SP 3 Reassigned my External's Drive Letter

Yesterday I finally upgraded from Windows XP Service Pack 2 to SP3 and now my
external drive is renamed an H drive, no longer F. This wouldn't be that
much of a problem except certain functions, such as my screen saver (no
biggie) and iTunes (biggie) are associated with the files as being in F, not
in H. How did that happen and do you know if there would be a way to rename
it back to F?

I know this should be the largest problem anyone ever has with their
computer, but I'm really not thrilled about reinstalling all my files (over
10 GBs) back into iTunes when they're in the order I like them in now (I can
hear you laughing), and I am not too sure I like the way my computer is
reacting to SP3.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

Lori wrote:
> Yesterday I finally upgraded from Windows XP Service Pack 2 to SP3
> and now my external drive is renamed an H drive, no longer F. This
> wouldn't be that much of a problem except certain functions, such
> as my screen saver (no biggie) and iTunes (biggie) are associated
> with the files as being in F, not in H. How did that happen and do
> you know if there would be a way to rename it back to F?
>
> I know this should be the largest problem anyone ever has with their
> computer, but I'm really not thrilled about reinstalling all my
> files (over 10 GBs) back into iTunes when they're in the order I
> like them in now (I can hear you laughing), and I am not too sure I
> like the way my computer is reacting to SP3.
>
> Thanks for any help you can offer!

Disk Manager...
Change the drive letters on the drives the way you want...
(Excluding your system drive.)

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

(cross-post added to XP Perf & Maint)
"Lori" <> wrote in message news:2D85C1B9-5EF1-4524-9C9B-...
> Yesterday I finally upgraded from Windows XP Service Pack 2 to SP3 and now my
> external drive is renamed an H drive, no longer F. This wouldn't be that
> much of a problem except certain functions, such as my screen saver (no
> biggie) and iTunes (biggie) are associated with the files as being in F, not
> in H. How did that happen and do you know if there would be a way to rename
> it back to F?


Did you install any other hardware or repartition a drive?
Otherwise you may have a corrupt partition table.

Try using Disk Manager. E.g. Run... (press Win-R and enter

diskmgmt.msc

for more clues (and possible help.)


>
> I know this should be the largest problem anyone ever has with their
> computer, but I'm really not thrilled about reinstalling all my files (over
> 10 GBs) back into iTunes when they're in the order I like them in now (I can
> hear you laughing), and I am not too sure I like the way my computer is
> reacting to SP3.
>
> Thanks for any help you can offer!


BTW although you may see WU as the cause of your problem symptoms
it would be more appropriate to look for help resolving them in a newsgroup
which specializes in your OS. Cross-posting to an XP NG for convenience.

Good luck

Robert Aldwinckle
---

Thanks to you both for the replies. Here is the newest thing. This message
keeps popping up telling me that Windows had a failure to write to H:\$Mft.
My data is now lost. The H is the renamed external drive. It pops up
constantly. Did the update possibly corrupt the external FAT system since I
forgot to shut it down during the install of SP3? I don't know what to do to
fix this one.

Thanks.

"Robert Aldwinckle" wrote:

> (cross-post added to XP Perf & Maint)
> "Lori" <> wrote in message news:2D85C1B9-5EF1-4524-9C9B-...
> > Yesterday I finally upgraded from Windows XP Service Pack 2 to SP3 and now my
> > external drive is renamed an H drive, no longer F. This wouldn't be that
> > much of a problem except certain functions, such as my screen saver (no
> > biggie) and iTunes (biggie) are associated with the files as being in F, not
> > in H. How did that happen and do you know if there would be a way to rename
> > it back to F?
>
>
> Did you install any other hardware or repartition a drive?
> Otherwise you may have a corrupt partition table.
>
> Try using Disk Manager. E.g. Run... (press Win-R and enter
>
> diskmgmt.msc
>
> for more clues (and possible help.)
>
>
> >
> > I know this should be the largest problem anyone ever has with their
> > computer, but I'm really not thrilled about reinstalling all my files (over
> > 10 GBs) back into iTunes when they're in the order I like them in now (I can
> > hear you laughing), and I am not too sure I like the way my computer is
> > reacting to SP3.
> >
> > Thanks for any help you can offer!
>
>
> BTW although you may see WU as the cause of your problem symptoms
> it would be more appropriate to look for help resolving them in a newsgroup
> which specializes in your OS. Cross-posting to an XP NG for convenience.
>
> Good luck
>
> Robert Aldwinckle
> ---
>
>
>

One more important thing I just found out:

I tried to run my Diskeeper program on the external H drive. It told me it
can't "get a handle on the volume" and could not run it. Before the upgrade,
it always did.

PLUS - I cannot rename the drive. I right click on it under disk management
and it just gives me a help option and shows NO drive name at all.

Something is very wrong. I tried to "safely remove hardware" to shut it
down and it kept telling me it couldn't be shut down now. Did my drive get
corrupted in the upgrade?


"Lori" wrote:

> Thanks to you both for the replies. Here is the newest thing. This message
> keeps popping up telling me that Windows had a failure to write to H:\$Mft.
> My data is now lost. The H is the renamed external drive. It pops up
> constantly. Did the update possibly corrupt the external FAT system since I
> forgot to shut it down during the install of SP3? I don't know what to do to
> fix this one.
>
> Thanks.
>
> "Robert Aldwinckle" wrote:
>
> > (cross-post added to XP Perf & Maint)
> > "Lori" <> wrote in message news:2D85C1B9-5EF1-4524-9C9B-...
> > > Yesterday I finally upgraded from Windows XP Service Pack 2 to SP3 and now my
> > > external drive is renamed an H drive, no longer F. This wouldn't be that
> > > much of a problem except certain functions, such as my screen saver (no
> > > biggie) and iTunes (biggie) are associated with the files as being in F, not
> > > in H. How did that happen and do you know if there would be a way to rename
> > > it back to F?
> >
> >
> > Did you install any other hardware or repartition a drive?
> > Otherwise you may have a corrupt partition table.
> >
> > Try using Disk Manager. E.g. Run... (press Win-R and enter
> >
> > diskmgmt.msc
> >
> > for more clues (and possible help.)
> >
> >
> > >
> > > I know this should be the largest problem anyone ever has with their
> > > computer, but I'm really not thrilled about reinstalling all my files (over
> > > 10 GBs) back into iTunes when they're in the order I like them in now (I can
> > > hear you laughing), and I am not too sure I like the way my computer is
> > > reacting to SP3.
> > >
> > > Thanks for any help you can offer!
> >
> >
> > BTW although you may see WU as the cause of your problem symptoms
> > it would be more appropriate to look for help resolving them in a newsgroup
> > which specializes in your OS. Cross-posting to an XP NG for convenience.
> >
> > Good luck
> >
> > Robert Aldwinckle
> > ---
> >
> >
> >

Lori

Can you please list all drives and partitions and put a description
against each. Distinguish between hard, DVD and removable drives. Do not
forget flash drives. Also say whether the system is dual or multiple
booting.

Say which drives are recognised in the BIOS and which in Disk
Management. Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Computer
Management, Disk Management.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Lori wrote:
> One more important thing I just found out:
>
> I tried to run my Diskeeper program on the external H drive. It told
> me it can't "get a handle on the volume" and could not run it.
> Before the upgrade, it always did.
>
> PLUS - I cannot rename the drive. I right click on it under disk
> management and it just gives me a help option and shows NO drive name
> at all.
>
> Something is very wrong. I tried to "safely remove hardware" to shut
> it down and it kept telling me it couldn't be shut down now. Did my
> drive get corrupted in the upgrade?
>
>
> "Lori" wrote:
>
>> Thanks to you both for the replies. Here is the newest thing. This
>> message keeps popping up telling me that Windows had a failure to
>> write to H:\$Mft. My data is now lost. The H is the renamed
>> external drive. It pops up constantly. Did the update possibly
>> corrupt the external FAT system since I forgot to shut it down
>> during the install of SP3? I don't know what to do to fix this one.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> "Robert Aldwinckle" wrote:
>>
>>> (cross-post added to XP Perf & Maint)
>>> "Lori" <> wrote in message
>>> news:2D85C1B9-5EF1-4524-9C9B-...
>>>> Yesterday I finally upgraded from Windows XP Service Pack 2 to SP3
>>>> and now my external drive is renamed an H drive, no longer F.
>>>> This wouldn't be that much of a problem except certain functions,
>>>> such as my screen saver (no biggie) and iTunes (biggie) are
>>>> associated with the files as being in F, not in H. How did that
>>>> happen and do you know if there would be a way to rename it back
>>>> to F?
>>>
>>>
>>> Did you install any other hardware or repartition a drive?
>>> Otherwise you may have a corrupt partition table.
>>>
>>> Try using Disk Manager. E.g. Run... (press Win-R and enter
>>>
>>> diskmgmt.msc
>>>
>>> for more clues (and possible help.)
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>> I know this should be the largest problem anyone ever has with
>>>> their computer, but I'm really not thrilled about reinstalling all
>>>> my files (over 10 GBs) back into iTunes when they're in the order
>>>> I like them in now (I can hear you laughing), and I am not too
>>>> sure I like the way my computer is reacting to SP3.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks for any help you can offer!
>>>
>>>
>>> BTW although you may see WU as the cause of your problem symptoms
>>> it would be more appropriate to look for help resolving them in a
>>> newsgroup
>>> which specializes in your OS. Cross-posting to an XP NG for
>>> convenience.
>>>
>>> Good luck
>>>
>>> Robert Aldwinckle
>>> ---

Gerry,
Thanks for your interest. Bottom line? I rebooted the computer and was
able to rename the drive finally. But then it seemed the drive new error
message was associated with the new drive name. Well, long story short,
after hours of working on it, doing scans, etc. (and a system restore
somewhere along the way), even increasing the MFT, everything seems to be
working "well." I am not entirely thrilled with the computer's performance
since SP3, seems to have caused it to be a bit sluggish. I am usually on top
of the maintenance constantly and although I may have sounded a bit...well,
let's just say light in the first message, I know how to do a lot on
computers and am usually the go-to person for my friends and family. So when
I say it's been acting sluggish since the upgrade, I'm really very on top of
its performance and am not just blaming it on the new SP. There is a notable
difference in the computer's responsiveness.

In any event, so far, for the rest of the day, it's been error-free. Things
are hanging up a bit, but that's better than what was last night and this
morning.

Thank you for your desire to help. It is greatly appreciated.

"Gerry" wrote:

> Lori
>
> Can you please list all drives and partitions and put a description
> against each. Distinguish between hard, DVD and removable drives. Do not
> forget flash drives. Also say whether the system is dual or multiple
> booting.
>
> Say which drives are recognised in the BIOS and which in Disk
> Management. Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Computer
> Management, Disk Management.
>
> --
>
>
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Gerry
> ~~~~
> FCA
> Stourport, England
> Enquire, plan and execute
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
> Lori wrote:
> > One more important thing I just found out:
> >
> > I tried to run my Diskeeper program on the external H drive. It told
> > me it can't "get a handle on the volume" and could not run it.
> > Before the upgrade, it always did.
> >
> > PLUS - I cannot rename the drive. I right click on it under disk
> > management and it just gives me a help option and shows NO drive name
> > at all.
> >
> > Something is very wrong. I tried to "safely remove hardware" to shut
> > it down and it kept telling me it couldn't be shut down now. Did my
> > drive get corrupted in the upgrade?
> >
> >
> > "Lori" wrote:
> >
> >> Thanks to you both for the replies. Here is the newest thing. This
> >> message keeps popping up telling me that Windows had a failure to
> >> write to H:\$Mft. My data is now lost. The H is the renamed
> >> external drive. It pops up constantly. Did the update possibly
> >> corrupt the external FAT system since I forgot to shut it down
> >> during the install of SP3? I don't know what to do to fix this one.
> >>
> >> Thanks.
> >>
> >> "Robert Aldwinckle" wrote:
> >>
> >>> (cross-post added to XP Perf & Maint)
> >>> "Lori" <> wrote in message
> >>> news:2D85C1B9-5EF1-4524-9C9B-...
> >>>> Yesterday I finally upgraded from Windows XP Service Pack 2 to SP3
> >>>> and now my external drive is renamed an H drive, no longer F.
> >>>> This wouldn't be that much of a problem except certain functions,
> >>>> such as my screen saver (no biggie) and iTunes (biggie) are
> >>>> associated with the files as being in F, not in H. How did that
> >>>> happen and do you know if there would be a way to rename it back
> >>>> to F?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Did you install any other hardware or repartition a drive?
> >>> Otherwise you may have a corrupt partition table.
> >>>
> >>> Try using Disk Manager. E.g. Run... (press Win-R and enter
> >>>
> >>> diskmgmt.msc
> >>>
> >>> for more clues (and possible help.)
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>
> >>>> I know this should be the largest problem anyone ever has with
> >>>> their computer, but I'm really not thrilled about reinstalling all
> >>>> my files (over 10 GBs) back into iTunes when they're in the order
> >>>> I like them in now (I can hear you laughing), and I am not too
> >>>> sure I like the way my computer is reacting to SP3.
> >>>>
> >>>> Thanks for any help you can offer!
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> BTW although you may see WU as the cause of your problem symptoms
> >>> it would be more appropriate to look for help resolving them in a
> >>> newsgroup
> >>> which specializes in your OS. Cross-posting to an XP NG for
> >>> convenience.
> >>>
> >>> Good luck
> >>>
> >>> Robert Aldwinckle
> >>> ---
>
>
>

Was the installed antivirus/security suite actively monitoring the
system when SP3 was applied ?
Have you run a defrag since the application of SP3 ?
Did you use restore from a restore point on the external HD or from the
host ?

Won't even get into the consequences of having an external HD hooked up
when SP was applied ... as you are painfully aware of what issues that
can cause <w>


MowGreen [MVP 2003-2009]
===============
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
===============


Lori wrote:

> Gerry,
> Thanks for your interest. Bottom line? I rebooted the computer and was
> able to rename the drive finally. But then it seemed the drive new error
> message was associated with the new drive name. Well, long story short,
> after hours of working on it, doing scans, etc. (and a system restore
> somewhere along the way), even increasing the MFT, everything seems to be
> working "well." I am not entirely thrilled with the computer's performance
> since SP3, seems to have caused it to be a bit sluggish. I am usually on top
> of the maintenance constantly and although I may have sounded a bit...well,
> let's just say light in the first message, I know how to do a lot on
> computers and am usually the go-to person for my friends and family. So when
> I say it's been acting sluggish since the upgrade, I'm really very on top of
> its performance and am not just blaming it on the new SP. There is a notable
> difference in the computer's responsiveness.
>
> In any event, so far, for the rest of the day, it's been error-free. Things
> are hanging up a bit, but that's better than what was last night and this
> morning.
>
> Thank you for your desire to help. It is greatly appreciated.
>
> "Gerry" wrote:
>
>
>>Lori
>>
>>Can you please list all drives and partitions and put a description
>>against each. Distinguish between hard, DVD and removable drives. Do not
>>forget flash drives. Also say whether the system is dual or multiple
>>booting.
>>
>>Say which drives are recognised in the BIOS and which in Disk
>>Management. Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Computer
>>Management, Disk Management.
>>
>>--
>>
>>
>>
>>Hope this helps.
>>
>>Gerry
>>~~~~
>>FCA
>>Stourport, England
>>Enquire, plan and execute
>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>
>>
>>Lori wrote:
>>
>>>One more important thing I just found out:
>>>
>>>I tried to run my Diskeeper program on the external H drive. It told
>>>me it can't "get a handle on the volume" and could not run it.
>>>Before the upgrade, it always did.
>>>
>>>PLUS - I cannot rename the drive. I right click on it under disk
>>>management and it just gives me a help option and shows NO drive name
>>>at all.
>>>
>>>Something is very wrong. I tried to "safely remove hardware" to shut
>>>it down and it kept telling me it couldn't be shut down now. Did my
>>>drive get corrupted in the upgrade?
>>>
>>>
>>>"Lori" wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Thanks to you both for the replies. Here is the newest thing. This
>>>>message keeps popping up telling me that Windows had a failure to
>>>>write to H:\$Mft. My data is now lost. The H is the renamed
>>>>external drive. It pops up constantly. Did the update possibly
>>>>corrupt the external FAT system since I forgot to shut it down
>>>>during the install of SP3? I don't know what to do to fix this one.
>>>>
>>>>Thanks.
>>>>
>>>>"Robert Aldwinckle" wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>(cross-post added to XP Perf & Maint)
>>>>>"Lori" <> wrote in message
>>>>>news:2D85C1B9-5EF1-4524-9C9B-...
>>>>>
>>>>>>Yesterday I finally upgraded from Windows XP Service Pack 2 to SP3
>>>>>>and now my external drive is renamed an H drive, no longer F.
>>>>>>This wouldn't be that much of a problem except certain functions,
>>>>>>such as my screen saver (no biggie) and iTunes (biggie) are
>>>>>>associated with the files as being in F, not in H. How did that
>>>>>>happen and do you know if there would be a way to rename it back
>>>>>>to F?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Did you install any other hardware or repartition a drive?
>>>>>Otherwise you may have a corrupt partition table.
>>>>>
>>>>>Try using Disk Manager. E.g. Run... (press Win-R and enter
>>>>>
>>>>> diskmgmt.msc
>>>>>
>>>>>for more clues (and possible help.)
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>I know this should be the largest problem anyone ever has with
>>>>>>their computer, but I'm really not thrilled about reinstalling all
>>>>>>my files (over 10 GBs) back into iTunes when they're in the order
>>>>>>I like them in now (I can hear you laughing), and I am not too
>>>>>>sure I like the way my computer is reacting to SP3.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Thanks for any help you can offer!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>BTW although you may see WU as the cause of your problem symptoms
>>>>>it would be more appropriate to look for help resolving them in a
>>>>>newsgroup
>>>>>which specializes in your OS. Cross-posting to an XP NG for
>>>>>convenience.
>>>>>
>>>>>Good luck
>>>>>
>>>>>Robert Aldwinckle
>>>>>---
>>
>>
>>

Mow

You need to clean up before defragmenting!

--



Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


MowGreen [MVP] wrote:
> Was the installed antivirus/security suite actively monitoring the
> system when SP3 was applied ?
> Have you run a defrag since the application of SP3 ?
> Did you use restore from a restore point on the external HD or from
> the host ?
>
> Won't even get into the consequences of having an external HD hooked
> up when SP was applied ... as you are painfully aware of what issues
> that can cause <w>
>
>
> MowGreen [MVP 2003-2009]
> ===============
> *-343-* FDNY
> Never Forgotten
> ===============
>
>
> Lori wrote:
>
>> Gerry,
>> Thanks for your interest. Bottom line? I rebooted the computer and
>> was able to rename the drive finally. But then it seemed the drive
>> new error message was associated with the new drive name. Well,
>> long story short, after hours of working on it, doing scans, etc.
>> (and a system restore somewhere along the way), even increasing the
>> MFT, everything seems to be working "well." I am not entirely
>> thrilled with the computer's performance since SP3, seems to have
>> caused it to be a bit sluggish. I am usually on top of the
>> maintenance constantly and although I may have sounded a bit...well,
>> let's just say light in the first message, I know how to do a lot on
>> computers and am usually the go-to person for my friends and family.
>> So when I say it's been acting sluggish since the upgrade, I'm
>> really very on top of its performance and am not just blaming it on
>> the new SP. There is a notable difference in the computer's
>> responsiveness. In any event, so far, for the rest of the day, it's
>> been error-free.
>> Things are hanging up a bit, but that's better than what was last
>> night and this morning.
>>
>> Thank you for your desire to help. It is greatly appreciated.
>>
>> "Gerry" wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Lori
>>>
>>> Can you please list all drives and partitions and put a description
>>> against each. Distinguish between hard, DVD and removable drives.
>>> Do not forget flash drives. Also say whether the system is dual or
>>> multiple booting.
>>>
>>> Say which drives are recognised in the BIOS and which in Disk
>>> Management. Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Computer
>>> Management, Disk Management.
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hope this helps.
>>>
>>> Gerry
>>> ~~~~
>>> FCA
>>> Stourport, England
>>> Enquire, plan and execute
>>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>
>>>
>>> Lori wrote:
>>>
>>>> One more important thing I just found out:
>>>>
>>>> I tried to run my Diskeeper program on the external H drive. It
>>>> told me it can't "get a handle on the volume" and could not run it.
>>>> Before the upgrade, it always did.
>>>>
>>>> PLUS - I cannot rename the drive. I right click on it under disk
>>>> management and it just gives me a help option and shows NO drive
>>>> name at all.
>>>>
>>>> Something is very wrong. I tried to "safely remove hardware" to
>>>> shut it down and it kept telling me it couldn't be shut down now.
>>>> Did my drive get corrupted in the upgrade?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Lori" wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Thanks to you both for the replies. Here is the newest thing.
>>>>> This message keeps popping up telling me that Windows had a
>>>>> failure to write to H:\$Mft. My data is now lost. The H is the
>>>>> renamed external drive. It pops up constantly. Did the update
>>>>> possibly corrupt the external FAT system since I forgot to shut
>>>>> it down during the install of SP3? I don't know what to do to
>>>>> fix this one. Thanks.
>>>>>
>>>>> "Robert Aldwinckle" wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> (cross-post added to XP Perf & Maint)
>>>>>> "Lori" <> wrote in message
>>>>>> news:2D85C1B9-5EF1-4524-9C9B-...
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Yesterday I finally upgraded from Windows XP Service Pack 2 to
>>>>>>> SP3 and now my external drive is renamed an H drive, no longer
>>>>>>> F. This wouldn't be that much of a problem except certain
>>>>>>> functions, such as my screen saver (no biggie) and iTunes
>>>>>>> (biggie) are associated with the files as being in F, not in H.
>>>>>>> How did that happen and do you know if there would be a way to
>>>>>>> rename it back to F?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Did you install any other hardware or repartition a drive?
>>>>>> Otherwise you may have a corrupt partition table.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Try using Disk Manager. E.g. Run... (press Win-R and enter
>>>>>>
>>>>>> diskmgmt.msc
>>>>>>
>>>>>> for more clues (and possible help.)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I know this should be the largest problem anyone ever has with
>>>>>>> their computer, but I'm really not thrilled about reinstalling
>>>>>>> all my files (over 10 GBs) back into iTunes when they're in the
>>>>>>> order I like them in now (I can hear you laughing), and I am
>>>>>>> not too sure I like the way my computer is reacting to SP3.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Thanks for any help you can offer!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> BTW although you may see WU as the cause of your problem
>>>>>> symptoms it would be more appropriate to look for help resolving
>>>>>> them in a newsgroup
>>>>>> which specializes in your OS. Cross-posting to an XP NG for
>>>>>> convenience.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Good luck
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Robert Aldwinckle
>>>>>> ---

[Shouldn't you be on holiday in Malta now?]

Gerry wrote:
> Mow
>
> You need to clean up before defragmenting!
<snip>