New partitions may appear in File Explorer after installing the Windows 10 April 2018 Update (version 1803)

Anonymous
2018-05-05T00:04:15+00:00

After installing the April 2018 Update to upgrade to Windows 10 version 1803, a new partition appears in File Explorer.  I’m also constantly getting warnings that the partition is low in space, and there are no options to delete this partition.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Files, folders, and storage

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Anonymous
2018-05-05T00:35:03+00:00

Microsoft is aware that previously-hidden partitions are improperly being assigned drive letters after installing the April 2018 Update.  As a result, they now appear in Disk Management and File Explorer.  These partitions are typically recovery partitions used by the Windows Recovery Environment or by the Original Equipment Manufacturer.  It is not recommended that you attempt to delete or reformat these partitions as this may have adverse effects on your ability to recover Windows.  Microsoft is currently working to address the issue in a future Windows Update, and we’ll update this thread when a solution becomes available. 

(Update 5/14/18: The solution that will soon be released via Windows Update will only prevent this issue from occurring for devices that install the April 2018 Update after the solution is released.  If you've already installed the April 2018 Update and are experiencing this issue, you'll need to follow the steps below if you want to hide these partitions.)

(Updated 7/24/18 to provide a simpler solution.)

Although you may safely ignore previously hidden partitions, you can hide them again by removing the partition’s assigned drive letter.

1.  Select the Start  button, type cmd, select and hold (or right-click) Command Prompt in the list of results, and then choose Run as administrator.

2.  In the Administrator: Command Prompt window, type the following command, where [drive letter] is the drive letter you want to remove, then press Enter.

mountvol [drive letter] /d

3.  The drive letter will no longer appear in File Explorer and Disk Management. You may close the command prompt window. 

________________________________

The original solution using diskpart is provided below:

1. Select the Start button, type cmd and then right-click Command Prompt in the search results and select Run as administrator.

2. In the Administrator:  Command Prompt window, type diskpart and press Enter.

3. Type list volume and press Enter.

4. Make note of the volume number for the drive letter you want to remove.  For example, if the drive letter you want to remove is Drive “G”, note the volume number for Drive G.

5. Type the following command, and press Enter. 

 select volume**<volume number>**

When typing this command, in place of <volume number>, substitute the volume number you made note of in Step 4.   In the example above, if the volume number for drive G is 5, you would type: select volume****5

6. Type the following command and press Enter.

remove letter= <drive letter>

When typing this command, in place of <drive letter>, substitute the drive letter you want to remove.  In this example, you would type: **remove letter=**G

7. Close the Command Prompt window.

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Anonymous
2018-06-13T01:11:00+00:00

The cure is what Tiero Chi posted. It is marked as the answer. For neatness sake...

(a) Insert Step 6.5 - Exit - to leave DiskPart.

(b) If you've got a CD_ROM & its letter was pushed from D: to E:,

     use Disk Management to change it back as I posted on page 8.

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-05-05T07:22:08+00:00

    Microsoft is aware that previously-hidden partitions are improperly being assigned drive letters after installing the April 2018 Update.  As a result, they now appear in Disk Management and File Explorer.  These partitions are typically recovery partitions used by the Windows Recovery Environment or by the Original Equipment Manufacturer.  It is not recommended that you attempt to delete or reformat these partitions as this may have adverse effects on your ability to recover Windows.  Microsoft is currently working to address the issue in a future Windows Update, and we’ll update this thread when a solution becomes available.

    In the meantime, you can safely ignore these partitions.  If you prefer, you can do away with the low disk space warnings and hide the partitions so they don’t appear in File Explorer by manually removing the partition’s assigned drive letter.  To do this:

    1. In Cortana, type cmd and press Enter.  Then right-click Command Prompt in the search results and select Run as administrator.

    2. In the Administrator:  Command Prompt window, type diskpart and press Enter.

    3. Type list volume and press Enter.

    4. Make note of the volume number for the drive letter you want to remove.  For example, if the drive letter you want to remove is Drive “G”, note the volume number for Drive G.

    5. Type the following command, and press Enter. 

     select volume**<volume number>**

    When typing this command, in place of <volume number>, substitute the volume number you made note of in Step 4.   In the example above, if the volume number for drive G is 5, you would type: select volume****5

    6. Type the following command and press Enter.

    remove letter= <drive letter>

    When typing this command, in place of <drive letter>, substitute the drive letter you want to remove.  In this example, you would type: **remove letter=**G

    7. Close the Command Prompt window.

    According to Reddit website drive reappears after reboot:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/8gj0hb/after\_the\_april\_update\_a\_local\_disk\_e\_appeared\_in/?st=jgqaz6lc&sh=afb68f4e

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-05-17T12:04:00+00:00

    Have I missed something???

    Microsoft introduces their error to my computer... And I am supposed to clear up 'Microsofts' mess - myself?

    Call me old fashioned... Microsoft created the problem... Microsoft is legally rsponsible for correcting the error themselves!

    I want compensation, if I am required to resolve the issue myself. Otherwise, Microsoft, sort out the problem you created... yourself!!!

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-05-08T17:12:51+00:00

    Worked fine also after reboot.

    I wanted to remove H:

    C:\WINDOWS\system32>diskpart

    Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.17134.1

    Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.

    On computer: STAT1

    DISKPART> list volume

      Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type        Size     Status     Info

      ----------  ---  -----------  -----  ----------  -------  ---------  --------

      Volume 0     D   New Volume   NTFS   Partition   2794 GB  Healthy

      Volume 1     H                NTFS   Partition    450 MB  Healthy

      Volume 2     C                NTFS   Partition    232 GB  Healthy    Boot

      Volume 3                      FAT32  Partition    100 MB  Healthy    System

      Volume 4         Recovery     NTFS   Partition    450 MB  Healthy

      Volume 5     E                NTFS   Partition    465 GB  Healthy

      Volume 6                      FAT32  Partition    100 MB  Healthy    Hidden

      Volume 7         Recovery     NTFS   Partition    300 MB  Healthy

      Volume 8     F                NTFS   Partition    464 GB  Healthy

      Volume 9                      NTFS   Partition    450 MB  Healthy

      Volume 10                     NTFS   Partition    451 MB  Healthy

      Volume 11                     FAT32  Partition     99 MB  Healthy    Hidden

      Volume 12    G   INTENSO      NTFS   Partition   3726 GB  Healthy

    DISKPART> select volume 1

    Volume 1 is the selected volume.

    DISKPART> remove letter=H

    DiskPart successfully removed the drive letter or mount point.

    DISKPART>

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