Can You Change a Hard Drive's Name?

Name Change

You can change your hard drive's name and files or directories on the drive are not affected. The name is a descriptive label that can contain both alphabetic and numeric characters, as well as symbols. If a specific symbol is not allowed, your computer's operating system will warn you with an audible sound.

To change the hard drive name on a Windows system, click "Start" and "Computer." Right-click the "C:" drive icon, then click "Rename." The name currently assigned to the hard drive will highlight. Enter the name you want over the highlighted text. Press "Enter" or "Return" on your computer's keyboard. You will be prompted with an "Administrator" warning stating you must be the administrator of your computer to make the change. Click "Continue" to authorize the change. Your hard drive's name is now changed. Note Windows disk label names cannot exceed 11 characters in length.

To change the name on a Mac system, navigate to your computer's "Desktop" and locate your Mac's hard drive icon -- a metal box graphic or a graphic with the wording "HD" under it. Click once on the wording under the icon. The wording will highlight. Enter the name you want over the highlighted text. Press "Return" on your computer's keyboard to accept the name change. Certain Mac OS versions require you to press "Return" after clicking the drive name to highlight the old name. If you receive a message about the hard drive being "Locked," click the hard drive name under the icon to select it, then click "File." Click "Get Info" or "Show Info," then click the check box next to "Locked" to remove the check mark and unlock the drive.

Changing your hard drive's name doesn't affect the drive's letter -- "C:" or other drive letter -- nor does it affect directories and files stored on the drive. Programs, documents and other files will still open correctly because file pathnames are connected to your hard drive's letter and not the name.