Drive Letters - Show Before or After Name in Computer

How to Show Drive Letters Before or After Drive Name in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8


   Information
This will show you how to have drive letters in the Computer or This PC show before or after the drive name in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.


EXAMPLE: Drive Letters Before and After Drive Name in Computer
Computer-Modified.jpg

Computer_Default.jpg




OPTION ONE

Using a REG File Download


1. To Show all Drive Letters After the Drive Name for All Users
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
NOTE: This is the default setting. This will override steps 2 and 3.
Show_Drive_Letters_After_All_Users.reg

Download


B) Go to step 4.
2. To Show all Drive Letters Before the Drive Name for All Users
NOTE: This will override steps 1 and 3.
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Show_Drive_Letters_Before_All_Users.reg

Download


B) Go to step 4.
3. Show all Drive Letters Before Drive Name for Only Current User (you)
NOTE: This step will be overridden by step 1 or 2 above.
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Show_Drive_Letters_Before_Current_User.reg

Download


4. Click on Save, and save the .reg file to the desktop.

5. Right click on the downloaded .reg file and click on Merge.

6. Click on Run, Yes, Yes, and OK when prompted.

7. Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply.

8. When done, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.



OPTION TWO

Manually in Registry Editor


1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog, type regedit, and press Enter.

2. If prompted by UAC, click on Yes in the UAC prompt.

3. For Only Current User (you)
A) In regedit, navigate to the locations below.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
B) Do either step 5 or 6 for what you wanted to do.
4. For All Users on the Computer
A) In regedit, navigate to the locations below. (see screenshot below)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
Reg1.jpg
B) Do either step 5 or 6 for what you wanted to do.
5. To Show the Drive Letters Before the Drive Name
A) In the right pane, right click on a empty area and click on New and DWORD (32-bit) Value. (see screenshot above)

B) Type ShowDriveLettersFirst and press Enter. (see screenshot below)
Reg2.jpg
C) Right click on the ShowDriveLettersFirst and click on Modify. (see Screenshot above)

D) Type the number below for what you want, and click on OK. (see screenshot below)



   Note

  • 1 = Drive letters displayed first for remote drives only.
  • 4 = Drive letters displayed first for all drives.
Modify.jpg
E) The registry will now look like this. (see screenshot below)
Reg3.jpg

F) This step depends on if you did step 3 or step 4 above.
  • If you did step 3, then be sure to also do step 6 at the step 4 location.
  • If you did step 4, then be sure to also do step 6 at the step 3 location.
G) Go to step 7.
6. To Show all Drive Letters After the Drive Name
NOTE: This is the default setting.
A) Right click on the ShowDriveLettersFirst (if available) and click on Delete. (see screenshot above)

B) Click on Yes to confirm deletion. (see screenshot below)
Confirm.jpg

C) This step depends on if you did step 3 or step 4 above.
  • If you did step 3, then be sure to also do this at the step 4 location.
7. Close Regedit.

8. Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply.
That's it,
Shawn





 

Attachments

Last edited:
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Thanks Shawn and Ushatl.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell XPS420
OS
Vista Ult 64 bit Seven Ult RTM x64
CPU
Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 2.40 gigahertz
Memory
Crucial Ballistix 4x2GB PC2 6400
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS 256 MB
Sound Card
Creative SB X-Fi audio
Monitor(s) Displays
HP w2207 + HPvs15
Screen Resolution
1680x1050 + 1024x768
Hard Drives
2-WD5000AAKS-500 GB
WD5000AAV-500 GB external
Keyboard
Microsoft Comfort Curve
Mouse
MX Revolution
Other Info
Wacom Intuos 2 Graphics Tablet
Experience Index=5.5
You're welcome guys. :)
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Very cool thanks

How do you guys figure these registry tweaks out?
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Built
OS
Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
CPU
AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE
Motherboard
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO
Memory
A-Data DDR3 1600 4gb
Graphics Card(s)
HIS Radeon HD 4670
Sound Card
VIA VT1708S (8 channel onboard)
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell 23" S2309W
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
WD 320,750gb, Seagate 500gb External Backup
PSU
Rosewill Green Series 430W
Case
Coolermaster
Cooling
Scythe SCKTN-3000
You're welcome Green.

I just do a lot of digging around in the registry and in Windows 7, then I just get lucky sometimes. ;)
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
well written brink its cool to have the drive letter first in my opinion :)
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
packard bell IXTREME M5722
OS
Operating System : Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 6.01.7600 SP1 (x64)
CPU
Processor : Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 @ 2500 MHz
Motherboard
Mainboard : Packard Bell (Acer EG43M )
Memory
Physical Memory :8GB Corsair4x 2GB 800MHz C5 DDR2
Graphics Card(s)
Video Card : XFX 6700 AMD
Monitor(s) Displays
Maestro 234DL - BenQ V2220 - BenQ VW2420H
Screen Resolution
Current Display :1920x1080p pixels at 60 Hz in HD LED
Hard Drives
Hard Disks : WDC (1000 GB)
Drive C: (Hard Disk) : 428 GB available on 491 GB
Drive D: (Hard Disk) : 426 GB available on 492 GB
SAMSUNG spinpoint HD103SJ 1000.2 GB
(X 2) KINGSTON SSD NOW V 30GB
PSU
XFX ProSeries 550W PSU
Case
PACKARD BELL IXTREME
Cooling
System Blower Current: 150mA Air Flow16CFM ;Akasa 90mm rear
Keyboard
Gigabyte Aivia K8100
Mouse
TRUST-Wireless Laser Mouse - Carbon edition MI-7770C
Internet Speed
TP-LINK > TL-WN951N / AV500 Gigabit Powerline Adapters
Browser
chrome dev
Other Info
EXTRA COOLING>(FAN CONTROLLER) PC Bay Cooler 3 x 40mm fans; Akasa AK-HD-BL Blue hard drive cooler 2 x 40 mm fan 4500 rpm 29.7 dBA
Bios> American Megatrends Inc.
Version : P01-A1
Date : 08/31/2009
Thank you Brian. :)
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
The manual steps are missing this part:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer]
"ShowDriveLettersFirst"=-

When I tried the manual steps it didn't work, the .reg did. Difference is the above missing from the manual steps.

I like it though, thanks for another great tip Shawn.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Lenovo IdeaCenter 450
OS
Windows 10 Pro X64
CPU
Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
Memory
16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Integrated HD Graphics
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
HP 22" LCD
Screen Resolution
1680 x 1050
Hard Drives
250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD
2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2
1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
Keyboard
Dell USB
Mouse
Lenovo USB
Internet Speed
Cable via Road Runner 3MB Upload, 30MB Download
Antivirus
Windows Defender, MBAM Pro, MBAE
Browser
Seamonkey
Other Info
UEFI/GPT
PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
I did the manual method and it worked perfectly for Windows Explorer, but I wish it did the same in Disk Management and the file manager that I prefer to use, they are the same as before.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
DIY
OS
W7x64 Pro, SuSe 12.1/** W7 x64 Pro, XP MCE
CPU
Phenom II 1090T w/Noctua NH-D14 /**4400+ X2 w/CM Hyper TX 3
Motherboard
ASRock 890FX Deluxe 4/**A8N-SLI
Memory
2 x 2GB Patriot PGS34g1600LLKA/**4x1GB Corsair VS
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GTX460 SC/**EVGA 8800GTS
Sound Card
Asus Xonar D2X/**Xonar D1
Monitor(s) Displays
Acer X233H, Dell E152FPc /**LG M237-WD
Screen Resolution
1920x1080 & 1024x768/**1980x1080
Hard Drives
WDC 2TB, 1.5TB, 1TB, 500GB,Seagate 500GB , Maxtor 80GB /**500GB Seagate & WDC 1TB Black
PSU
CM RS600 w/ APC BX1000G/**Antec 500 TP w/ APC BX1000
Case
HAF922/**Antec 1040IIB
Cooling
3x200mm, 1x140 and 1x120mm/**5x80mm fans
Keyboard
Logitech Media USB/**Saitek Eclipse
Mouse
Cordless Trackman Wheel/**Ditto
Internet Speed
3.3Mbps
Other Info
SB 560 5.1 w/ Sennheiser RS140/**Creative T20 speakers, Dvico FusionHDTV7 Gold RT, Cisco E3000, HP 5510V AIO, Linksys E3000, Belkin F5U237 hub and **F5D8055 adapter
(** = 2nd rig)
Thanks guys. Tutorial updated for both Current and All Users options. :)
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Sorry to dig this up, but does anyone know how to make this work for ALL file/folder browsers in all applications.

The option in this thread makes the drive letters show up first in Windows Explorer, but if you open Excel (or whatever) and try to open a file, the drop down will show drive letters after the label. Anyone know a way to change that?

WATYF
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 64-bit
Hello Sasha, and welcome to Seven Forums.

All the options in the tutorial work perfectly fine for me.

Could you give us some more details on what option you are trying, and what is happening when you try it?
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hello Sasha, and welcome to Seven Forums.

All the options in the tutorial work perfectly fine for me.

Could you give us some more details on what option you are trying, and what is happening when you try it?

I'm use this reg file:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer]
"ShowDriveLettersFirst"=dword:00000004

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer]
"ShowDriveLettersFirst"=-

However Any changes has not occurred.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
Ok, that would be the REG file in step 2 in OPTION ONE.

Did you restart the computer afterwards to fully apply?
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
This only works for the "Computer" window in Windows Explorer, and not in any other window that may show the HDD.

If it's not working in the "Computer" window like in the example screenshots at the top of the tutorial, then I'm not sure why it wouldn't be for you unless there may be some Russian and English difference for the registry entries.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone

Attachments

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My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
packard bell IXTREME M5722
OS
Operating System : Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 6.01.7600 SP1 (x64)
CPU
Processor : Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 @ 2500 MHz
Motherboard
Mainboard : Packard Bell (Acer EG43M )
Memory
Physical Memory :8GB Corsair4x 2GB 800MHz C5 DDR2
Graphics Card(s)
Video Card : XFX 6700 AMD
Monitor(s) Displays
Maestro 234DL - BenQ V2220 - BenQ VW2420H
Screen Resolution
Current Display :1920x1080p pixels at 60 Hz in HD LED
Hard Drives
Hard Disks : WDC (1000 GB)
Drive C: (Hard Disk) : 428 GB available on 491 GB
Drive D: (Hard Disk) : 426 GB available on 492 GB
SAMSUNG spinpoint HD103SJ 1000.2 GB
(X 2) KINGSTON SSD NOW V 30GB
PSU
XFX ProSeries 550W PSU
Case
PACKARD BELL IXTREME
Cooling
System Blower Current: 150mA Air Flow16CFM ;Akasa 90mm rear
Keyboard
Gigabyte Aivia K8100
Mouse
TRUST-Wireless Laser Mouse - Carbon edition MI-7770C
Internet Speed
TP-LINK > TL-WN951N / AV500 Gigabit Powerline Adapters
Browser
chrome dev
Other Info
EXTRA COOLING>(FAN CONTROLLER) PC Bay Cooler 3 x 40mm fans; Akasa AK-HD-BL Blue hard drive cooler 2 x 40 mm fan 4500 rpm 29.7 dBA
Bios> American Megatrends Inc.
Version : P01-A1
Date : 08/31/2009
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