Microsoft changed directory setting

[kathiemayt]

I have thousands of images on a backup directory which was known as F. But a recent Microsoft update has now changed the backup directory name to H and, of course, Lightroom is now showing all of those previously referenced folders on F: directory with ?.  How on earth do I get this sorted? It will mean I need to either name the referenced directory as H - if there's a way to do that, or somehow tell Lightroom that the folder is now elsewhere, which is isn't really, it's just got a new name.

What do I do please?

[AxelMatt · Accepted solution]

You can change the drive letter back to F. A description how this can be done you'll find here:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/disk-management/change-a-drive-letter

Another alternative is that you Lightroom tell where to find the appropriate pictures.

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/lightroom-photos-missing-fix/

[kathiemayt]

Thank you, will check both of those out. I'll let you know how I go. Appreciated.

[kathiemayt]

The Disk Management Tool worked perfectly. Thank you so much. At first it didn't show F as available - somehow it had been assigned to a removable USB item so I reassigned that to M and then reassigned the original external hard drive back to F. Lightroom is now seeing my images again. Cool tip. Thank you.

[richardplondon]

Just to warn you, assigning a removable drive a particular letter (say, F) , will not block that letter from having already been auto-assigned to some other drive, which has "got in first" on a future occasion. In that case this drive cannot be granted the particular letter it is asking for, so gets the lowest currently unoccupied letter instead.

To greatly reduce likelihood of this drive letter conflict, when choosing a "fixed" letter, choose one much further on through the alphabet (say, between M and Z). That'll keep well out of the way, of any accidentally auto-assigned drive letters.

There is no particular difficulty with your current F: now changing to appear as e.g. P: - only, a simple re-addressing is needed within the Catalog. NO REIMPORTING: just re-browsing the path for the top-level folder those images appear within. They will then pick up seamlessly under the new drive reference, acting otherwise just as if nothing had changed.