Solved New installed HD, has "Google drive" icon...

Brad1138 · Sep 22, 2023

I bought a new M.2 drive (1 TB WD_BLACK). After installing it, instead of the standard icon hard drives usually get, it got the Google Drive icon. If it's just an icon glitch, I'll just change it, but I want to make sure it isn't something more (I hate Google Drive).

Any idea what's up and why this happened?

Brad1138 · Sep 22, 2023

Just in case this is useful...

garlin · Sep 23, 2023

Do you have files named .VolumeIcon.ico & Autorun.inf, under G:\ ?

glasskuter · Sep 23, 2023

Now that is really weird. That is a custom icon and not included in shell icon folder. I know because I downloaded that same icon which I used when mapping my Google Drive to a drive letter. The only way that I can think of that the google drive icon got assigned to the drive is if someone assigned that particular icon. Is there a possibility that the new drive had been used before? It may well be one someone else returned.

In File Explorer click the 3 dots>select options>Folder options will pop up>click View tab>put a check by "Show hidden files, folder, drives>click apply.click OK

In file Explorer, open that drive. Do you see 2 files there? One named autorun.inf, the other an .ico file with the Google drive symbol beside it?

If so, someone has handled that drive before.
Let me know. I'm really interested.

If the 2 files are there, you can delete them which will remove the icon, but personally, if I bought a new drive and could prove it had been used before I would return it for a replacement.

Bastet · Sep 23, 2023

I also suspect the drive has been used & therefore isn’t new. Did the drive come in official packaging?
Was it purchased via a PC/general store or via a third party site (eBay, Amazon)?

Brad1138 · Sep 23, 2023

glasskuter said:
Now that is really weird. That is a custom icon and not included in shell icon folder. I know because I downloaded that same icon which I used when mapping my Google Drive to a drive letter. The only way that I can think of that the google drive icon got assigned to the drive is if someone assigned that particular icon. Is there a possibility that the new drive had been used before? It may well be one someone else returned.

In File Explorer click the 3 dots>select options>Folder options will pop up>click View tab>put a check by "Show hidden files, folder, drives>click apply.click OK

In file Explorer, open that drive. Do you see 2 files there? One named autorun.inf, the other an .ico file with the Google drive symbol beside it?

If so, someone has handled that drive before.
Let me know. I'm really interested.

If the 2 files are there, you can delete them which will remove the icon, but personally, if I bought a new drive and could prove it had been used before I would return it for a replacement.

Bastet said:
I also suspect the drive has been used & therefore isn’t new. Did the drive come in official packaging?
Was it purchased via a PC/general store or via a third party site (eBay, Amazon)?

Thanks,

I bought it from NewEgg, it came in sealed factory package. Western Digital BLACK SN850X NVMe M.2 2280 1TB PCI-Express 4.0 x4 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) WDS100T2XHE - Newegg.com

There are no hidden files.

Crystal Disk Info shows it to be new.

Brad1138 · Sep 23, 2023

garlin said:
Do you have files named .VolumeIcon.ico & Autorun.inf, under G:\ ?

Also, no.

garlin · Sep 23, 2023

Do you have Google Sync installed? Maybe it's assuming you want to backup a newly discovered drive, and has "claimed" it.

JagoWu · Sep 23, 2023

Garlin,
How can we tell if we have Google Sync installed? Also, if we do, is there there a silent uninstall command? Thank You

Brad1138 · Sep 23, 2023

garlin said:
Do you have Google Sync installed? Maybe it's assuming you want to backup a newly discovered drive, and has "claimed" it.

I don't think so, only if it installed itself.

I just looked, "Google Drive" was installed the same day I installed the SSD...

(but no Sync)

When I launched "Google Drive", it fixed the icon and created a new drive with that icon. So it looks like it was Google messing things up.

I'll see if it stays fixed after a reboot.

*Correction to the OP, I "hate" Google backing up my stuff w/o my permission, not necessarily "Google Drive".

JagoWu · Sep 23, 2023

I installed Googlechromeenterprise64bit.msi only on a laptop and did not sign into google or sync. Two days later on the Start menu was "Chrome Apps". Each shortcut in the Chrome Apps folder points to chrome_proxy.exe. It auto downloaded the shortcuts it seems.