How to change the label of USB flash drive that gets assigned to default drive letter ("F" in this case)

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I have a USB flash drive (FAT32 format) with the label "DT100G3" If I assign the drive to the letters "G" or "J" the label shows on Windows Explorer. However, if I assign the letter "F" to it, the label in Windows Explorer shows the default "Removable Disk" label. I've tried adding an autorun.inf file to the USB flash drive containing this text: 

[Autorun]
label=DT100G3

However, the label still shows up as "Removable Disk" in Windows Explorer. If I open Windows's Computer Management and go to Storage > Disk Management I can see that the label is still "DT100G3" even though it doesn't show in Explorer.

What I have noticed is that in Disk Management, there is no drive letter next to my flash drive's label. The other drives do have a letter next to their label (e.g. My C drive has a "(C:)" next to its label).

I think the issue may be related to the fact that the letter "F" is the default letter assigned to any removable disk that I plug into my PC. Perhaps there is an entry in the Windows Registry that makes all drives that get assigned to "F" have the label "Removable Disk"?

Edit:
I reformatted the flash drive to NTFS, changed the drive letter to "G", then reformatted back to FAT32. Now even when using the letter "G" the label says "Removable Disk" in Explorer.

Jorge Luque

Posted 2014-12-27T22:02:44.110

Reputation: 642

1Sounds like maybe some caching issue going on. Check with the command prompt. If your USB drive is at F:, do vol f: to see the label. Do label f: to change the label. – None – 2014-12-27T22:12:39.340

vol f: confirms that the label is in fact "DT100G3" I renamed it using CMD but it still shows as "Removable Disk" in Explorer. – Jorge Luque – 2014-12-27T22:18:19.863

1CMD is correct. Explorer is not up to date with the new label. When this happens to me, a reboot typically fixes it. Worst case, you'll need to run sfc and a disk check to fix corrupted files. The registry location you ask about is: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons\F\DefaultLabel – None – 2014-12-27T23:05:00.640

Sounds like your flash drive is f'd, pun intended. – Moab – 2014-12-28T17:39:15.727

Answers

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Sort of embarrassing but all that was needed was a restart. Thanks Tyler.

Jorge Luque

Posted 2014-12-27T22:02:44.110

Reputation: 642

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I think you are over thinking it.

To rename a USB, just go to explorer, plug your drive in, once the drive comes up, click it once, then again. The name will be highlighted for you to change. Type the new name and hit enter. Done!

xR34P3Rx

Posted 2014-12-27T22:02:44.110

Reputation: 350

I have tried this method already but it still shows up as "Removable Disk" in Explorer – Jorge Luque – 2014-12-27T22:20:45.267

This method works only when the drive letter is not "F" – Jorge Luque – 2014-12-27T22:23:21.563

1Hmm. Interesting, have you tried to reformat it and give it a label throughout the wizard? – xR34P3Rx – 2014-12-27T22:23:55.093

yeah, I've reformatted it about 3 times now. Twice using Disk Management and once using EaseUS Partition Master. The label is there, it just doesn't show in Exploer – Jorge Luque – 2014-12-27T22:27:36.050

Asked: 2014-12-27T22:02:44.110

Viewed: 2 964 times

Active: 2014-12-31T18:58:27.453