Are we finally ditching drive letters?


rumplestiltskin

Well-known member
Member
Local time
7:30 AM
Posts
35
OS
Win10 Home
I write this as a former Mac user who has fired Apple (for a number of reasons unrelated to this thread).

In macOS, all (visible) volumes mount on the Desktop automatically whether they're HFS+, APFS, FAT, NTFS; and whether the protocol is Firewire, USB, or eSata, etc. As long as the Mac has the appropriate wired connection, it's a done deal. Any apps that utilize those mounted volumes can and will access them no matter when they are mounted or even if the wired connection changes (ie, move the drive from an eSata enclosure to a USB dock). (I know that NTFS is not writable without add'l software but that's unrelated to this post.)

In Windows10, we have drive letters that, except for internal permanently mounted volumes, are assigned drives letters that are ephemeral even if specifically assigned during the formatting process if another drive mounts earlier and grabs that drive letter. As many apps rely upon drive letters in their preferences to locate their data files, it is not unusual for an app to find...or, rather, not find its data files.

"Drive letters" is an enormously stupid concept that hangs on from 1981. I expect this is because there are old farts (possibly older than I) who just can't let go of what we politely call legacy applications and, accordingly, developers keep plodding along because they don't want to be dragged over the coals for abandoning the base.

Now, there are some developers who do provide alternatives to drive letters; I'll shout out to 2BrightSparks' SyncBackSE as a (no pun intended) shining example of this. The app provides a choice to use drive letters, the name of the volume or the unique serial ID of the volume so if your backup drive appears as "L:" rather than "J:", the app is happy and proceeds. (Likewise, if another drive mounts as "J:", SyncBackSE won't treat it as a destination backup drive and erase it accidentally!}

Now, before a learned guru takes me to task (and I really do have tremendous respect for those who have already provided system-saving advice to me here!), I do know about not using a drive letter and accessing the volume through a shortcut but it's not mounted on the Desktop; and there lies the crux of the issue: This is a kludge, a clumsy workaround to a problem that Microsoft knows how to solve. The volumes have names (if only we would use them - and I do as a former Mac user) and, more importantly, have unique serial numbers that stay unique. Carbon Copy Cloner is an example of a Mac app that may be configured to use the unique volume ID when cloning; it will do this for both source and destination. Apple does not have a patent on this.

Microsoft needs to implement volumes on the Desktop automatically, advise developers to migrate their apps to the new paradigm (name/serial ID) and, in so doing, provide Windows users with the convenience that Mac users have had since day one.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win10 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Core i9-10900K
    Motherboard
    Lenovo 3715
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 2080
    Sound Card
    motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2755-2K
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 10700 2.90GHz
    Motherboard
    Prime Z490-P
    Memory
    32 Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 1070
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 34" Ultra Wide Screen.
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 on each monitor
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 120GB SATA SSD
    Crucial CT250BX100SSD1 SATA SSD
    Samsung SSD 860 QVO 1TB SATA SSD
    Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB M.2 NVMe
    Samsung SSD 970 EVO 250GB M.2 NVMe
    PSU
    850 Watt
    Case
    Fractal
    Cooling
    5 x 140mm fans
    Keyboard
    Corsair K55
    Mouse
    Arrogant
    Internet Speed
    300MBs/100MBs
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    MalwareBytes Pro
You can hide drive letters with this tut:
Alan,

Appreciate your reply. However, that process is a cosmetic Windows Explorer kludge and will not fix the underlying issue of volumes with unassigned letters not appearing on the Desktop; furthermore, it doesn't address the issue of older apps using the path (with included drive letter) losing their data files when the drive letter changes.

In this instance, Apple got it right in 1984 and Microsoft just keeps ignoring the elephant in the room.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win10 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Core i9-10900K
    Motherboard
    Lenovo 3715
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 2080
    Sound Card
    motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2755-2K
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
Please indicate whether a viable fix is clearing unused drive letters.
Then reboot.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
    Motherboard
    Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
    Memory
    16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
    Hard Drives
    Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Mobile Workstation
Please indicate whether a viable fix is clearing unused drive letters.
Then reboot.
Zbook, Thanks for your reply. However (and no offense intended), you have ignored the issue and are dancing around the problem.

As long as drive letters are underpinning the concept of volumes, the problem is baked into Windows. The answer is to jettison drive letters (as Apple has done with macOS since its introduction in 1984). Just imagine what you would use if drive letters just weren't there at all in any manner whatsoever at any level of the OS.

Once a volume has been formatted and given a name, that should be all that is required to make it appear on the Desktop. Providing unique names is the user's responsibility but don't we try to do that with files and folders now? That doesn't change. Of course, having the option to use a unique Serial ID (which Windows does create but is left undisclosed in Explorer) is an option (discussed in my initial post regarding SyncBackSE and Carbon Copy Cloner).

I'll add that macOS uses a Volumes directory where all mounted volumes appear. macOS then just mounts them on the Desktop with the volume names displayed. Maybe there's some sort of hack in Win10? If I move the shortcut to a volume I've created (without a drive letter) to the Desktop, that isn't a viable option because double-clicking on it won't work if the volume isn't plugged in. The shortcut should only appear just like any volume that does have a drive letter assigned.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win10 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Core i9-10900K
    Motherboard
    Lenovo 3715
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 2080
    Sound Card
    motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2755-2K
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
    Motherboard
    Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
    Memory
    16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
    Hard Drives
    Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Mobile Workstation
It occurs to me that Windows knows when a volume is mounted even when not providing a drive letter to that volume. A search at 10Forums revealed this. So, rather than curse the darkness, I wonder if there's a way to know when such a mounting(?) has taken place and then programmatically move the appropriate shortcut to the Desktop. Of course, then I'd need some automation to reverse that move once the volume has been unmounted. Essentially, that emulates what macOS has always done.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win10 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Core i9-10900K
    Motherboard
    Lenovo 3715
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 2080
    Sound Card
    motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2755-2K
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win10 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Core i9-10900K
    Motherboard
    Lenovo 3715
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 2080
    Sound Card
    motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2755-2K
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
Every volume has a GUID ID apart from the drive letter. As an example, if I run the command "mountvol", I see this:

\\?\Volume{58fe90dc-9cbb-45c9-8af3-d013d1accfae}\
E:\

\\?\Volume{4ff1f239-4e98-4264-acf5-7bb1486c4897}\
F:\

\\?\Volume{1f6a1e12-f309-4f8a-82ca-d16a7ac4d7e4}\
C:\

\\?\Volume{cdaf931f-f3c5-4927-bcd3-05a4ddd5b774}\
*** NO MOUNT POINTS ***

\\?\Volume{81f18c5c-9650-47c4-9196-bd44b3aaa978}\
D:\

\\?\Volume{e13a6857-7c48-65d6-5d51-3391bc089caf}\
*** NO MOUNT POINTS ***

\\?\Volume{dd113c3f-dd9e-4f84-a278-171c5d33f147}\
*** NO MOUNT POINTS ***

The interesting thing to me is that some commands and some operations within the Windows GUI will accept those references to a drive, while many others do not. Most notably, at least for me personally, is the lack of support for these by robocopy. If robocopy would accept those references it would make it so much easier than having to jump through hoops to determine what drive letter was assigned to a device.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
Some more thoughts on this topic:

You could create a share for removable media so that it can always be accessed using common name regardless of what drive letter it picks up. For example:

\\MyFlashDrive1\Root

Similarly, you could create a mountpoint to use either in addition to or instead of a drive letter. So as an example, the flash drive would always show up as:

C:\Mountpoints\FlashDrive1
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
Lol yeah. GUID is the way to go to better access files, particularly on removable drives, common name being second best. I can make multiple drives with the same common name, but the GUIDs would still be different.

But - it's also a PITA to try to remember dd113c3f-dd9e-4f84-a278-171c5d33f147 - or anything like it.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    NZXT KRAKEN Z73 73.11 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (3x 120 mm push top) + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
Ultimately, what would be cool is if you could assign some sort of memorable alias to a GUID, like "DocsForWork", etc.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
It would be nice. Completely get rid of the fixed drive letters. Assign common names based upon GUID, which would then never change no matter what orientation you put your drives in, even physically.

But that would make too much sense.... :ROFLMAO:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    NZXT KRAKEN Z73 73.11 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (3x 120 mm push top) + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
A lot of computing back in the 1980s, didn't even use drive letters, TMK. It would probably be drive numbers.
Now, back then, it would be "disk 1" and the like for a drive and for a file path and name, it would be something more like "disk1/meow" for example.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5900X
    Motherboard
    ASRock B550 PG Velocita (UEFI-BIOS P3.40)
    Memory
    32 GB G.Skill F4-3200C16D-32GVR
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 6750 XT
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Alienware AW3423DWF OLED ultrawide
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Black SN850 1 TB NVMe SSD
    PSU
    eVGA Supernova 750 G3
    Case
    Corsair 275R
    Internet Speed
    VTel FTTH 1 Gb down and 1 Gb up
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 5800X3D
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Strix B550-F Gaming (UEFI-BIOS version 3405, which fixes " LogoFail" bug according to Asus)
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Sparkle Titan Arc A770 16 GB
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Pro 512 GB NVMe SSD
    PSU
    eVGA Supernova 650 GQ
    Case
    Fractal Focus G
DOS based machines did (although my knowledge of DOS only goes back to the 2.x series, (and that was technically TandyDOS, not IBMDOS or MS-DOS, which I only started playing with on ver 3.x (3.2, maybe?) so can';t say if it was always a thing).

Windows - definitely did.

The TI 99-4/A only made backups to a cassette tape, so it didn't really access it via a drive letter - but it also wasn't DOS based to begin with.

Don't have much experience with other systems at that time. A lot of my friends were into Cocos and Commodores, but I never actually paid attention how the drives were accessed.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    NZXT KRAKEN Z73 73.11 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (3x 120 mm push top) + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
According to what I've been able to determine (and I'm no expert), it appears there isn't a system event when a drive mounts in the shortcut (folder) without a drive letter. I probably could confirm that if I create an automatic backup plan using FSSDev's Casper (which I use to clone my "C" drive but that has a drive letter).

If I create a sharepoint (as hsehestedt suggests), the problem might be worked around. I have an old Mac mini I use for a media server and there's a sharepoint in "this PC". I powered off the mini, refreshed the window, and saw the sharepoint with a large red X. Once I powered the mini back on, the sharepoint returned to its normal appearance shortly. I'll have to try that with one of the (USB-connected) drives to which I've not assigned a drive letter. I'll report back in tomorrow.

Regarding johnlgalt's comment - Yes, the unique ID is an awful "name" so a good plain (yet unique) English one should be fine. For anything automated, however (like a backup), using the unique Serial ID (within the app - we wouldn't see it in Explorer) is perfect so we don't accidentally substitute a same-named drive. (Hey! It can happen, right?)

I'm feeling a bit better about all this. I only miss a very few things about my old Mac: Mounted volumes actually appearing on the Desktop, Apple Mail. (Thunderbird is -meh- but everything else is worse; I use Google for my contacts and calendars so Outlook isn't an option.)

Thanks for the suggestions and comments.

Barry
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win10 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Core i9-10900K
    Motherboard
    Lenovo 3715
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 2080
    Sound Card
    motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2755-2K
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
Tried hsehestedt's suggestion but could not get the shared drive to appear in "This PC" so no luck there.

I guess the "mount in an NTFS folder" would be useful if it would give some indication whether the drive is actually mounted or not. As such, it provides the same uselessness that macOS share aliases provide. You don't know whether the drive is actually mounted until you double-click on it and, if it's not, eventually you'll get an error message. There's a nice suggestion: Change the folder icon to indicate whether it's mounted!

Yeah, I know; I'm cursing the darkness again...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win10 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Core i9-10900K
    Motherboard
    Lenovo 3715
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 2080
    Sound Card
    motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2755-2K
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
It occurs to me that Windows knows when a volume is mounted even when not providing a drive letter to that volume. A search at 10Forums revealed this. So, rather than curse the darkness, I wonder if there's a way to know when such a mounting(?) has taken place and then programmatically move the appropriate shortcut to the Desktop. Of course, then I'd need some automation to reverse that move once the volume has been unmounted. Essentially, that emulates what macOS has always done.
Or linux -- simply use lsblk to list "block devices" in your system then mount /dev /sdx -t auto -o rw /mountpoint where mountpoint is any name you like and then your file explorer just needs to point at directory /mountpoint. Standard UNIX type . Same for Mac OS or any"Unix" type derivatives.

Much easier than using UUID's -- especially if you use simple names like music1, cat, rubbish_films etc etc.
Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP,7,10,11 Linux Arch Linux
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    2 X Intel i7
LInux also uses UUIDs, namely in fstab to mount drives.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 3900x
    Motherboard
    Asus Strix x570-E
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator Platinum 32Gb@3600MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus Strix 3080 Ti OC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung Odyssey G7 32" Curved Gaming Monitor, IIYAMA XUB2792QSU-W1 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440@240Hz, 2560x1440@70Hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 1 Tb (OS), Samsung 970 Pro 1 Tb (games), Samsung 860 Evo 1Tb (data), Samsung 860 Evo 4 Tb (games), Crucial MX500 1Tb (photos), Synology DS920+ 32 Tb NAS.
    PSU
    Corsair RM850x
    Case
    Corsair Crystal 680x
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i Se Platinum, 8 Corsair QL120/140 fans
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 RGB Mk 2 SE Rapid Fire
    Mouse
    Corsair M65 Elite
    Internet Speed
    58/12 Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    Astro a50 Headset, Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 Tablet.
    Creative T6300 5.1 Speakers. TPM 2.0 Module.
  • Operating System
    Arch Linux KDE
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Ryzen 5600x
    Motherboard
    Asus Strix B550-E
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 32Gb@3200MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX2070 Super Gaming OC
    Sound Card
    Creative Soundblaster AE-5
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus Strix XG43VQ 43" Ultrawide
    Screen Resolution
    3840x1200 @ 120Mhz
    Hard Drives
    Aorus Gen 4 NVMe 1 Tb (Windows Insider), Samsung 850 Pro 512Gb (data), Samsung 850 Evo 1Tb (backups), Samsung 860 Evo 2Tb (Home folder), Blu-ray player
    PSU
    Corsair RM750i
    Case
    Fractal Define R6
    Cooling
    Scythe Mugen 5 rev B and Corsair QL fans
    Mouse
    Glorious Model D
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 RGB MK.2 Low Profile Rapidfire
    Internet Speed
    58/12 Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    Corsair Virtuoso Headset
lsblk? Doesn't do anything in the CMD prompt. I probably didn't follow your drift. :unsure: :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win10 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Core i9-10900K
    Motherboard
    Lenovo 3715
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 2080
    Sound Card
    motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2755-2K
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
Back
Top Bottom