Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Question

Can boot drive - currently C: - be changed to another letter

Jul 23, 2014 12:10AM PDT

When I installed Win8 (at this point, updated to Win8.1 Update) on drive V:, it changed it to C:. Since I'm used to the drive letters as they used to be, I'd like to change it back to V:. I figure I'll have to change all the registry entries for installed programs from C: to V:.

Two questions:

1) Can anyone confirm that I'll have to manually make those registry changes?

2) Are there any other issues I haven't thought of?

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Clarification Request
Let's back up a moment.
Jul 23, 2014 3:36AM PDT
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/8f1bbab5-dbf8-49ba-b1b4-caa7f0347db6/selecting-the-drive-letter-during-os-installation?forum=w7itproinstall and another thousand posts are on the web about how the drive letters move about as we boot from one OS to another.

Microsoft has not made any pretense that the boot, Windows, the OS drive letter can be changed during install.

So when we start over, we are pretty much forced to go back to C:

But wait, maybe our old friend SUBST can help. Remember I can't know all about how your PC came to be with a V drive but how about SUBST V: over to C:?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUBST

SUBST has been around for decades so I'll stop here.
Bob
- Collapse -
Nostalgia ain't what it used to be!
Jul 23, 2014 4:11AM PDT

You took me back a looong ways. While I've certainly used Windows' Dos prompt often over the years, it's been decades since I used Subst. I was a Dos holdout for quite some time, but no, I wouldn't want to go back to that.

To address your suggestion, it would require a lot of Subst commands, since mapping C: to V: would still leave my C: drive being my former V: drive. (As I'm sure you know, Subst creates a new virtual drive, but doesn't change the path - in this case, a drive - being mapped.) So I'd, have to map D: to C:, E: to D:, etc., which I wouldn't be allowed to do, since those drive letters are already taken.

Thanks again, Bob.

- Collapse -
I missed how this came to be.
Jul 23, 2014 4:16AM PDT

The only drive letter nailed down is C or rather the drive letter that Windows booted from. The rest we can move around so I can't guess why e to d is an issue here.
Bob

- Collapse -
Sorry. thought it would be obvious
Jul 23, 2014 4:48AM PDT

I have two physical disks with 11 partitions each (don't ask!). That uses C: through X:. DVD drive is Y:

To the best of my recollection, Subst will create a virtual drive using an unused drive letter. So if C: is already used, how can I map D: to C:? The same, of course, goes for the other drives.

- Collapse -
Sorry no. It does NOT go for the other drives.
Jul 23, 2014 7:37AM PDT

Only C is nailed down. The rest I can change in the controls given. But let's go over the usual just in case.

Let's say there is a drive d and e and you want to move drive e to the d position. Well that's more than one step. First we change d to something else. Now we can assign d to e.

As to drive C well, changing the boot drive designation is discussed on the web but let me be more blunt. I must defer to Microsoft on this since the OS should blow up if you change it.
Bob

- Collapse -
So no can do?
Jul 23, 2014 3:59PM PDT

You're saying that I can't change drive C: back to V:? I ran XP off drives other than C:. What did they change?

- Collapse -
Sorry I was unclear.
Jul 24, 2014 2:04AM PDT

I meant that changing the drive letter of the Windows boot/OS drive is not supported. Even I won't help much on that. I didn't write it can't be done.
Bob

- Collapse -
Got it
Jul 24, 2014 4:57AM PDT

Once again, thanks very much. That you give so generously of your time and expertise is very much appreciated.

- Collapse -
OK, but what can be done?
Jul 24, 2014 5:40AM PDT

All the other drive letters should be able to move (remember about what I wrote about moving d to e and more?)

And if we need apps to think there is a V: I think subst is our friend.
Bob

- Collapse -
Something's still unclear
Jul 24, 2014 9:52PM PDT

First, let's make sure that what I want to do is understood. Ideally, what's currently c: would be v:. Let's say I use subst to accomplish that. Next, my current d: would be c:, e: would be d:, etc.

Now, since subst, as I wrote earlier, simply creates a new (virtual) drive, but doesn't change the drive being mapped, my current c: is still there as c:.

So there's no way, even via Disk Management, to change d: to c:.

Or am I missing something?

- Collapse -
just do it
Jul 25, 2014 5:00AM PDT

see what happens. I run XP on a computer off a drive letter other than C. My XP boot drive is F:/

- Collapse -
XP seems to be different
Jul 26, 2014 3:35PM PDT

See my post five posts up from yours.

- Collapse -
C will be C
Jul 25, 2014 12:35PM PDT

All the rest is well, supported. I don't want to sugarcoat anything here but all other 25 letters can be moved about as you wish.
Bob

- Collapse -
I'll probably let things stand
Jul 26, 2014 3:39PM PDT

Since my original C: will have to be a different letter, I won't have my drives exactly as I used to, and I'm beginning to get used to the new order.

Again, Bob, thank you so much!

- Collapse -
Answer
1. Yes.
Jul 23, 2014 1:04AM PDT

2. Apps may be hard coded to drive C. Not as many as before but there are still some.

However I would find this work to exceed the hours of starting over. You'll find that folk won't believe how hard it is or that changing this letter is unsupported. Some get mad because they can't find folk to support this move.
Bob

- Collapse -
Will starting over help?
Jul 23, 2014 2:54AM PDT

Windows will just assign my boot drive letter C: again. Unless you mean that I'd be better off reinstalling Win8, changing the drive letter, and then reinstalling my programs.

At any rate, changing the registry is easy with a program like Registry Workshop.

Thanks, as always, Bob.