Drive Changes when using LR...How did it happen & can I reverse?
May 2, 2022 22:45:08 #
I was on the road with my Surface LAPTOP and a 1tb SSD portable (uses an USB connection adapter). The SSD was designated by the computer as the D drive. For 3 days I downloaded my shots from the card from the camera into the SSD and then imported into LR Classic. No problem...LR found the photos in SSD Drive D of my Laptop.
On day 4 , I attached the SSD as usual to the laptop and moved into LR to do some work. Much to my surprise LR could no longer find my photos. Somehow the SSD was re-designated as the E drive and there was no D drive to be found on the laptop. There are only 2 USB ports on the laptop...I switched...still said E drive.
Two questions...(1) any thoughts as to what I might have done to have caused this situation? and (2) Can I get the SSD drive to be re-designated as the D drive.
On day 4 , I attached the SSD as usual to the laptop and moved into LR to do some work. Much to my surprise LR could no longer find my photos. Somehow the SSD was re-designated as the E drive and there was no D drive to be found on the laptop. There are only 2 USB ports on the laptop...I switched...still said E drive.
Two questions...(1) any thoughts as to what I might have done to have caused this situation? and (2) Can I get the SSD drive to be re-designated as the D drive.
May 2, 2022 22:54:11 #
Windows can be 'told' to always assign the same drive letter to the same attached portable drive equipment. The process can be complicated, best googled and followed from detailed instructions with screen prints.
The root-cause of your issue is that either (a) you have not attached the same drives in the same order, assuming more than 1 USB connected drive. Or, (b) you did not detach the USB drive with the 'eject' action, so Windows considered the old D-drive still in-use and the next available E-drive was assigned to the next connected drive, even though it was the same equipment.
In addition to 'forcing' Windows to always use the same letter assignment to the same equipment, you can go into 'drive management' and change the assigned letter. That might be easier. Or, it might be the same place to say 'always' use this drive letter. Again, investigate in detail via google: How to assign permanent letters to drives on Windows 10
The root-cause of your issue is that either (a) you have not attached the same drives in the same order, assuming more than 1 USB connected drive. Or, (b) you did not detach the USB drive with the 'eject' action, so Windows considered the old D-drive still in-use and the next available E-drive was assigned to the next connected drive, even though it was the same equipment.
In addition to 'forcing' Windows to always use the same letter assignment to the same equipment, you can go into 'drive management' and change the assigned letter. That might be easier. Or, it might be the same place to say 'always' use this drive letter. Again, investigate in detail via google: How to assign permanent letters to drives on Windows 10
May 2, 2022 23:28:12 #
If you use Windows to assign your drive to a relatively high letter, it tends not confuse your computer. Once assigned to something like "G:" (or above) you can program Lightroom to find the files in that 'new' drive.
Did Paul give you enough guidance on renaming the drive?
Did Paul give you enough guidance on renaming the drive?
May 2, 2022 23:55:21 #
I’m not a windows user but can’t you give the drive a name like “my weekend adventure” that will stay with it always. I can’t imagine a computer changing the name of a drive depending on the order it was plugged in or anything.
May 3, 2022 01:39:44 #
CamB wrote:
I’m not a windows user but can’t you give the drive a name like “my weekend adventure” that will stay with it always. I can’t imagine a computer changing the name of a drive depending on the order it was plugged in or anything.
]Windows designates drives by letter, not by name.
Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City
May 3, 2022 09:33:21 #
bsprague wrote:
If you use Windows to assign your drive to a relatively high letter, it tends not confuse your computer. Once assigned to something like "G:" (or above) you can program Lightroom to find the files in that 'new' drive.
Did Paul give you enough guidance on renaming the drive?
Did Paul give you enough guidance on renaming the drive?
"Typically", windows assigns the "next available drive letter" to an attached device.
It may or may not be the same logical drive designation as last assigned when the drive was used prior.
It happens to me on occasion, but I don't use a cataloger that expects a certain logical drive designation (the same letter) all the time.
May 3, 2022 10:25:24 #
tcthome
Loc: NJ
rlv567 wrote:
]Windows designates drives by letter, not by name.
Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City
Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City
My Dell Allienware R5 running Win 10 does both. eg' MY passport (J:), Dell Portable Hard Drive (K:) Not sure if all windows machines do this.
May 3, 2022 10:36:10 #
tcthome wrote:
My Dell Allienware R5 running Win 10 does both. eg' MY passport (J:), Dell Portable Hard Drive (K:) Not sure if all windows machines do this.
My win 7 box sometimes assigns a different logical drive letter, sometimes it does not.
I have no idea on what the "selection" is based.
May 3, 2022 13:08:24 #
On Windows 10 go to "Settings" by clicking on the flag in lower left corner, then, in the search box at the top start typing "disk management"...you won't get very far when a box comes up below that says "Create and format hard disk partitions" click on that box. Now find the HD you're looking for in what's displayed and right click on it. You will find the option to change the drive letter.
May 3, 2022 13:40:59 #
May 3, 2022 14:18:12 #
rlv567 wrote:
Windows designates drives by letter, not by name.
Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City
Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City
Windows uses drives by the device letter reference, but one can assign a name to the device, whether it's a physical drive or USB card. All of my USB sticks and drives have a name I gave them. Names are for reference by the user, not the computer.
May 3, 2022 15:16:48 #
Google Windows Disk Management.
There's an app that you can use to force a letter onto a drive. If you don't, attaching a drive will use the next letter available alphabetically. So a higher letter could help. I use "P" for Photos.
If you attach a drive that you have used disk manager to assign letter P, next time you attach that drive it will be assigned letter P EXCEPT if there is already another disk attached that has been assigned the letter P.
I don't know what you would do if you needed more than 26 drives on your Windows machine. I've never tried it.
There's an app that you can use to force a letter onto a drive. If you don't, attaching a drive will use the next letter available alphabetically. So a higher letter could help. I use "P" for Photos.
If you attach a drive that you have used disk manager to assign letter P, next time you attach that drive it will be assigned letter P EXCEPT if there is already another disk attached that has been assigned the letter P.
I don't know what you would do if you needed more than 26 drives on your Windows machine. I've never tried it.
May 3, 2022 15:42:26 #
I’m guessing you had an SD card in a reader or something like that when you plugged in the external drive which would have been assigned D: then when you plugged in the SSD it automatically got assigned E:
You can either make sure there’s nothing else using D when you plug in the SSD or you can assign it a letter. Preferably something far enough back in the alphabet to avoid collisions.
You can either make sure there’s nothing else using D when you plug in the SSD or you can assign it a letter. Preferably something far enough back in the alphabet to avoid collisions.
May 3, 2022 17:50:29 #
SuperflyTNT wrote:
I’m guessing you had an SD card in a reader or something like that when you plugged in the external drive which would have been assigned D: then when you plugged in the SSD it automatically got assigned E:
You can either make sure there’s nothing else using D when you plug in the SSD or you can assign it a letter. Preferably something far enough back in the alphabet to avoid collisions.
You can either make sure there’s nothing else using D when you plug in the SSD or you can assign it a letter. Preferably something far enough back in the alphabet to avoid collisions.
Without a "D:" currently mounted, the next logical drive would be assigned as "D:", not "E:" again. The logical drive letter does not stay with the drive, they are assigned, in order, to the next device that is mounted.
May 3, 2022 18:05:16 #
rbtree
Loc: Shoreline, WA, United States
You didn't state whether you tried to access the drive. You should have been able to, regardless of the drive letter.
That said, go into disk management, click on the drive and change the letter.
That said, go into disk management, click on the drive and change the letter.
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