MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-270): Installing ...

10-12 Chapter 10 Managing Data Storage
F10us06
Volume Mount Points
Windows XP also allows you to mount a volume by using a path instead of assigning
a drive letter. For example, you could create a folder named C:\Files. You could then
assign the C:\Files path to a new volume labeled Files. When you open the C:\Files
folder within Windows Explorer, you would actually see the information that is stored
on the Files volume. This type of volume is referred to as a mounted volume, and the
folder that the mounted volume is attached to is referred to as a volume mount point.
You can create multiple volume mount points for a single volume. You can dismount
and move a mounted volume to another volume mount point if necessary.
Mounted volumes provide a method of extending the perceived available space on an
existing volume without extending the volume’s actual size. Technically, a mounted
volume is a separate volume, but in the user’s eyes it appears to be an extension of an
existing volume. Therefore, you can use mounted volumes to increase the amount of
disk space that is available on a basic volume to include disk space on another hard
disk (remember that you cannot actually extend a basic volume to include space on
another disk). Also, mounted volumes provide a method for managing multiple volumes
of information from the same drive letter.
Volume mount points are supported on NTFS volumes only. The volume that is being
mounted can be formatted with any supported file system.
To add a mounted volume to an existing volume, follow these steps:
1. In Windows Explorer, create a folder on an NTFS volume to serve as the volume
mount point.
2. In Disk Management, locate the volume for which you want to modify the drive
letter or path information.
3. Right-click the volume and select Change Drive Letter And Path from the Action
menu.
4. In the Change Drive Letter And Paths For New Volume dialog box, click Add to
create a new mounted volume.
5. In the Add Drive Letter Or Path dialog box, click Mount In The Following Empty
NTFS Folder and enter the path to the volume mount point, as shown in Figure 10-6.
Figure 10-6 A mounted volume is actually a path on an existing volume.