Assign a mount point folder path to a drive in Windows and Windows Server (original) (raw)

Mount point folder paths let you use a drive as if it were a regular folder, making storage management more flexible. This article shows you how to assign a mount point folder path to a drive in Windows and Windows Server, using either Disk Management, the command line, or PowerShell. Also learn how to remove a mount point and review important considerations before you start.

Prerequisites

Before you mount a drive in a folder, make sure that you have the following prerequisites:

• Administrator permissions to open Disk Management or Windows PowerShell with elevated permissions. If you don't have administrator permissions, you can ask a member of the Administrators group to mount the drive for you.
• You must be a member of the Backup Operators or Administrators group to mount a drive or remove a mount point.
• An empty folder on an NTFS or ReFS drive. You need to create a new empty folder to store the mounted drive. The folder can be on a basic or dynamic disk.
• A volume formatted with NTFS or ReFS. You can mount a drive in a folder only if the volume is formatted with the NTFS or ReFS file system. If the volume is formatted with a different file system, you must first move or back up the files on the volume, and then reformat the volume with the NTFS or ReFS file system.

Mount a drive in an empty folder

You can mount a drive in an empty folder using Disk Management, the command line, or PowerShell.

Select the method that you prefer to use:

• Disk Management
• Command line
• PowerShell

1. Select and hold (or right-click) the Start button, and then select Disk Management.
   If you can't open Disk Management, in the search box on the taskbar, enter diskmgmt.msc. Select and hold (or right-click) diskmgmt.msc, and then select Run as administrator.
2. Choose the partition or volume that has the folder you want to mount the drive.
3. Go to Action > All Tasks > Change Drive Letter and Paths, then choose Add.
4. Select Mount in the following empty NTFS folder option.
5. Select the Browse button to locate the folder.
6. After you select the folder, choose select OK.
7. Select OK in the Change Drive Letter and Paths dialog box to finish.

Tip

• To modify a mount point folder path, remove it using the step in the following section, and then create a new folder path using the new location. You can't modify the existing mount point folder path.
• If you're using Failover Cluster, use Event Viewer to check the System log for any Cluster service errors or warnings indicating mount point folder path failures. These errors display as ClusSvc in the Source column and Physical Disk Resource in the Category column.

Remove a mount point

To remove the mount point so that the drive is no longer accessible through a folder, select the method that you prefer to use:

• Disk Management
• Command line
• PowerShell

To remove a mount point folder path using Disk Management, follow these steps:

1. Open Disk Management. In the search box on the taskbar, enter Computer Management, and select Disk Management
2. Select the View menu, and then select Drive Paths.
3. Select the drive path from the list, and then choose Remove.