[Fix] Windows Explorer Always Shows “Local Disk” as Drive Label / Name
Recently an AskVG reader “Tot” contacted us regarding this annoying problem. The problem was related to customized drive label or name in Windows 10. In Windows Explorer (also known as File Explorer, My Computer and This PC), his external disk drive/partition was always showing the default label “Local Disk” even if he has manually set the drive label to something else.
For example, you have set a customized label for a drive/partition in Windows Explorer and Windows should list that drive/partition with your custom name but instead of the custom name, Windows Explorer always shows that drive’s name as “Local Disk“. So basically Windows Explorer doesn’t recognize the custom label/name of the drive and always shows the default drive label i.e. “Local Disk”.
Following image shows E: drive label as “Local Disk” in Windows Explorer:
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But the E: drive label is set to “Extras” in drive properties as shown in following image:
It doesn’t matter how do you set the label/name for that problematic drive, Windows Explorer always shows default “Local Disk” label for that drive. You can set the custom label for the drive using drive properties, disk management, Command Prompt, 3rd party disk management utilities, etc but Windows Explorer doesn’t show that label.
If you are also facing this problem in Windows, this tutorial will help you in fixing this issue.
Actually this problem occurs if a desktop.ini, autorun.inf, etc file is present in the root of the drive. It overwrites the custom label/name of the drive and forces Windows Explorer to show default “Local Disk” label for the drive.
To fix this issue, you just need to delete these files from the root of the drive. These files might be put by a virus/spyware in your computer and even after scanning and removing the malware using an antivirus/anti-spyware software, these files might remain on the drive.
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To delete these files and show custom drive label in Windows Explorer, follow these simple steps:
1. Open Windows Explorer (File Explorer/This PC/My Computer) and then open Folder Options. If you are using Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 10, you need to click on “View” tab in the ribbon and then click on “Options” button present at the end of the toolbar. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, you need to click on “Organize” menu present in the command bar. You can also press ALT key to temporary show Menu bar and then click on “Tools -> Folder Options” menu.
Alternatively, you can direct open Folder Options using following commands in RUN dialog box:
rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 0
control folders
2. In Folder Options window, go to “View” tab and select “Show hidden files, folders, and drives” option. Also uncheck/disable “Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)” option.
Apply changes and close Folder Options window.
3. Now open the drive which is not showing custom label and look for any of following files:
- Desktop.ini
- Autorun.inf
- Thumbs.db
- lpk.dll
- libeay32.dll
- ssleay32.dll
If you find any of these files present in the drive, delete the file.
That’s it. Now close Windows Explorer and re-open it. Now Windows Explorer will start showing your custom label for the drive.
Thanks a lot! A time ago I haved this problem. I don’t remember how I fixed, but now… I print this solution 😀 For remember 😉
Thanks so much.. I always find solutions on internet… But this the BEST !!.. THANKS A LOT..!
Holly cow it worked!! I found an autorun.inf folder in my external hdd after following the steps (showing hidden files etc). I deleted it, unmount the hdd, and remounted it, and the name changed! But if I changed the name of the hdd again, it goes back to “local disk” so I had to delete the autorun.inf folder again, dismount, and remount, and then the name shows up again. The autorun.inf folder is auto-generated i guess when i renamed my external hdd.
Once again THANK YOU! I’ve been frustrated with this for over a year.
This helped tremendously, thank you!
Remember to deattach the vhd or fd and reattach for the action giving effect to the name.
Holy smoke.. this is the fastest solution, i didnt knew that! Thanks!
I have none of those files and yet the label on my explorer still persists with “Local Disk”.
Weird.
I also have none of those files and yet the label on my explorer still persists with “Local Disk”.
Is there solution for that?
OK, but now what if I want my custom INF file to run and display a custom icon for my removable media?
What I’m seeing in File Explorer Win10 is “Sandisk Extreme CF Card.” What I saw in File Explorer Win7 was Nikon D800 with a custom icon of a CF card. This helped me quickly identify what was in the card reader.
I can see how this fix works great for a lot of people and I’ll keep it in mind as a some point I’m sure it will work for me just not with digital camera memory cards.
Thank you for considering this!
Dave
wow, though this is an old post but it helped me out of my furious condition. wonderful man keep doing the good job.
This is good advice but I found that it only seems to apply to what Windows considers to be fixed drives, not anything classed as a removable drive. The solution I found was a registry hack, for example this changes the label for drive F:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons\F\DefaultLabel]@="My-backup-drive"
Note that for this to work you need to specifically select that drive letter for the drive in Disk Manager beforehand; if you just leave it to Windows to choose the letter it might not pick the same one (eg if you plugged in or unplugged another drive)