The most important information about a disk is the amount of free and used space. To obtain this information, open the My Computer window by double-clicking the My Computer icon, then right-clicking on the icon of the desired drive and selecting Properties from the context menu. The General tab indicates the amount of free and used space on the disk, volume label, disk type and file system.
What is a volume label?
A volume label is an alphanumeric mark of up to 11 characters (up to 32 characters in NTFS) indicating the name of the disk. This label appears along with the drive icon. Having a drive label is not necessary, but it often helps when organizing floppy or removable drives.
How do I change the volume label?
After opening the My Computer window by double-clicking on the My Computer icon, right-click on the icon of the desired drive and select Properties from the context menu. On the General tab, you can enter the volume label in the field at the top of the window. In addition, the volume label can be set when formatting the disk.
14.4. File systemWindows 7 ( kb.chemtable.com/ru/ windows-7 -file- system.htm )
Windows 7 uses a file system NTFS, which, today, is one of the most common in the world.
The basis of NTFS is MFT (Master File Table). In essence, it is a file of a special format, which is located in a special MFT zone of the partition. This zone is accessible only to operating system service tools or special utilities that access the hard drive directly. MFT presents a table that lists all files with basic attributes and security settings. But not only. For each file, MFT stores the addresses of the sectors in which its contents are located. This is very important information, because without it, the system simply would not know where the requested object is located and where the reading head of the hard drive needs to be moved.
In Windows 7, there are a number of folders called service folders. By default, they are the same for all users of this OS. It is advisable not to touch some of them, as this can lead to malfunctions in Windows 7. The content of others can be changed without any fear.
Without a doubt, this is the most important folder located on the active partition of the hard drive. It stores all executable files of the operating system, drivers, modules, etc. Therefore, deleting anything from this folder is strictly not recommended. It is worth noting that in some cases it may have a different name.
Windows.old
Folder with the old operating system. Occurs on the hard drive if Windows 7 was installed without formatting it. For the vast majority of users, it is not needed, and therefore can be removed completely calmly.
Folder for storing user profiles. By default, it is located in the root of the disk with the operating system. Contains a number of standard folders, as well as one folder for each account. They contain “user” subfolders, including Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Favorites, etc. Their contents depend entirely on the person. Other subfolders are used to store service information of various applications, browsers, etc.: AppData, ApplicationData, Cookies, Local Settings, etc. They are hidden and it is not recommended to change their contents manually.
The folder that contains all operating system boot files. It is hidden and should not be changed.
ProgramData
Another very important hidden folder. It is where applications installed on the operating system store their data, installation files, etc. Naturally, there is no need to remove anything from it.
Recovery
The folder in which the image required to enter the recovery environment is stored. Again, it is hidden and cannot be changed.
$Recycle.Bin
Essentially, this folder is the Windows Recycle Bin. This is where all deleted information is moved. The folder is hidden, however, you can delete both it and its contents. In essence, this will be tantamount to emptying the Trash or part of it. Please note that each hard drive partition has its own $Recycle.Bin folder, which stores files deleted from it.
Volume Label appears in Windows Explorer. If you open “My Computer,” then if there is a volume label, it will be displayed next to the drive letter (for example, Label (C:)), and if it is absent, “Local Disk” will be written next to the drive letter. To change the volume label, you need to select the disk in “My Computer” with the mouse and press F2 on the keyboard, then enter the new volume label and press the Enter key.
Also, the volume label can be set for the disk when it is . To change the volume label from the console, there is a console command label, help about which can be read on MSDN.
The maximum length of a volume label for the NTFS file system is 32 characters. For the FAT file system, the volume label can be up to 11 characters long. The volume label can contain spaces, but cannot contain tab characters.
On FAT, the volume label cannot contain the following characters (this limitation does not apply to NTFS):
* ? / \ | . , ; : + = < > "On FAT, the volume label is stored as uppercase letters. In NTFS, the label is saved as the user entered it.
The volume label is the descriptive name of the volume to which the drive letter is assigned. Its size cannot exceed 11 characters (including spaces) and is displayed when the disk is accessed by various utilities such as Windows Explorer. You can change or delete a volume label with the LABEL command.
The syntax for changing the volume label is: label disk: label
where drive: is the drive letter followed by a colon, and label is the assigned description.
Expanding disk partitions using Diskpart
If the partition you created is too small, sometimes you have to expand it. Previously, you could expand partitions using third-party utilities. DiskPart currently allows you to extend existing partitions like this: When you need to extend the last partition of a disk, you can do so using the EXTEND command. The last partition is the only one that can be expanded regardless of whether it is a primary, secondary, or logical drive. But you cannot expand the boot or system partitions; in addition, only NTFS partition expansion is supported.
Diskpart command disk extension example
To expand the last disk partition, follow these steps:
- Launch DiskPart by entering diskpart at the command prompt.
- List the disks with the list disk command and check for unallocated space.
- Select the desired disk, for example disk 2, by entering select disk 2.
- List the partitions of the selected disk by entering list partition.
- Select the last section in the list. For example, enter select partition 6.
- Extend the partition with the command extend size=JV, where N is the size of the added space in MB, for example:
DISKPART> extend size=1000
Before this, for the second time I encountered the problem of copying heavy files to a flash drive. It was necessary to upload one file of 7.28 GB in size to a flash drive; there were 2 flash drives available - 8 and 16 GB, respectively. The first one is completely empty, the second one has one movie about 750 MB in size. Remembering that by default they both (as well as most flash drives) have the FAT32 file system, the main limitation of which is the inability to upload files larger than 4 GB, the question arose bluntly of “how to reformat them to NTFS, which does not have such a limitation ( and it is advisable to do this using basic methods)." Having rummaged through Google, I found one interesting and useful article, the text of which will be given below. I want to say right away that I only used the first method, and it helped me, I didn’t try the others. If anyone needs it, take it and use it, you’re welcome :)
Is it possible to format a flash drive in NTFS? As you know, the reliability and fault tolerance of the NTFS file system is beyond praise (see How to convert a file system to NTFS without losing data?). The same can be said about the popularity of flash drives (see How to extend the life of a flash drive?). But that's not what we're talking about. The problem is that by default, using standard operating system tools, you can format a flash drive either into the FAT or FAT32 file system (but not into NTFS!). Such well-known programs designed for formatting/converting disk devices, such as PartitionMagic from PowerQuest Corporation, cannot help here either. There are several ways to solve this problem. 1. Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System; - in the System Properties dialog box that opens, open the Hardware -> Device Manager tab; - in the Device Manager dialog box, expand Disk devices, double-click to open the properties window of your flash drive; - open the Policy tab, select the Optimize for execution -> OK switch; - close the Device Manager and System Properties dialog boxes; - open My Computer, right-click the flash drive icon; - from the context menu that opens, select Format...; - in the Removable Disk Format dialog box, the NTFS option has appeared in the File system drop-down list (instead of FAT); - format the flash drive to NTFS; - select the Optimize switch for quick removal: My Computer -> Properties -> System Properties -> Hardware -> Device Manager -> Disk Devices -><Съемный диск>-> Properties -> Policy. 2. You can do it even easier by using the built-in file system conversion utility convert.exe (File System Conversion Utility - C:\WINDOWS\system32\convert.exe): - start the command interpreter: click Start -> Run... -> Run the program - > cmd -> OK; - switch (if necessary) the keyboard layout to EN; - after the system prompt C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>enter convert<буква_флешки>: /fs:ntfs /nosecurity /x (for example, for a flash drive H: you need to enter convert h: /fs:ntfs /nosecurity /x); - click; - after the conversion is complete, enter exit (or simply close the command interpreter window). This utility allows you to convert the file system of a flash drive without losing data. Notes 1. Although the convert.exe utility allows you to convert the file system of a flash drive without losing data, it is recommended that you copy all the data on the flash drive to your computer’s hard drive before converting! 2. There must be free space on the flash drive to convert the file system. Otherwise, you will receive an error message such as: "...Estimating disk space required for file system conversion... Total disk space: 1023712 KB Free: 14328 KB Needed for conversion: 15486 KB Insufficient disk space for conversion Conversion failed H: was not converted to NTFS" In this case, free up the required space on the flash drive by deleting unnecessary files (or copy some of the files to your PC’s hard drive). 3. If the flash drive/removable disk has a Volume Label (for example, Transcend or My flash drive), when you try to convert, the message Enter the volume label for the disk will appear<буква_флешки> : In this case, enter the label of your flash drive (otherwise you will not be able to convert the flash drive: the message Invalid disk label specified will appear) or remove the label before converting (in the Flash Drive Properties dialog box). 3. You can use the free HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool. Download and extract the HPUSBFW.zip file. Connect the flash drive to a free USB port. - Copy all the data on the flash drive to your computer’s hard drive; - run the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool utility (HPUSBFW.EXE file); - if several USB devices are connected, in the Device drop-down list, select the one you need (the flash drive you want to format); - in the File system drop-down list, select NTFS (or, if necessary, FAT/FAT32); - if you want, set a label in the Volume label text field (optional); - to speed up the process, check the Quick Format box; - press the Start button; - the HPUSBFW dialog box will appear with a warning (in English) that all data on the flash drive will be destroyed. Click Yes; - wait until the conversion process is completed; - in the dialog box that appears (with the conversion results), click OK. Notes 1. Be careful when choosing a device to format so that you do not accidentally format the wrong removable drive. 2. Before formatting, be sure to copy all the data on the flash drive to your computer’s hard drive! 3. It is not recommended to format a USB flash drive to NTFS if you are using it as a boot device. 4. It is not recommended to format a flash drive in NTFS if you are using one that is hopelessly outdated! - Windows 98. 5. Formatting a flash drive in NTFS not only allows you to forget about such a scourge of FAT/FAT32 as lost clusters, but also increases the reliability and durability of flash drives, and also allows you to slightly increase the speed of reading/writing data. 6. Convert utility keys (Converting the file system of a FAT volume to NTFS): CONVERT volume: /FS:NTFS. volume - Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon), mount point, or volume name. . /FS:NTFS - Target file system: NTFS. . /V - Enable message output mode. . /CVTAREA:filename - Specifies a contiguous file in the root folder to reserve space for NTFS system files. . /NoSecurity - Security settings for converted files and folders will be available for everyone to change. . /X - Force removal of this volume (if it was mounted). All open handles to this volume will become invalid.
Let's imagine a situation where you purchased a system unit or a laptop secondhand and after starting the system you discover that the disks are named with some phrases. In other words, the volume label of the partition has been changed, and anything can be entered there. As an example, here is a screenshot.
How to change the volume label on a partition?
I will not describe the meaning of this concept, because everything is clear. In Windows 10, I will show you how to change the volume label of any partition. Moreover, having administrator rights, everything can be done in a few seconds.
So, open the “Computer” folder and click on any partition that you need to rename. Right-click on it and click on the item "Rename".
A message will appear that you need to have administrator rights, but since we have them, click "Continue".
That's all.
How to change the volume label in Disk Management
You can also change the volume label using another method. To do this, right-click on the Start menu and click on the item "Disk Management".
Select the desired experimental section, right-click on it, and then "Properties".
There will be an input box at the top where you can enter whatever you want. Just don't forget to click "Apply".
In fact, you can go to the disk properties from the “Computer” folder.
