Unable to rename Disk Label of an External HDD

I have FINALLY solved it!!! Well technically, it just happened. I didn't do anything other than restart the system.

But restarting the system worked!! So the generic 'Switch it off and then turn it back on' solution actually worked!

mjf said:

...Also you can't have a partition >32G for Fat32. Your HDD is 150GB !
Convert a hard disk or partition to FAT32 format

It does not have any partitions in it, jsyk.

On another note, why does the drive show it has 'NTFS File Format' now? And what's using 94MB on it?

Bare Foot Kid said:

Have you seen my post #10 in this thread?

Ok that explains the used space, but what about the file system showing 'NTFS'?

mjf said:

Don't know what jsyk means?

If it doesn't have a partition (or volume) it doesn't have a file system and the disk is generally useless. It does have ONE NTFS partition already. Also file systems take some space.

Again, if you want FAT32 then you need to make partitions with a maximum size of 32GB.

JSYK - Just So You Know

Thanks, that cleared it up.

I should clarify that the FAT 32 partition size limit of 32GB is imposed by windows. You can actually use third party formatting to format a larger partition which apparently will still be recognised by windows. I believe the 4 GB file size limit is an actual constraint of FAT 32.

I have a similar Hard Disk (Seagate 1TB USB3) issue where the Volume name (Local Disk) stays same on Win 8.1

Based on this - Can't change Volume Label on USB stick
And
Drive - Rename
I think it is Autorun.inf causing it because when I tried to open it even as an Admin I couldnt.

I might have to try and Force Ownership as pointed here.
Take Ownership Shortcut

jumanji said:

Try WinRAR to delete the autorun.inf file.

Navigate to your drive in WinRAR, select the autorun.inf file and hit on the delete icon on top.



If it fails you can create a Live Linux pendrive, boot from it, mount your drive and delete it.

Creating a Lucid Puppy pendrive with Rufus: Is there any way of saving a completely unrecognisable hard drive?

Some malware/virus can create an autorun.inf file. It will be prudent to run MalwareBytes antimalware https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download/ and check your system.

I will try out some of these methods and get back to you.

Warning: Do not do this to your internal HDD

You can use Autorun.inf
Open Notepad and write:-
[AutoRun]
Label=yourdesiredname
and save it as Autorun.inf in your HDD root.
Or
You can extract the attachment and paste the .inf file in your root of the external hdd