# Computer question - drive ID

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-drive-id/407983>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 14, 2007, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-drive-id/407983 "2007-06-14T12:16:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-drive-id/407983/1 "2007-06-14T12:16:14Z")

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I installed some work-related software some months back. The install didn’t quite work but I hadn’t had time to troubleshoot it. So today I tried to re-install.

Well, I originally installed it on the external drive. No biggie, supposedly. Only the new reinstall is failing because “appears to be installed on your machine but we couldn’t find it”. And when I tried to remove it via Control Panel Add/Remove, I get a message saying “Invalid drive F:”. My external drive is now G:. I guess it must have been appearing as drive F 6 months ago.

Is there any way to force the computer to find the software on drive G for uninstall purposes? or, to force it to recognize that external drive as F:?

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**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-drive-id/407983/2 "2007-06-14T12:24:42Z")

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Assuming it’s Windows XP - Control Panel, Computer Management, Administrative Tools, Disk Management, right-click on the drive, and change the drive letter. You need admin rights to do this, but I bet you’ve got them. If something’s already using F:, you’ll need to move that first.

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**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-drive-id/407983/3 "2007-06-14T12:27:32Z")

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[QUOTE=Usram]  
Assuming it’s Windows XP - Control Panel, Computer Management, Administrative Tools, Disk Management, right-click on the drive, and change the drive letter. You need admin rights to do this, but I bet you’ve got them. If something’s already using F:, you’ll need to move that first.  
[/QUOTE]

Bingo - that did it. Thanks! Ignorance fought 🙂

F: had been used recently as my thumb drive but that wasn’t attached so there was no conflict.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-drive-id/407983/4 "2007-06-14T13:17:50Z")

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For devices that I want to remain consistently available as the same drive letter (for example so that a one-click backup process continues to work), I usually give myself a bit of breathing space and call them Q: or something - because the drive letters lower down can get messed up even when you assign them persistent letters - if you start adding new hardware.