phono_mas

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O.K., I hope there is a dumb (easy) answer to this dumb question. I just installed a dvd burner and for some reason it changed my cd-rw drive letter to G (See drive/partition table below). I would like to change my cd drive letter to B! According to the M$ Knowledge Base (don't laugh) -
"your computer can use up to 26 drive letters, from A thru Z. Use drive letters C thru Z for hard disk. Driver letters A and B are reserved for floppy disk drives. However, if your computer does not have a floppy disk drive, you can assign these letters to removable drives."

-Here's my situation:
A: (Floppy)
C: (Primary Partition)
D: (DVD Burner)
E: (Extended Partition-FAT32)
F: (EXtended Partition-NTFS)
G: (CD Burner) - doh!

Yes, I have tried Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Disk Management > Change Drive Letter and Paths... It will only let me select letters G thru Z. I would REALLY like it to be B. Now, my question before I dive into my Registry Editor is - has anyone been able to get drive letter B. I have no qualms about editing my device string to foce it - as long as I know it can be done. Many Thanks!
 

rubikian

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That really sounds like a dumb question... I guess you wouldn't be able to sleep without getting the drive letter B. As you know, A and B is for removable drive. CDROM drive is not removable but the media is. I guess you can make it B for stuff like your USB drive. Not sure about CDROM or DVDROM. Anyway, if you succeded, do tell me...
 

phono_mas

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Maybe I am being a bit anal. Here's the thing. I'm currently running Windows XP Pro (C) and have a couple of extended partitions (E + F) - then I want to install linux and try setting up a dual boot scene. I don't really like the idea of having my cd-rom stuck in the middle of all of this. It just makes sense to me to make it one of the first letters as it is a boot drive (primary master). Any ideas?!
 
G

Guest

Guest
What exactly is your cd-rom in the middle of?

1) Windows can't see your Linux partition.

2) Linux can see, but not read your NTFS partitions. At least my Mandrake can't. Only your FAT partitions.

_________________________
Your arrogance is boring!
 

sparky853

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To the best of my (limited?) knowledge, only a floppy disk (3 1/2" or 5 1/4") can use the drive letters A or B.

Spec:
Intel P4 2.4B
MSI 645E Max-U Mobo
512MB DDR333
GF3 ti200 64MB
SB Live 5.1
WD 60GB (Storage)
Maxtor 6GB (System)
Maxtor 120GB
LG 24x24x32 CDR
WIN2K PRo SP4
 
Only bootable media can be given the drive letter (A:) or (B:). This is why Zip Drives can be assigned those letters; it is supported in most BIOSes. CDs that boot using floppy emulation are also given the drive letter (A:).

I don't think it's possible to change an ATAPI drive to A or B.

<font color=red> If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it. </font color=red>
 

phono_mas

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Thanks Zoron! That answered my question. I did some searching on the M$ Knowledge Base - and it confirmed what you said about ATAPI devices. Sorry about the stupid question everyone...