Many of you would like to rename to label or rename the external hard drives for one reason or another. Is there a way to change the name of an external hard drive without data loss? Follow this guide from MiniTool Website, and you can get the answer.

Although Windows 10/11 sets default names for each drive, you might want to customize the drive names to recognize them more easily. You might know that you can change the drive’s volume label during formatting. However, are there any ways to change the name of hard drives without formatting? In this post, we will share 4 ways to rename external hard drives, you can pick up one based on your preferences.

External Hard Drive Recovery: Steps to Get Lost Data Back
External Hard Drive Recovery: Steps to Get Lost Data Back

Data loss from external hard drive? MiniTool provides an effective solution and detailed steps for external hard drive recovery.

Read More
Tips:
If you want to rename the hard drive via formatting, see this guide - 5 Ways to Format a Hard Drive on Windows 11/10. Before that, don’t forget to make a backup of crucial data with a free backup software – MiniTool ShadowMaker. It allows you to back up files, folders, systems, disks, and partitions with a few clicks. What’s more, there are three types of backup modes for you to choose from – full backup, incremental backup, and differential backup.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

How to Rename an External Hard Drive without Data Loss on Windows 10/11?

How to Rename an External Hard Drive via MiniTool Partition Wizard?

To customize and optimize hard disks and SSDs on a Windows machine, a professional partition manager called MiniTool Partition Wizard is a good option to you. The Label and Change Letter feature can help you rename partition and change a hard drive letter. Now, follow these steps to change partition label with this tool:

Step 1. Launch MiniTool Partition Wizard.

MiniTool Partition Wizard DemoClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 2. In the right pane, right-click on the external hard drive partition that needs changing > choose Label > hit OK.

change the partition label

Step 3. In the lower-left corner, click on Apply and then wait for the process to complete.

How to Rename an External Hard Drive via File Explorer?

In File Explorer, you can view and rename all the drives and network locations that exist in Windows 10/11. Here’s how to rename external hard drive via File Explorer:

Step 1. Press Win + E to open File Explorer.

Step 2. Go to This PC > Devices and drives > right-click on the external hard drive you want to rename > select Rename.

hit Rename

Step 3. Type the label you want to add to this external hard drive and save the changes.

How to Rename an External Hard Drive via Disk Management?

Also, you can rename partitions on the SSD, HDD, or USB attached to your computer via Disk Management. To do so:

Step 1. Right-click on the Start icon and select Disk Management from the quick menu.

Step 2. Right-click on the drive you would like to rename and choose Properties.

hit Properties

Step 3. Type the name you want to add to this external drive and click on OK to save the changes.

How to Rename an External Hard Drive via CMD?

If the external hard drive or USB flash drive has a letter assigned, you can rename it via a simple command in Command Prompt. Here’s how to rename an external USB drive via CMD:

Step 1. Launch Command Prompt with administrative rights.

Step 2. In the command window, type label h: minitool and hit Enter.

Tips:
1. h refers to the drive letter assigned to the external hard drive partition that you want to rename.
2. Don’t forget to replace minitool with the label you want to add to the partition on the external drive.
rename the hard disk via CMD

Final Words

As you can see in this guide, there are 4 ways to rename an external hard drive or a USB flash drive on your computer and not all of them work for all types of drives. Which one do you prefer? Hopefully, the instructions below can help you out!

  • linkedin
  • reddit

About The Author

Aurelie
Aurelie

Position: Columnist

Aurelie is a passionate soul who always enjoys researching & writing articles and solutions to help others. Her posts mainly cover topics related to games, data backup & recovery, file sync and so on. Apart from writing, her primary interests include reading novels and poems, travelling and listening to country music.