Create a Virtual Drive for any folder in Windows

A virtual disk drive is a special folder of an actual physical drive that actually serves as a drive in its own right. You can, for example, create a virtual CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive in Windows. A key advantage of a virtual drive is that it usually saves time. A virtual CD drive, for example, can be read much faster than a physical CD because it exists on the hard drive. The fastest and simplest way to create a virtual drive is to use one of the several free and commercial applications available online. But where’s the fun in that? Read on to learn how to manually create a virtual drive.

Create a Virtual Drive

There is a secret in MS DOS command " subst" which is used to create a virtual drive letter for any folder in My Computer screen.

Click Start and then Run. Now type cmd on the text field. The command prompt will appear. On the command prompt, type subst x: “C:\windows”.

Quote:

Syntax: subst drive-letter:folder-path

The letter “x” represents the drive letter of the virtual drive you wish to create. You can choose any letter as long as it doesn’t already exist on your computer. However, do not use the letters A, C, E, F, or Q because they are common drive letters and your computer may already be using these letters.

C:\windows represents the directory that you want to place your virtual drive. You choose any directory or file on your computer.

After you have input this information in the command prompt, you can view the new drive by going to My Computer.

If you want to delete this virtual drive, then provide following command:

Quote:

Syntax : subst drive_letter: /D

for example, subst j: /D

Note: Tested in Windows XP and Windows Vista