What is a volume label for an external drive. What is a volume label? Let's see how to change the label from the command line

Often users think about which file system is the best way to format a USB flash drive. Usually they choose the system that they like the most, however, there are still a few tips. Fat32 works faster, but a file larger than 4 GB cannot be placed on such a drive. When using the drive to store small files and documents, it is better to NTFS... In the case of storing large files such as videos or images, it is better to use exFAT... Experiments have shown that such file systems do the best in these cases.

As an exception, it can be noted that some equipment requires drives with a specific system, in this case, you still have to format for these requirements. Usually, old technology or specialized ones require fat32, while others can use filesystems at the discretion of the manufacturer.

Do I need to format a new USB flash drive

There is usually no need to format a new drive. All of them now work right out of the box, you just need to unpack and connect to your computer. However, formatting will also not do any harm, because there is no information on the flash drive and nothing will be damaged. The user only needs to check what kind of file system on the flash drive is at the moment. It often happens that this is fat32, which means that to write large files will not work. If this situation does not suit you, then you should recode the flash drive, while there is no information on it.

Volume label for disk when formatting ntfs

Volume label is easy drive name... It will be visible when you connect the drive to your computer. It is worth changing the standard name of the flash drive in order to immediately find your own and not get confused among many of the same. Usually the media are named by the manufacturer and the model number, however, nothing prevents the user from coming up with something of their own.

To change the label, the easiest way is to go to the computer, click on the flash drive right click mouse and select rename... Then you can enter the device name. However, lower case will not be available here, so the user may not like it.

You can also set the device name in formatting process by specifying the name in the appropriate paragraph indicated in the picture, after which the device will be renamed.

There is still an opportunity to use file automatic start ... To do this, you need to create at the root of the disk text file With name autorun and save it with .inf extension. In the file itself, you should write Label = Name of the flash drive.

Many users block autorun because they like to register different malware, so this method is not as reliable.

Do not forget about the restrictions that are imposed depending on the file system, in case of non-compliance with the requirements, you can get an error - "An invalid volume label was specified." For NTFS:

  • Name not more than 32 characters
  • No tabs
  • Uppercase and lowercase characters.

For FAT

  • No more than 11 characters
  • No tabs
  • Uppercase characters only

Formatting a flash drive to NTFS

This section will tell you directly how to format the drive to the desired file system.

The easiest way

In this case, the built-in Windows utility... It is worth going into the computer, right-clicking on the flash drive and selecting the item " Format».

Here it is required selectntfs and here you need to specify the name of the device. Cluster size can be left as standard. In general, a cluster is how much space the minimum can be allocated for a file. If you plan to carry a lot of small files, then you should choose a smaller size, and if large, then a larger one. However, in most cases, the standard cluster suits the majority. Followed by uncheck with quick format if there is a need so that the data cannot be recovered. After that, it remains only to wait for the end of the process.

Using the command line

For formatting use operatorformat... The user will need to open the command line and enter the same command as in the picture, substituting the letter of his flash drive instead of E.

The format operator is written as FORMAT volume

Options:

  • volume- the letter of the formatted drive.
  • / FS: filesystem- This is FAT, FAT32, NTFS, or UDF.
  • / V: label- Volume label.
  • / Q- Fast formatting. When using it, there is no need for the / p parameter.
  • / C- for NTFS, compression of all data on the new volume.
  • / X- If there is a need to disable all calls to the drive, then you should enter this parameter.
  • / R: revision- only for UDF.
  • / D- Only UDF.
  • / A: size- Replaces the default cluster size, as discussed above.

Formatting via Disk Management

You can click RMB on the computer and select Control, then go to disk management... Here you should select a flash drive, also click on it with RMB and select Format, after which it remains only to configure everything and wait for the end of the process.

Using the diskpart utility

You can also use another command that is available on the command line. We enter in turn:

Using USB Disk Storage Format Tool

To get started, it's worth downloading and running the program. V fieldDevice you will need to select the desired flash drive, and then set its name and cluster. Then it remains to press start and wait for the end of formatting. If you need quick formatting, check this box, the program is slightly different from the standard one.

Convert USB flash drive to NTFS

You may not completely erase the media, but simply convert it from one filesystem to another. To do this, start the command line and enter the operator convert h: / fs: ntfs / nosecurity / x, replace h with the drive letter.
The flash drive should have free place to complete the process, otherwise you may receive an error message. Also, just in case, it is worth copying all the data.

Volume label displayed in Windows Explorer... If you open "My Computer", if a volume label is present, it will be displayed next to the drive letter (for example, Label (C :)), and if it is absent, "Local drive" will be written next to the drive letter. To change the volume label, you need to select the disk in "My Computer" with the mouse and press F2 on the keyboard, then enter a new volume label and press the Enter key.

Also, the volume label can be set at the disk when it is. To change the volume label from the console there is a console command label, for help about which you can read on MSDN.

Maximum length the volume label for NTFS is 32 characters. For the FAT file system, the volume label can be up to 11 characters long. The volume label can contain spaces, but cannot contain tabs.

On FAT, the volume label cannot contain following symbols(this limitation does not apply to NTFS):

* ? / \ | . , ; : + = < > "

On FAT, the volume label is stored as uppercase letters. In NTFS, the label is saved as the user entered it.

Before that, for the second time I faced the problem of copying heavy files to a USB flash drive. It was necessary to upload one 7.28 GB file to the USB flash drive, there were 2 flash drives - for 8 and 16 GB, respectively. The first one is completely empty, the second one - one movie, about 750 MB in size. Remembering that by default both of them (however, like most flash drives) have the FAT32 file system, the main limitation of which is the inability to upload files larger than 4 GB, the question arose squarely "how to reformat them to NTFS, which does not have such a limitation ( and it is desirable to do it with basic methods) ". Having rummaged through Google, I found one interesting and useful article, the text of which will be given below. I want to say right away that I used only the first method, and it helped me, I did not try the rest. If anyone needs it - take it, use it, you are welcome :)

Is it possible to format a USB flash drive to NTFS As you know, the reliability and fault tolerance of the NTFS file system is beyond praise (see How to convert a file system to NTFS without losing data?). The same can be said about the popularity of flash drives (see How to extend the lifespan of a USB flash drive?). But that's not the point. The problem is that by default regular means operating system you can format a USB flash drive either in the FAT or FAT32 file system (but not in NTFS!). Cannot help here and such generally recognized programs designed for formatting / converting disk devices, such as PartitionMagic from PowerQuest Corporation. There are several ways to solve this problem. 1. Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System; - in the System Properties dialog box that opens, open the Hardware tab -> Device Manager; - in the Device Manager dialog box, open Disk devices, double-click to open the properties window of your flash drive; - open the Policy tab, set the switch Optimize for execution -> OK; - close dialog boxes Device Manager, System Properties; - open My Computer, right-click the flash drive icon; - from the context menu that opens, select Format ...; - in the Format Removable Disk dialog box, the NTFS option has appeared in the File system drop-down list (instead of FAT); - format the USB flash drive to NTFS; - set the switch Optimize for quick removal: My Computer -> Properties -> System Properties -> Hardware -> Device Manager -> Disk Devices -><Съемный диск>-> Properties -> Policy. 2. You can make it even easier using the built-in file system conversion utility convert.exe (File System Conversion Utility - C: \ WINDOWS \ system32 \ convert.exe): - start the command interpreter: click Start -> Run ... -> Start the program - > cmd -> OK; - switch (if necessary) keyboard layout to EN; - after the system prompt C: \ Documents and Settings \ Administrator> enter convert<буква_флешки>: / fs: ntfs / nosecurity / x (for example, for a flash drive H: you need to enter convert h: / fs: ntfs / nosecurity / x); - press; - after the conversion is complete, enter exit (or just close the command interpreter window). This utility allows you to convert the file system of a flash drive without losing data. Notes 1. Although the convert.exe utility allows you to convert the file system of a flash drive without losing data, it is recommended to copy all the data on the flash drive to HDD computer! 2. The flash drive must have free space for converting the file system. Otherwise, you will receive an error message such as: “… Estimated disk space required for converting the file system… Total disk space: 1023712 KB Free: 14328 KB Required for converting: 15486 KB Not enough disk space for conversion Conversion H failed: was not converted to NTFS "In this case, free up the required space on the flash drive by deleting unnecessary files(or copy some of the files to your PC hard drive). 3. If your flash drive / removable disk has a / Volume Label (for example, Transcend or My flash drive), when you try to convert, the message Enter the volume label for the disk will appear<буква_флешки>: In this case, enter the label of your flash drive (otherwise you will not be able to convert the flash drive: the message An invalid disc label is specified) or remove the label before starting the conversion (in the USB flash drive properties dialog box). 3. You can use free utility HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool... Download and unzip the HPUSBFW.zip file. Plug the USB flash drive into a free USB port. - Copy all the data on the USB flash drive to your computer hard drive; - run the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool (HPUSBFW.EXE file); - if several USB devices are connected, in the Device drop-down list, select the one you need (the USB flash drive to be formatted); - in the File system drop-down list, select NTFS (or, if necessary, FAT / FAT32); - if you want, set a label in the Volume label text box (optional); - to speed up the process, check the Quick Format box; - click the Start button; - the HPUSBFW dialog box will appear with a warning (in English) that all data on the USB flash drive will be destroyed. Click the Yes button; - wait for the conversion process to complete; - in the dialog box that appears (with the conversion results), click the OK button. Notes 1. Be careful when selecting a formatting device so that you do not accidentally format the wrong removable disk as desired. 2. Before formatting, be sure to copy all the data on the USB flash drive to your computer's hard drive! 3. It is not recommended to format the flash drive in NTFS if you use it as boot device... 4. It is not recommended to format the USB flash drive to NTFS, if you are using it, it is hopelessly outdated! - Windows 98. 5. Formatting a flash drive in NTFS not only allows you to forget about such misfortunes of FAT / FAT32 as lost clusters, but also increases the reliability and durability of flash drives, and also allows you to slightly increase the speed of reading / writing data. 6. Keys of the convert utility (Convert the file system of the FAT volume to NTFS): CONVERT volume: / FS: NTFS. volume - Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon), mount point, or volume name. ... / FS: NTFS - Destination file system: NTFS. ... / V - Enable message output mode. ... / CVTAREA: filename - Specifies a contiguous file in the root folder to reserve space for system NTFS files... ... / NoSecurity - The security settings for the converted files and folders will be available for everyone to change. ... / X - Forces the removal of this volume (if it was mounted). Any open handles to this volume will become invalid.

User question

Hello.

I want to completely delete all content on the disk, and then reinstall the system. I have two drives ("C:" and "D:") - I was able to format one, but the problem with the "C:" drive. Can you tell me how you can format the system hard drive (on which Windows 8 is installed)?

Good day to all!

Generally, today modern system start disk formatting - the operation is not difficult, I would even say simple (not what it was 20 years ago). Perhaps, questions arise only in cases when Windows does not see the disk, errors appear during formatting, or when trying to format system disk(as in your case).

In the article below I will analyze several formatting methods - depending on your tasks and specific problem, select the one you need. So...

Important: After formatting the drive, all information on it will be deleted! Make a copy in advance required files from disk to third-party media.

From under Windows

Via My Computer

Probably the classic and easiest way to format a disk is to go to "My Computer" (or "This Computer", depending on the version of your OS), find the desired disk partition in it. Then select this section, right-click on it - and in context menu select the required (i.e. formatting, see screenshot below).

Note: if the "My Computer" icon is not on the desktop, and you do not know how to open it, press the button combination WIN + E- the explorer will open: on the left in the menu, select the link to "My computer / This computer".

Format disk // This computer // Windows 10

  1. file system: FAT 32, NTFS, exFAT, etc. In most cases, the most the best option for hard disk- using NTFS;
  2. allocation unit size: 4096 bytes (the best option);
  3. volume label: disk name, you can enter any (I recommend using the Latin alphabet, since some programs do not read the Russian font correctly).

In general, the default settings are usually suitable for most users - you can immediately click the "Start" button. In a few minutes you will get a "blank" disk ...

Through disk management

In those cases when you went to "My Computer" - and it simply does not show your connected disk (this often happens with new disks that have not been formatted) - then you must use either special utilities or use the Windows' built-in disk management tool.

To open Disk Management, you need:

  1. press a combination of buttons WIN + R to open the Run window;
  2. enter command diskmgmt.msc and press Enter. The Disk Management application should open.

Next, you will see not only all connected disks, flash drives, memory cards, etc., but also which partitions were created on them - i.e. the whole structure. Select the desired section, and right-click on it - in the context menu, click on the item "Format..." (see the red arrows in the screenshot below).

Through the command line

In cases where the explorer freezes (for example), also in the case of various kinds of errors, you can try to format the disk through the command line.

First you need to open it as an administrator. For this:


format G: / FS: NTFS / q

G: - the letter of the drive to be formatted (specify carefully!);

/ FS: NTFS - select a file system;

/ q - fast formatting.

Basically, the disk needs to be formatted.

In Windows 10, by the way, a small "error" may appear - the system will ask you to specify the volume label for the disk, and then it will write that "An invalid disk label is specified" (although you seem to have indicated everything correctly, the example below).

In this case, do the following ...

First, open the drive you want to format in a command line, for example, a drive G: (see screenshot below).

Command VOL- look at the volume label

Next, enter the formatting command again, and in the disk label field - the label that we recognized in the previous step (in my case - Windows 8). Next, you will be warned that all data will be destroyed during formatting (agree by entering y and pressing Enter ).

In the next step, you will be prompted to enter a volume label - now you can specify any name (32 characters). You can just leave the field blank by pressing Enter. Actually, that's it - the disk will be formatted (screen below).

With the help of specials. utilities

The best programs and utilities to work with your hard drive:

Now there are hundreds of different programs and utilities for working with hard drives. Operations such as formatting, splitting, defragmenting, etc. - can be done in more convenient programs than those built into Windows. The link to the article with the best of them is given above.

In my opinion, one of those that deserves attention is AOMEI Partition Assistant.

AOMEI Partition Assistant

It allows you to quickly, safely, and easily carry out the most necessary operations with disk drives:

  1. resize their partitions (including formatting);
  2. move partitions;
  3. merge sections;
  4. format drives;
  5. change labels and more!

What else is captivating, the program has many different step by step wizards- they will help to solve the problem even for those users who have only recently got acquainted with the PC. Well, for example, you can convert the FAT 32 file system to NTFS without losing data, transfer Windows from your hard drive to a newfangled SSD, etc.

Via BIOS

(for formatting system partitions, for example, on which Windows is installed)

If you want to format the partition on which Windows is installed, then you simply cannot do it. The bottom line is that you need to boot from another media - for example, from another hard drive (on which Windows is installed) or from bootable flash drive and then format your disk.

Naturally, you need to prepare such a medium in advance (for example, an installation USB flash drive with Windows) - since after formatting the system partition of the drive, Windows will no longer boot from it (don't install it again yet. I explained it chaotically, but in general terms, I think it's clear ☻).

Using a Windows installation flash drive

The easiest way to format a system disk partition is to use a Windows installation flash drive. You can find out how to create and prepare it (if you do not have it) from my previous articles (I give links below).

Utilities for creation bootable USB drives with windows -

Create bootable Windows USB sticks 10 -

Creating a bootable USB drive for installing Windows XP, 7, 8, 10 (UEFI and Legacy) -

The easiest way to boot from a USB flash drive is to use a special boot menu - BOOT MENU, which can be called immediately after turning on the computer / laptop (or by changing the boot priority in the BIOS). In order not to repeat myself here, I will give a couple of links to detailed articles about this.

Hotkeys for entering BIOS menu, Boot Menu, recovery from hidden section -

How to configure BIOS to boot from USB stick or disk (CD / DVD / USB) -

Further, having booted from the installation flash drive, you need to go to the selection of the partition for installing Windows. In this step, you can format both the entire disk as a whole (delete all partitions and recreate them as well), or individual partitions.

If there are difficulties and you do not know how to get to this step when Windows installation- I recommend that you familiarize yourself with this article:

With the help of specials. programs

Take the same AOMEI Partition Assistant that I recommended using when working from under Windows, just above in the article. She has in her arsenal an excellent tool for creating a special emergency flash drive, from which you can boot when your system has flown (or it is not installed on the disk at all).

On programs for working with hard drives, I have an article on my blog:(including about AOMEI Partition Assistant).

To create such a USB flash drive, you need to run on a working PC in the program "Master / Make Bootable CD Master".

To boot from such a flash drive - use too Boot Menu, links to instructions are given above in the article, in the previous step. When you boot from the emergency flash drive - the menu and the program will be similar to the one that works from under Windows. Also click on the desired disk and perform the required operation (screenshot below).

AOMEI Partition Assistant - partition formatting

That's all, for the addition of a separate merci.

In some cases, it may be necessary to rename the disk in Windows 7. This is usually done for more comfortable PC control, for example, you can set a label indicating that the drive is intended for archival copies of important data.

Important! In Windows 7, you can also change the letter for non-system partitions, but before performing these steps, you must consider the possible risks.

Change volume label

Users have different attitudes towards their PCs. Some are quite satisfied with the parameters offered by the system by default, others prefer to "sharpen" the system for themselves, having achieved the most comfortable conditions for using a computer.

After installation, all partitions on the hard drive are often called "Local Disk", but it is much more convenient to designate the space allocated for movies, photos or backup more clearly. This is especially true if the PC is used by several users.

A volume label is a descriptive name for a partition on a hard disk, it is needed only for the convenience of the user and does not affect the operation of the OS.

Let's consider the main ways to change the volume label:

  1. usage graphical interface;
  2. label command.

Most users are not used to working with team building. For them, changing the volume label using a graphical interface is much more suitable.

Here is the procedure for changing the volume label:

  1. open "My Computer";
  2. right-click to bring up the menu on the desired disk;
  3. select the item "Rename";
  4. enter a new name;
  5. press Enter.

Before changing the volume label, you need to know the basic requirements for it, because otherwise the correct operation may be disrupted, consider them:

  • maximum label length - 11 characters for FAT or 32 for NTFS;
  • use of spaces is allowed;
  • it is prohibited to use a tabulation character in the label;
  • FAT formatted disk label cannot contain the following characters: *? / | ... ,; : + = “.

Hard drives usually formatted for many recent years in NTFS, other drives may still be partitioned in an older file system FAT.

For experienced users, it is more convenient to use the command line and the label command to change the volume label.

Let's see how to change the label from command line:

  1. open a command prompt with administrator rights;
  2. enter the command label drive letter;
  3. press Enter;
  4. specify a new label and confirm the entry with the Enter key.

It should be noted that the old tag will be overwritten without displaying an additional warning.

If you just need to delete a volume label, then you need to do the following:

  1. run the command line with administrator rights;
  2. type the command label drive letter and press Enter;
  3. when prompted, leave the input field empty and press Enter;
  4. confirm the removal of the mark by pressing Y.

Possible problems

Sometimes Windows users 7 cannot change the disc name. This is due to the big changes that have occurred in this version of the OS. Often, on computers running Vista and XP, an autorun.inf file was created at the root of the disk to prevent infection by some viruses. In Windows 7, it doesn't make sense to create it, but this file may be hidden.

Let's see how to enable the display of hidden files:

  1. open the "Control Panel";
  2. go to the "Folder options" section;
  3. on the "View" tab, check the box next to the item "Show hidden files and folders";
  4. click Ok.

You can now delete the autorun.inf file and restart your computer, and then change the volume label.

Video: How to Change the Drive Letter

Change drive letter

The drive letter is a pointer directly to the logical partition of the hard drive, and removable drives, CD / DVD drives, and virtual disks... Sometimes you may need to change it for more convenience or correct transfer of programs to the installed new drive.

Important! Never try to change the drive letter of the system drive. In most cases, this operation will complete with an error, and in some cases there will be problems with starting the OS.

Let's see how to change the drive letter:

  1. go to the "Control Panel";
  2. select the "Computer Management" item and go to the "Disk Management" section;
  3. right-click on the section that needs to change the letter;
  4. in the menu that opens, select "Change drive letter or drive path";
  5. in the window that appears, click on the "Change" button;
  6. choose the appropriate letter;
  7. click Ok;
  8. confirm the changes.

Important! Changing drive letters can have an unpredictable effect on installed applications... It is also not recommended to change the drive letter for the optical drive, as Nero and some other programs may not work correctly after that.

You can change the hard disk label an unlimited number of times, since it serves only for the convenience of users and does not affect running applications. Changing the drive letter is recommended only for experienced PC owners, as these actions can harm the system.

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