Devices Create Drive Shortcut using Volume ID in Windows 11


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Drive_mount_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to create a drive shortcut using its unique volume ID to access the drive in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

If you removed the drive letter of a volume to hide it so the drive doesn't show under File Explorer > This PC, this shortcut makes it possible to still open and access the drive as usual even though it doesn't have a drive letter assigned to it.


EXAMPLE: Drive unique ID shortcut opening drive without a drive letter

Drive_UniqueId_shortcut.png



Here's How:

1 Open Windows Terminal, and select either Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt.

2 Copy and paste the command below into Windows Terminal, and press Enter. (see screenshot below step 3)

Windows PowerShell
Get-Volume | Format-List -Property FileSystemLabel,DriveLetter,UniqueId

OR​

Command Prompt
powershell "Get-Volume | Format-List -Property FileSystemLabel,DriveLetter,UniqueId"

3 Make note of the UniqueId of the drive/volume you want to create a shortcut to. You will need this UniqueId (ex: "\\?\Volume{c31d4910-9759-4750-a1c6-ba9af884f747}\") at step 5. (see screenshot below)

Get-Volume_UniqueId.png

4 Right click or press and hold on an empty area on your desktop, and click/tap on New and Shortcut. (see screenshot below)

New_Shortcut.png

5 Type the command below into the location area, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

cmd /c start <volume ID>

Substitute <volume ID> in the command above with the actual UniqueId (ex: "\\?\Volume{c31d4910-9759-4750-a1c6-ba9af884f747}\") from step 3.

For example: cmd /c start \\?\Volume{c31d4910-9759-4750-a1c6-ba9af884f747}\


Drive_UniqueId_shortcut-1.png

6 Type a name (ex: "Example Drive") you want for this shortcut, and click/tap on the Finish button. (see screenshot below)

Drive_UniqueId_shortcut-2.png

7 If wanted, you can change the icon of this shortcut to any icon you want. (see screenshot below)


Drive_UniqueId_shortcut-3.png

8 You can Pin to Taskbar, Pin to Start, add to Start menu All apps, assign a keyboard shortcut to, or move this shortcut to where you like for easy usage.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


 
Last edited:
Nice. Clever. I like this one.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell G15 5525
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 6800H
    Memory
    32 GB DDR5 4800mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 3050 Mobile 4GB Vram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gigabyte M27Q (rev. 2.0) 2560 x 1440 @ 170hz HDR
    Screen Resolution
    Internal laptop screen: 1920 x 1080 @ 120hz
    Hard Drives
    2TB Solidigm™ P41 Plus nvme
    Internet Speed
    800mbps down, 20 up
  • Operating System
    Chrome OS
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Chromebook
    CPU
    Intel Pentium Quad Core
    Memory
    4GB LPDDR4
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14 Inch HD SVA anti glare micro edge display
    Hard Drives
    64 GB emmc
Good info. BTW, another method to get the volume GUIDs is to simply run the command "mountvol". I only mention this because it is such a simple, short command that is easy to commit to memory.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Kamrui Mini PC, Model CK10
    CPU
    Intel i5-12450H
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 2TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 4TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 4TB 2.5" SSD
    PSU
    120W "Brick"
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 Mechanical Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
  • 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
Good info. BTW, another method to get the volume GUIDs is to simply run the command "mountvol". I only mention this because it is such a simple, short command that is easy to commit to memory.

Hello mate, :alien:

That would work as well. You can also just use Get-Volume, but it'll have a lot more unneeded output.

The longer command was just to limit the output, and include just enough to better compare the drive/volume letter or label with its UniqueID to know which is which.

Basically, whatever works better for you as usual.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Hello mate, :alien:

That would work as well. You can also just use Get-Volume, but it'll have a lot more unneeded output.

The longer command was just to limit the output, and include just enough to better compare the drive/volume letter or label with its UniqueID to know which is which.

Basically, whatever works better for you as usual.
Yeah, I like the command that you provided for the cleaner looking output. That's the thing with Windows. It seems that there are so many operations that have many ways to accomplish the same task.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Kamrui Mini PC, Model CK10
    CPU
    Intel i5-12450H
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 2TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 4TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 4TB 2.5" SSD
    PSU
    120W "Brick"
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 Mechanical Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
  • 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
mountvol is a command prompt command. Get is powershell. There’s a powershell syntax for every command but not vice-versa
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
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