Note
This page provides information on how to determine which drives and drive letters your computer is using currently. It is not a list of all of the possible drive letters.
Jul 14, 2020 If you can't find the button, you can open the Computer window (assuming you are running windows) and right click on the optical drive and select eject. You could also stick a paper clip into the hole in the front of the drive to eject it. (I guess if you can't find the button you wouldn't be able to see the tiny hole in the front of the drive. I didn't really think I'd find an answer here, but the web continues to amaze me. They sure did a good job of camouflaging that switch, making it part of the trim, on the exterior of the bay. I had just resorted to putting a shortcut on my desktop for the drive so that I could right click for the the 'eject' option. Now I can save that valuable. Jan 24, 2019 To play a CD or DVD. Insert the disc you want to play into the drive. Typically, the disc will start playing automatically. If it doesn't play, or if you want to play a disc that is already inserted, open Windows Media Player, and then, in the Player Library, select the disc name in the navigation pane. May 26, 2010 Or maybe you will want to install a program from a compact disc. Notes on opening a cd to see its contents: You can experiment and try to open a cd drive. Put a disc in your cd drive and then go to my computer and try to open the cd to see its contents. If you open the wrong cd drive nothing will happen, just close that and open the correct one.
See drives in Windows 10 and Windows 8
If you're running Windows 10 or Windows 8, you can view all mounted drives in File Explorer. You can open File Explorer by pressing Win+E (hold down the Windows key and press E). In the left pane, select This PC, and all drives are shown on the right. The screenshot shows a typical view of This PC, with three mounted drives.
OS & Primary Software (C:)
In our first example, the C: and F: drives are hard drives. Most computers only have a C: drive. The hard drive is the primary location where all files are stored on your computer. To open the drive, double-click the drive.
TipIn our example, the drives are labeled 'Local Disk' and 'New Volume.' A hard drive can be labeled anything and may be different on your computer. For steps on changing the name of your drive, see: How to rename or label a disk drive.
NoteAll new computers no longer have a floppy drive (A: or B:) but still start with the C: drive by default. For the history of why a computer starts with the C: drive, see: Why is the hard drive the C: drive?
DVD RW Drive (D:)
The D: drive in this example is the optical disc drive installed in the computer. In most situations, the disc drive will be the last drive letter. If a disc is in the drive, the contents of that disc will be shown if you double-click the drive icon.
TipIf the drive AutoPlays the disc, right-click the drive and click Explore.
See available drives in Microsoft Windows 7 and earlier
Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, XP, and earlier users can identify which drives Windows has detected by opening File Explorer and then My Computer or pressing the Windows key+E shortcut key. The picture is an example of My Computer. As you can see in this example, three different drive types are listed.
TipIn Windows 7 and earlier versions, you can access My Computer (Computer) by double-clicking the icon on the desktop. Or, open the Start menu, and select My Computer or Computer, depending on the version of Windows you're using.
3 1/2 Floppy (A:)
If the computer has a floppy disk drive, this drive will be visible and is usually set as the A: drive. If any floppy diskette is in the computer and the A: drive is opened, its contents will be shown.
NoteAll new computers no longer have a floppy drive (A: or B:) but still start with the C: drive by default. For the history of why a computer starts with the C: drive, see: Why is the hard drive the C: drive?
Local Disk (C:), New Volume (D:), and New Volume (E:)
Next, in our example, the C:, D:, and E: drives are hard drives or hard drive partitions on the computer. Most computers only have a C: drive. The hard drive is the primary location where all files are stored on your computer.
Tip In our example, the drives are labeled 'Local Disk' and 'New Volume.' A hard drive can be labeled anything and may be different on your computer. For steps on changing the name of your drive, see: How to rename or label a disk drive.
Compact Disc (F:)
Finally, the F: drive in this example is the optical disc drive installed in the computer. In most situations, the disc drive will be the last drive letter. If a disc is in the drive, the contents of that disc will be shown if you double-click the drive icon.
TipIf the drive AutoPlays the disc, right-click the drive, and click Explore.
See drives in Windows 3.0, 3.1, and 3.11
Windows 3.0, 3.1, and 3.11 users can open drives through the Windows File Manager. In the File Manager, click the drive icons shown above the folder and files. By default, the C: drive will be open. If you want to move to the floppy disk drive, click the A: drive icon. If you're going to open the CD drive, click the D: CD-ROM drive icon.
See drives in MS-DOS and the Windows command line
Windows Vista, 7, 8, and 10 command line users
If you're using Windows Vista, 7, or 8, use the wmic command at the Windows command line to view available drives on the computer. At the prompt, type the following command.
Open Dvd Player On Dell Desktop
Or, for a little more information, such as volume size, use this command:
- See our wmic command page for further information and examples on this command.
Other Windows command line and MS-DOS version users
Unfortunately, there is no easy way to list all available drives on the computer through the MS-DOS prompt with one command. Below are different recommendations for viewing drives.
Change drive letter
Change the drive to an alternate drive letter to determine if a drive is available and ready if no error message is received.
Fdisk
Running the fdisk command allows you to view how the hard drives are set up and configured on the computer. However, this command is only possible if you're running a version of MS-DOS or Windows that supports fdisk.
- See the fdisk command page for additional information about this command.
vol
Running the vol command on a drive displays the drive label and serial number if available. This command allows you to see what drives are detected.
- See the vol command page for additional information and help with this command.
See drives in the Apple macOS
From the menu bar, select Go, and select Computer or press Shift+Command+C keyboard shortcut.
You can also view all drives through the Finder application.
See drives in Linux
Linux users can use the fdisk command to see their partition and drive information.
Additional information
Open Disc Drive Tray Dell
- See the drive and storage device pages for further information and related links.