Perplexing sponataneous drive renaming

footfootfoot • Dec 21, 2008 11:47 am
I recently installed a pair of Western Digital 750GB external drives to store my photos and to back up. The first drive installed was called G (not his real name) and the second drive was called M (also not his real name) The other day G spontaneously renamed itself K, thus obliterating several thousand pictures from Picasa. I named it G again, waited for Picasa to relocate all the pictures and it was fine. Until this morning when I opened Picasa, went to click on an image and all of a sudden all the thumbnails disappeared and it was because G drive was now K once again.

WTF?

I just changed it back again, making sure that no other drive (USB port) was assigned G. Picasa is doing its thing, we'll see how long this lasts
SteveDallas • Dec 21, 2008 2:48 pm
This is starting to sound like either Kafka, or Men in Black. Or both.

Windows is a pain about this kind of thing. Do you have some other drives hanging around? It seems odd for it to jump from G to M without the other stuff being taken up. Anyway, I'm not sure if this will stick, but you might try setting the drive letter manually. Right-click "My Computer", choose "Manage", and open "Disk Management" under "Storage". You can right-click volumes to reassign letters.
footfootfoot • Dec 21, 2008 8:14 pm
Yeah, that's how Ive been doing it. fingers crossed.
xoxoxoBruce • Dec 22, 2008 1:17 am
Have you other USB things you're plugging in intermittently? Things that could have been assigned those letters and they're claiming them when they return? I'm just guessing, btw.
busterb • Dec 22, 2008 2:46 am
Yes, but each time you plug or unplug Windows changes drive letters. You can stop this by assigning drive letters. I have a how-to on that, but it's 1:45am, I'm drinking and can't sleep and 26º. So stand by
busterb • Dec 22, 2008 2:54 am
Only thing I can find at this time is http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbdlm_e.html.
I have something else. Later. bb
ZenGum • Dec 22, 2008 6:59 am
It's just a glitch in the Matrix. Pretend you didn't notice.
BigV • Dec 26, 2008 12:39 am
You again?
Beestie • Dec 26, 2008 12:42 am
There's a way to assign a permanent drive letter to removeable drives but I'm too lazy to google it.
BigV • Dec 26, 2008 2:26 am
welcome back Beestie. You've been missed.
footfootfoot • Dec 26, 2008 9:52 am
I fixed it, I think it stemmed from not renaming the other G drive. When I named the other G drive Z everything was ok. Silly me assuming that the computer would realize that if I wanted to assign G to a drive, it would have to come up with another letter for the existing G drive.

[keeping my day job]
tw • Dec 26, 2008 12:13 pm
footfootfoot;516703 wrote:
I fixed it, I think it stemmed from not renaming the other G drive. When I named the other G drive Z everything was ok.
The fix is a kludge. As previously noted, There's a way to assign a permanent name to a peripheral. I never learned it because there was no reason to. For example, a USB port device may have the name USB1:. Or it can be named as a device called Dove. When that drive connects, the OS sees it as a piece of hardware called DOVE (not G:).
lumberjim • Dec 26, 2008 1:46 pm
The parts manager at Family Jeep is named "Cludge."




somehow, that's short for 'Clothilde'