remember, in the computer world there is almost always a backdoor.

 

[linney]

It might help if you can tell us about your drive/partition setup, any dual boot, or attached external drives, to fully understand your problem.


Overview of PNP enumeration and hard disk drive letter assignments in Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;825668&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

XP System Partition is NOT drive C:
thread779-641371

Changing the drive letter of the Boot Drive
thread779-885337

Have a look at the Command-line command "Subst", see if that offers you anything?

 

[duane123]

No dual boot. Three internal drives, c:\system (40Gb), e:\partion 1 of 200Mb HD, g:\secondary (with spillover application/game programs; 250Gb), h:\partion 2 of 200Mb HD, j:\network drive. A, D, F, I are floppies, CD, and DVD reader/writers.

The lettering got all jumbled because I tried to clone the small c:\system onto the 250Gb larger new drive and was unsucessful for a number of reasons (primarily norton). So I went back to the original C:\system at 40Gb but in the process the lettering got all shifted around. I heard somewhere never to reassign the system HD - so it has to be C:\. I am trying to make sure the current "secondary" G:\ with overflow application and game programs never gets reassigned again. Is that even possible, or am I reading Win XP specs incorrectly in original post?

 

[linney]

Where the original install of XP was located is where it should still be (with visible drive letters according to convention, see the articles above) and remain so until you do something like install another version of XP on some other partition after removing the original install. Then this imaginary second install may shift your drive letters around from what you see now.

Any program links in your current install will use settings in the Registry to find the path to your programs you have installed on other partitions. If you change Drive Letters (or if some mystery thing does) then as you have found out the links don't work.