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[gugl]

i am sorry for this question but how can i assign names (like F: or G:) to disk partitions on windows xp for external hard disks that won't change all the time whenever i plug them into my computer? the result is that media center doesn't recognize the specific music library anymore.

and one last question: is there any dj software that can be integrated into the media center database?

thank you all!

jahn

[Bill Kearney]

If you use the Disk Manager you should be able to set a particular drive letter to a particular volume.  Remove any current drive letter on it and reassign it (can be the same letter again).  The OS should remember this the next time it's mounted.  It's sometimes better to move the drive letters up a few to allow for how new media appears.  As in, don't just use D,E,F, more like H and upwards.  That way anytime some new volume shows up the OS will have enough free drive letters to add it without causing trouble with others.

I've done this on my iPod as P: and my wife's as Q: and the OS and MC11 remember it.

Tangentally, WM10 uses a special file on removable volumes to help tag it for syncronizing.  Don't know if that's a good or bad idea, just that's what it does to help step around this problem.

[wrafter]

Hey Bill.

(I'm using XP)

Same prob here, so can I ask you to clarify one or two things.

1. Where does one access the "Disk Manager"?

UPDATE: This said by NickM elsewhere: "If Win2K or XP, then open Control panel, Administrative Tools, Computer Management, under Storage click on Disk Management, right click the partition and select Change Drive Letter and Paths."

2. What is WM10? (Win Media Player, is it?)

3. Why move letters "up"? If you have three drives, D: E: and F:, will new volumes not just appear as G: H: and I:; just as they would have appeared as D: E: and F: had there been no other D: E: and F:, therefore being one and the same thing?

Another thing - I have a "Removable Disk F:" in My Computer. But it doesn't seem to relate to anything - there is certainly no disk connected/or card/or anything else at this moment to my PC - but if I go right click > eject it won't allow me. I dunno what the thing is. Perhaps the "Disk Manager" you refer to will have enough power to remove it, no?

UPDATE: With NickM's fix here http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=29942.0 I can move this pesky F to Z so it doesn't annoy me. It's still there though.

[Bill Kearney]

These are questions probably better suited for a Windows help forum, so let's not waste forum space with much more about it.

Basically, as I stated, you MOVE the drives you know will reappear a few letters higher in the alphabet to allow for other media you don't know about to get dynamically inserted later.  As in, you attach your media player all the time (as I do with two iPods) but occasionally use a few different thumb drives.  Moving a known device to a higher letter lets the OS have the others to assign dynamically.  The devices you want to always BE on a given drive letter are guaranteed to BE there when they're not right in the middle of how windows reassigns them dynamically. 

As for unknown drive letters, got an all-in-one printer attached?  See a card slot on it?  Otherwise, using the same computer manager application you can use the Device Manager to get the properties on a device to learn more about it.  It'll tell you where it's connected (usb, pci, etc).  Likewise you can also use the Drive Manager to remove the letter associated with it.  Or the device manager to disable it entirely.  Moving it to Z: isn't all that useful as, behind the scenes, there are some parts of how Windows assigns memory based on total number of drive letters.  Not much of an issue these days though.