Why would you mount a hard drive as a folder? I am asking this because I have a 120gb SSD hard drive that runs Windows 10 and I also have a 1TB HDD in this computer as well that I have not partitioned yet.
asked Feb 21, 2017 at 5:26
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What do you want to do exactly?– BDRSuiteCommented Feb 21, 2017 at 7:09
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The question is unclear.– OvermindCommented Feb 21, 2017 at 7:31
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I think he is refering to the ability to mount a hard drive as a folder: windowscentral.com/how-mount-hard-drive-folder-windows-10 Is that correct @Charlie? If not please explain where you are seeing the option to mount as a file.– ListerCommented Feb 21, 2017 at 8:54
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@lister your right– BeardedWonder_30Commented Feb 21, 2017 at 15:56
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@Charlie No worries, If we edit your question slightly it should help others who have the same question as you down the line.– ListerCommented Feb 21, 2017 at 16:46
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3 Answers
If you are referring to Windows' option to mount a hard drive as an NTFS (the file system windows runs on) Folder. This folder will appear on your other hard drive, but not take up any space on it.
This means anything you put inside that folder actually goes onto the hard drive.
The benefits are that you do not need to map extra drive letter and it allows you to continue to use a logical folder structure if you have one.
Its not a fantastic idea in practice, as it hides where the files actually are which can be confusing. I'm not sure how windows reports the capacity usage on a drive in use like this, you may have to right click and look at the folder to see usage rather than being able to go to "my computer" and seeing quickly.
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Thanks for the explanation. That's exactly what I was looking for Commented Feb 21, 2017 at 15:57
I have been experimenting with mounting a large HDD to a folder on an NVMe drive to facilitate my Lightroom workflow. I sort of like it but I'll have to give it some time. I have my import folder, on the NVMe part and then move the RAW files to the "Long Term Storage" folder, once my initial edits are complete, which is an 8TB HDD. There is a lot more to it but that's the short version. I think this might help me maintain my workflow and catalogs even if adding additional HDDs at some point.
I've found that it is easy enough in Windows 10 to switch between mounting to a folder or a drive letter, without loosing any data. You can also do both and have the same files available through a drive letter or a folder structure. To do both Just choose "Add" without first removing what you currently have.
When mounted to a folder only, the folder will display the full size of the drive in the file size column of Windows Explorer. That large number is easy to spot and let's you know there is something different going on with that folder. I also changed the folder icon. To see the used and remaining disk space you must right-click the folder, choose 'Properties', and then click the 'Properties' button on the 'Properties' page. Hopefully that makes sense. Not as easy as just looking at 'This PC'.
I've found is that I cannot run a Samsung Magician benchmark unless mounted as a drive letter. I also do not see the drive separated out with utilities like CCleaner or Norton AV. Running a scan on my NVMe will also scan the HDD drive, for example.
You also cannot set a paging file on the mounted folder drive unless there is also a drive letter, if that matters to you.
Charlie was probably right that in practice it may just be too much trouble and confusing. I also have to consider if anyone else in the family could make sense of the configuration if I wasn't around to explain it.
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That answer was really useful, especially about being able to add. I am wondering how different it is to the junction feature used by some to link to large software folders they move without reinstalling them with a new drive letter.– Rob11311Commented Mar 26, 2023 at 13:50
There are only 23 drive letters available to use, apart from A:, B: and C: many may already have uses defined by local convention in a network.
To give a project its own partition, perhaps to free space in C:\ or using a fast disk, mounting the data after moving it to another drive is natural. It also means the data can move with the disk between PCs, simply mount it on the empty folder without worrying about free drive letters.
In general drive letters are a poor anachronistic solution, they are not portable between individual PCs and just create ways for program configurations to break. You have to tell the program where the folder moved to.
It took until Windows 10 for MS to support moving C:\Users onto a different disk drive by drive letter using sysprep in installation. Separating data is something enterprise professionals or home users with small boot SSDs often want to do. Other OS make this really easy, but moving individual user default folders like Documents in Windows still leaves the hidden Appdata folders, which often hog space. The Documents itself has had problems with OneDrive creating hardcoded links in C: after it was moved.
The fact is DOS & Windows has organised data poorly BECAUSE of drive letters.
