The Windows OS manufacturer recommends not to change the drive letters assigned to the operating system, as this can lead to unpleasant consequences, up to the complete inoperability of the OS. However, such a need may still arise, for example, after dividing a mirrored disk volume into several independent partitions.
Instructions
Step 1
To perform this operation, you must be logged in with administrator rights.
Step 2
Using the Launch Programs dialog (CTRL + R), start the regedt32 registry editor. Please note - it is regedt32, not the standard regedt.
Step 3
Create and save a copy of the current system registry settings - this is done through the "Export" item in the "File" section in the program menu of the registry editor.
Step 4
Then, in the left pane of the editor, go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMMountedDevices section. Find the MountedDevices branch in it and right-click it. In the context menu, select the "Permissions" item. A window will open in which you need to put a check mark in the line "Full Control" for the "Administrators" group. At the end of the entire procedure for changing the letter, you will need to return here and restore the configuration of rights that existed here before your intervention.
Step 5
Then close Regedt32 and start the regular Regedit editor. You can use the program launch dialog, or you can click the "My Computer" shortcut and select the "Registry Editor" item in the context menu.
Step 6
Go to the same HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMMountedDevices registry key again. You need to find the parameter in the right pane of the editor that contains the letter assigned by you to assign it to the system drive. For example, if you want to assign the letter "D", then look for the "DosDevicesD:" parameter. When you find it, right-click it and select the "Rename" line in the context menu. When renaming, enter a letter that is not currently used in the system (for example, "DosDevicesY:"). In this way, you free the letter D for later assignment to the system drive.
Step 7
Then find the parameter corresponding to the current system drive letter (for example, "DosDevicesC:"). And right-click it, and here, too, select the "Rename" line. Change the letter in the name of this to the one you vacated in the previous step (for example, "DosDevicesD:").
Step 8
Now you have free the letter "C", which was previously assigned to the system drive. You can assign it to the renamed "DosDevicesY:" parameter. This is done in the same way - by right-clicking, choosing the "Rename" command and replacing the drive letter in the name (for example, "DosDevicesС:").
Step 9
Close Regedit editor, start Regedt32 again, and revert to the previous permission settings for the Administrators group.
Step 10
After that, it will remain to restart the computer.
