How to modify the system drive letter when the system is not started

Junkay 0 Reputation points
2023-06-05T11:42:19.8533333+00:00

I created a number of symbolic links in the Administrator folder of drive C and mounted them on drive T, in order to reduce the solid-state service life and expand the capacity. Symbolic link depends on the drive letter. If one day I switch the socket, or the hard disk is damaged, and I need to transfer data to another disk, how can I fix it when the drive letter is wrong when the system starts? Whether it is possible to modify the drive letter when another system starts in the third system (PE system, Windows full version system), and if so, which file should be modified.

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  1. Limitless Technology 44,321 Reputation points
    2023-06-06T10:30:07.9866667+00:00

    Hello Junkay,

    Thank you for your question and for reaching out with your question today.

    If you have created symbolic links in the Administrator folder of drive C and mounted them on drive T, and you encounter issues when the drive letter changes due to hardware changes or disk damage, you can follow these steps to fix the issue:

    1. Boot into a Windows PE (Preinstallation Environment) system or another Windows full version system that can access the affected disk.
    2. Open File Explorer or any file management tool in the PE system or Windows full version system.
    3. Navigate to the Administrator folder on the affected disk (drive C in this case).
    4. Identify the symbolic links that are pointing to the incorrect drive letter (drive T). You can recognize them by their shortcut arrow icon or by checking their properties.
    5. Right-click on each symbolic link and select "Properties" to open the properties window.
    6. In the properties window, you should see the "Target" field, which displays the path of the original folder or file. Modify the drive letter in the target path to reflect the correct drive letter based on the current configuration.
    7. After modifying the drive letter, click "OK" to save the changes.
    8. Repeat steps 5 to 7 for each symbolic link that needs to be updated.

    By modifying the drive letter in the target path of the symbolic links, you can ensure that they point to the correct location even if the drive letter has changed.

    It's important to note that modifying symbolic links in this manner requires careful attention and precision to avoid any mistakes. Make sure you are confident in identifying the correct symbolic links and accurately updating the target paths.

    Additionally, it's recommended to regularly backup your data and maintain a record of the symbolic links and their corresponding drive letters to simplify the recovery process in case of disk failure or hardware changes.

    If the reply was helpful, please don’t forget to upvote or accept as answer.

    Best regards.

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