Step-by-Step Guide to Dismounting and Remounting a Volume in Windows 11

This guide will demonstrate how to dismount a volume in Windows 11/10 and remount it. When a volume or logical drive is mounted, its files, folders, and other data are accessible within the Windows operating system. Windows typically mounts a newly connected drive or volume automatically, assigning a drive letter to it. Additionally, a unique volume GUID (a 36-character hexadecimal identifier) is assigned for easy recognition of the volume, even when the drive letter is not in use. If you prefer to manually manage your drives and prevent automatic mounting, you can easily unmount a volume by following a few straightforward steps.

What occurs when you dismount a volume?

When you dismount a volume (such as a hard disk or USB drive), Windows will eliminate the volume mount point associated with that drive. This renders the drive inaccessible, as its file system is not open for reading or writing. The drive letter is also unassigned, meaning it can be repurposed for another volume. However, rest assured your data remains secure. When necessary, you can manually mount the volume again to regain access to your data.

How to dismount a volume in Windows 11 and remount it?

There are two primary methods available for dismounting or unmounting a volume in Windows 11 and remounting it when necessary:

1. Dismount a volume using the Disk Management utility
2. Unmount a volume using the Windows Terminal

Let’s explore each method in detail.

1] Dismounting a volume in Windows 11 via Disk Management utility

The Disk Management tool allows users to manage partitions, mount and unmount drives, convert disks, and more. To dismount a volume using Disk Management, follow these steps:

1. Open the Disk Management tool to view the list of volumes.
2. Right-click on the desired disk or volume.
3. Select the Change Drive Letter and Paths option; a confirmation box will appear.
4. Click on the Remove button.
5. A confirmation dialog will pop up.
6. Click Yes to confirm that you wish to dismount the volume.

The volume will no longer appear in This PC or the navigation pane of File Explorer.

Remounting a previously dismounted volume via Disk Management

To remount the previously dismounted volume, follow these steps:

1. Reconnect the dismounted volume.
2. Open the Disk Management utility.
3. Right-click on the dismounted volume.
4. Select the Change Drive Letter and Paths option.
5. Click the Add button in the appearing dialog.
6. A box titled Add Drive Letter or Path will open.
7. Choose the Assign the following drive letter option and select a letter from the dropdown menu. If the last assigned letter is available, you can choose it; otherwise, opt for a different drive letter. You also have the option to mount the drive as a Folder if desired, but for this method, you’ll need to select a drive letter.
8. Click the OK button to finish.

2] Unmounting a volume using Windows Terminal

To unmount a volume using Windows Terminal in Windows 11, perform the following steps:

• Connect the volume or drive you wish to unmount.
• Open Windows Terminal as an administrator (right-click the Start button and select Terminal (Admin)).
• Open a Command Prompt profile in a new tab.
• Now, we will enter a command that includes:
• mountvol command: which allows you to create, view, or delete volume mount points.
• The drive letter for the specific volume you want to dismount, and
• /P parameter, which removes the volume mount point, takes the disk offline, and makes it unmountable. For instance, to unmount drive H, the command would be:

mountvol H: /P

Make sure to substitute H: with the actual drive letter you wish to dismount. The drive will then be successfully unmounted.

Mounting a volume in Windows 11 using Windows Terminal

As mentioned earlier, each mounted volume is assigned a unique identifier known as the volume GUID. This GUID can be utilized to remount the drive after it has been dismounted. Follow the steps below to remount a drive:

1. Reconnect the unmounted volume.
2. Open an elevated Windows Terminal.
3. Access a Command Prompt profile.
4. Run the mountvol command to list volume GUIDs associated with each disk.
5. Look for a volume identified by *** NO MOUNT POINTS *** or *** NOT MOUNTABLE UNTIL A VOLUME MOUNT POINT IS CREATED ***. This will be your dismounted volume. Copy the corresponding GUID. Keep in mind that multiple volumes may have similar messages, so to easily identify the right one, copy the GUID prior to dismounting using the mountvol command.
6. To remount the drive, use the command with mountvol followed by the desired drive letter (for example, H) and the volume GUID. The command would look like this:

Mountvol H: \\?\Volume{8b9d896f-0c6d-11ef-b3d3-40b03400db19}\

And that’s it!

Are you looking to forcefully dismount this volume?

If you attempt to run the CHKDSK command with /f or /r parameters while the volume is being used, you might encounter the following message:

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Chkdsk may run if this volume is dismounted first. ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS VOLUME WOULD THEN BE INVALID. Would you like to force a dismount on this volume? (Y/N)

Selecting Y allows you to proceed. This will first dismount the volume (making it inaccessible), check the basic file system structure, and complete the scanning process.

Once finished, the volume will be ready for use again.

A similar message may also appear when you attempt to format a USB drive using the Format command in Command Prompt.

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