How to mount hard drive as folder on Windows 10

Windows 10 mount drive on empty folder.

On Windows 10, when your hard drive starts running out of space, the usual solution is to add another drive. While this works, over time, you could end up with a cluttered list of drives, making data management less efficient.

Instead of relying on solutions like Storage Spaces or RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) to merge multiple drives into a single volume, Windows 10 offers a simpler, more organized alternative, which includes mounting a hard drive to a folder instead of assigning it a drive letter. This method not only reduces the number of drive letters but also improves storage organization.

This approach is especially useful when sharing a folder over a network and running low on space. Rather than creating a new network share, you can mount an additional hard drive within the existing shared folder, instantly expanding its storage without disrupting access.

In this how-to guide, I'll explain two ways to mount a hard drive as a folder on your device using the Disk Management console.

How to assign folder path mount-point to drive with data on Windows 10

To mount a drive with data as a folder with Disk Management, use these steps:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Open the folder location where you want the mount point to appear.
3. Click the New folder button on the "Home" tab.
4. Confirm a name for the folder, such as "StoragePool."

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

5. Open the newly created folder.
6. Click the New folder button on the "Home" tab to create a folder to mount the drive, such as HardDrive1.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

7. (Optional) Repeat step 6 to create an additional folder depending on the number of hard drives you want to mount as folders.
8. Open Start.
9. Search for Disk Management and click the top result to open the console.
10. Right-click the drive you want to mount and select the "Change Drive Letter and Paths" option.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

11. Click the Add button.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

12. Select the "Mount in the following empty NTFS folder" option.
13. Click the Browse button.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

14. Select the folder you created on step 6.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

15. Click the OK button.
16. Click the OK button again.
17. (Optional) Right-click the drive again and select the "Change Drive Letter and Paths" option.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

18. Select the current drive letter (not the mount point).
19. Click the Remove button.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

20. Click the Yes button.

Once you complete the steps, the secondary hard drive will now be accessible from the folder location you created.

How to assign folder path mount-point to drive without data on Windows 10

To mount an empty drive as a folder with Disk Management, use these steps:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Open the folder location where you want the mount point to appear.
3. Click the New folder button on the "Home" tab.
4. Confirm a name for the folder, such as StoragePool.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

5. Open the newly created folder.
6. Click the New folder button on the "Home" tab to create a folder to mount the drive, such as HardDrive1.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

7. (Optional) Repeat step 6 to create an additional folder depending on the number of hard drives you want to mount as folders.
8. Open Start.
9. Search for Disk Management and click the top result to open the console.
10. Right-click the empty drive you want to mount as a folder and select the "New Simple Volume" option.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

11. Click the Next button.
12. Click the Next button again.
13. Select the "Mount in the following empty NTFS folder" option.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

14. Click the Browse button.
15. Select the folder you created in step 6.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

16. Click the OK button.
17. Click the Next button again.
18. Select the "Format this volume with the following settings" option.
19. Use the default settings for "file system," "allocation unit size," and "volume label" options.
20. Check the "Perform a quick format" option.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

21. Click the Next button.
22. Click the Finish button.

After you complete the steps, the new drive will be formatted and mounted as a folder from the specified folder.

When using this solution, each drive will continue to work independently without redundancy, which means that if a drive fails, you will lose the data on that drive but not on the others. If you have important data, it is always recommended to periodically create a backup.

More resources

Find in-depth guides, troubleshooting tips, and the latest updates on Windows 11 and 10 here:

• Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
• Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know