Devices Remove Drive Letter in Windows 11


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This tutorial will show you how to remove a drive letter in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Windows will automatically mount new basic volumes that are added to the system, and assign them drive letters by default.

A drive letter is a single alphabetic character A through Z that has been assigned by Windows to a physical drive or drive partition connected to the computer to reference the drive by.

You can remove the drive letter assigned to a drive, partition, or volume if wanted to unassign the drive letter from the drive, partition, or volume.

If you remove the drive letter from a drive, partition, or volume, the drive, partition, or volume will no longer show as a drive in File Explorer > This PC.

Unassigned driver letters will be available to assign to a drive, partition, or volume.


You must be signed in as an administrator to remove a drive letter.

Assigned driver letters are referenced in this registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices




Contents

  • Option One: Remove Drive Letter in Disk Management
  • Option Two: Remove Drive Letter in Settings
  • Option Three: Remove Drive Letter using "diskpart" command
  • Option Four: Remove Drive Letter using "mountvol" command
  • Option Five: Remove Drive Letters of Previously Connected Drives using "automount scrub" command
  • Option Six: Remove Drive Letters of Previously Connected Drives using "mountvol" command




Option One

Remove Drive Letter in Disk Management


1 Open Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc).

2 Right click or press and hold on the drive (ex: "T") you want to remove the drive letter, and click/tap on the Change Drive Letter and Paths. (see screenshot below)

Remove_drive_letter_Disk_Management-1.png

3 Click/tap on Remove. (see screenshot below)

Remove_drive_letter_Disk_Management-2.png

4 Click/tap on Yes to confirm. (see screenshot below)

Remove_drive_letter_Disk_Management-3.png

5 You can now close Disk Management if you like.




Option Two

Remove Drive Letter in Settings


1 Open Settings (Win+I).

2 Click/tap on System on the left side, and click/tap on Storage on the right side. (see screenshot below)


Remove_drive_letter_Settings-1.png

3 Click/tap on Advanced storage settings to expand it open, and click/tap on Disks & volumes. (see screenshot below)

Remove_drive_letter_Settings-2.png

4 Click/tap on Properties for the drive (partition or volume) (ex: "T") you want to remove the drive letter. (see screenshot below)

Remove_drive_letter_Settings-3.png

5 Click/tap on the Change drive letter button. (see screenshot below)

Remove_drive_letter_Settings-4.png

6 Select None in the drop menu, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

Remove_drive_letter_Settings-5.png

7 You can now close Settings if you like.




Option Three

Remove Drive Letter using "diskpart" command


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

2 Copy and paste diskpart into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

3 Copy and paste list volume into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter.

4 Make note of the volume number (ex: "5") for the drive letter (ex: "T") you want to remove.

5 Type the command below into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter.

select volume <volume number>​

Substitute <volume number> in the command above with the actual volume number (ex: "5") from step 4 for the drive letter (ex: "T") you want to remove.

For example: select volume 5


6 Type the command below into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter.

remove letter=<drive letter>​

Substitute <drive letter> in the command above with the actual drive letter (ex: "T") you want to remove.

For example: drive letter=T


7 You can now close Windows Terminal (Admin) if you like.

Remove_drive_letter_diskpart_command.png





Option Four

Remove Drive Letter using "mountvol" command


learn.microsoft.com

mountvol

Reference article for the mountvol command, which creates, deletes, or lists a volume mount point.
learn.microsoft.com

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

2 Type the command below into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

mountvol <drive letter>: /d​

Substitute <drive letter> in the command above with the actual drive letter (ex: "T") you want to remove.

For example: mountvol T: /d


3 You can now close Windows Terminal (Admin) if you like.

Remove_drive_letter_mountvol_command.png





Option Five

Remove Drive Letters of Previously Connected Drives using "automount scrub" command


This option removes the volume mount point directories and registry settings for volumes that are no longer connected to the system.

Basically, this unassigns all driver letters from all previously connected drives that are not currently connected or turned on.


learn.microsoft.com

automount

Reference article for the automount command, which enables or disables the automount feature.
learn.microsoft.com

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

2 Copy and paste diskpart into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

3 Copy and paste automount scrub into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter.

4 You can now close Windows Terminal (Admin) if you like.

Remove_previous_drive_letters_diskpart_command.png





Option Six

Remove Drive Letters of Previously Connected Drives using "mountvol" command


This option removes the volume mount point directories and registry settings for volumes that are no longer connected to the system.

Basically, this unassigns all driver letters from all previously connected drives that are not currently connected or turned on.


learn.microsoft.com

mountvol

Reference article for the mountvol command, which creates, deletes, or lists a volume mount point.
learn.microsoft.com

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

2 Copy and paste mountvol /r into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

3 You can now close Windows Terminal (Admin) if you like.

Remove_previous_drive_letters_mountvol_command.png



That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 

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Last edited:
Click to expand...
For option #6:
Code: 
This option removes the volume mount point directories and registry settings for volumes that are no longer connected to the system.

Basically, this unassigns all driver letters from all previously connected drives that are not currently connected or turned on.



When would regedit be used instead of mountvol?
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices > \DosDevices\Z: > delete

What happens if a registry drive letter deletion is used instead of modifying mount point directories?

How come "for volumes that are no longer connected to the system" ?
Can't the mountvol command be used for volumes that are connected to the system?
For example to remove a temporarily assigned drive letter?
 

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
zbook said:
For option #6:
Code: 
This option removes the volume mount point directories and registry settings for volumes that are no longer connected to the system.

Basically, this unassigns all driver letters from all previously connected drives that are not currently connected or turned on.


When would regedit be used instead of mountvol?
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices > \DosDevices\Z: > delete

What happens if a registry drive letter deletion is used instead of modifying mount point directories?

How come "for volumes that are no longer connected to the system" ?
Can't the mountvol command be used for volumes that are connected to the system?
For example to remove a temporarily assigned drive letter?
Click to expand...

Hey mate, :alien:

The "/R" parameter for the "mountvol" command is only for:

Removes volume mount point directories and registry settings for volumes that are no longer in the system, preventing them from being automatically mounted and given their former volume mount point(s) when added back to the system.

learn.microsoft.com

mountvol

Reference article for the mountvol command, which creates, deletes, or lists a volume mount point.
learn.microsoft.com

If the drive is connected, then you could use any other option to remove the drive letter/mount point for that drive.

The problem using Registry Editor for this it not knowing the volume ID to remove it's REG_BINARY in addition to the drive letter REG_Binary.

1695669078098.png
 

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
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
In this thread:
www.elevenforum.com

Why is there a Z: drive listed after partitioning my SSD?

My file explorer shows a Z: drive after I partitioned my 1TB SSD into C: for Windows, and D: for data. A snapshot of Disc Management shows Since I would like to image my windows setup, I wonder if the Z: drive should form part of this. I dont really know what it is, or how to deal with...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

there were different methods suggested when diskpart and disk management did not remove a drive letter.
 

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
zbook said:
In this thread:
www.elevenforum.com

Why is there a Z: drive listed after partitioning my SSD?

My file explorer shows a Z: drive after I partitioned my 1TB SSD into C: for Windows, and D: for data. A snapshot of Disc Management shows Since I would like to image my windows setup, I wonder if the Z: drive should form part of this. I dont really know what it is, or how to deal with...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

there were different methods suggested when diskpart and disk management did not remove a drive letter.
Click to expand...
Other than some 3rd party apps, they appear to be mostly the same. :unsure:
 

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
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
When mountvol /d is used it will remove both volume mount point directories and registry settings.

What hppens to volume mount point directories when regedit is used?

Any pro/con?
 

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
zbook said:
When mountvol /d is used it will remove both volume mount point directories and registry settings.

What hppens to volume mount point directories when regedit is used?

Any pro/con?
Click to expand...

If you remove both the drive letter and volume ID values for the mount point in Registry Editor, it'll be the same as using the "mountvol /d" command.

The con is having to know which volume ID is for the drive.
 

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
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
Thx.
 

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

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
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
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