Simple clear advice in plain English

Why have my shortcuts stopped working?

A reader comes up with a way to keep shortcuts working properly

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I was having problems with shortcuts that stopped working and discovered that this was because Windows had given the drive letter to a different USB memory key. As it does not always give the same letter to the same drive, shortcuts can stop working properly.

My solution is to assign a drive letter by hand that is further down the alphabet, and so less likely to be used for another drive.

Click on the Start button, right-click on Computer and then click on Manage. Click on OK if the User Account Control message appears. Click on Disk Management in the left-hand column.

Right-click on the device (it’ll be shown in the bottom section, even if the drive letter has been used by another device). Select Change drive letter and Paths…, then click on Change and select a different drive letter from the dropdown menu. Click OK to save the changes. Now only letters not in use will be shown.

Ken Ince

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