Fix Local Disk E Randomly Appearing in Windows 10

If you see a Local Disk (E:) drive appear in File Explorer that you didn’t create, it’s usually not a new hard drive—it’s a phantom partition, a leftover from a USB drive, or a hidden recovery volume that Windows assigned a letter to. This guide walks you through the steps to identify why it appeared and safely remove or hide it so it stops showing up.

What You’ll Need

Administrator access to your Windows 10 PC
About 15 minutes of time
Optional: a USB drive or SD card to test if the drive appears only when one is connected

Step-by-Step

Check if it’s an actual drive. Open File Explorer and look at the E: drive. If it shows a capacity and used space, right-click it and select Properties. If the General tab shows a file system like NTFS or FAT32, it’s real. If it shows RAW or 0 bytes, it’s likely a phantom.
Open Disk Management. Press Windows Key + X and select Disk Management. Look for the E: volume in the lower pane. Note which disk number it’s on (e.g., Disk 0, Disk 1) and whether it’s on the same physical drive as your C: drive or a separate one.
Identify the partition type. In Disk Management, right-click the E: partition and select Properties. Under the General tab, look at the Description. If it says “OEM Partition,” “Recovery Partition,” or “System Reserved,” it’s a hidden partition that got a drive letter.
Remove the drive letter (the safe fix). Right-click the E: partition in Disk Management and select Change Drive Letter and Paths…. Click on E: and then click Remove. Confirm the warning. This does not delete the partition or any data—it just stops Windows from showing it as a drive.
If the drive letter returns after reboot, disable the partition’s visibility. Open Command Prompt as Administrator (search “cmd,” right-click, run as admin). Type diskpart and press Enter. Then type list volume and find the volume number that matches the E: drive (look at the Ltr column). Type select volume X (replace X with the volume number) and press Enter. Then type remove letter=E and press Enter. Type exit to close.
If the drive appears only when a USB device is plugged in, update the USB driver. Open Device Manager (right-click Start > Device Manager). Expand Disk drives. Right-click the USB drive and select Uninstall device. Disconnect the USB drive, restart your PC, then reconnect it. Windows will reinstall the driver fresh.
Check for a hidden SD card reader. Many laptops have a built-in SD card reader that shows a drive letter even when no card is inserted. If Disk Management shows a card reader with no media, you can disable it in Device Manager under Memory technology devices or Disk drives. Right-click and select Disable device.
Run a disk check if the partition is on your main drive. If the E: partition is on the same physical disk as C:, it might be a corrupted partition table. Open Command Prompt as Admin and type chkdsk C: /f (if C: is your system drive). You’ll need to restart to let it run. This checks for file system errors that might cause phantom letters.
If all else fails, use Diskpart to assign a different letter. Sometimes a letter conflict causes the phantom. In Disk Management, right-click the E: partition, select Change Drive Letter and Paths, click Change, and assign a letter like Z:. Then reboot and see if it disappears. If it does, you can remove the letter afterward.
Consider a registry workaround (advanced). If the drive keeps reappearing after every reboot, it might be a leftover mount point. Open Registry Editor (type regedit in Run). Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices. Look for a value named \DosDevices\E:. Right-click and delete it. This removes the mount point assignment. Backup the registry first (File > Export).

Common Mistakes

Deleting the partition instead of just removing the letter. This can wipe recovery data or even your system boot files if it’s an OEM partition.
Removing the letter from the wrong partition. Double-check that the E: in Disk Management matches the E: in File Explorer—especially if you have multiple disks.
Assuming it’s a virus. A phantom drive is rarely malware; it’s almost always a Windows partition or driver issue.
Skipping the USB check. If you have a USB hub or card reader, test without it before diving into registry edits.

Tips

Always create a System Restore point before making registry changes or using diskpart.
If the E: drive appears after every Windows update, it might be a bug in that update—check for a newer cumulative update.
Use Disk Management’s View > All Drives to see hidden partitions clearly.
If you have a dual-boot system, the other OS might create a system partition that Windows assigns a letter to.

Troubleshooting

The drive letter removal didn’t stick. This usually means the partition is being recreated by a driver or BIOS setting. Try updating your chipset drivers from your motherboard manufacturer’s website. Also, check your BIOS/UEFI for any “USB Legacy” or “Card Reader” settings that might force a drive letter.

Disk Management shows the partition as “Healthy (Recovery Partition)”. Do not delete this. It’s needed for Windows recovery. Instead, remove the letter and also disable the partition’s visibility in Diskpart using the set id command (but only if you’re comfortable with advanced steps—otherwise, leave it).

The drive shows as RAW and Windows asks to format it. Do not format. This could be a sign of a failing drive. Run chkdsk E: /f from an admin command prompt first. If that fails, use a third-party data recovery tool before doing anything else.

The phantom drive appears only after you plug in a specific USB device. That device might have a built-in card reader or virtual CD-ROM. Check the device’s own settings or update its firmware.

You see two E: drives in Disk Management. This is impossible—drive letters are unique. If you see two, one is likely a network drive or a mapped drive. Check net use in Command Prompt to see mapped drives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is it safe to delete the E: drive if I don’t need it?
A: No. Deleting a partition can remove recovery tools or even boot files. Always remove the drive letter first, which is safe and reversible.

Q: Why does the E: drive appear after I plug in a USB flash drive?
A: Some USB drives have multiple partitions (e.g., a CD-ROM partition for software). Windows assigns letters to all of them. Check Disk Management to see if the E: is on the USB drive itself.

Q: Can I hide the drive without removing the letter?
A: Yes, you can hide it in File Explorer via Group Policy (gpedit.msc) under User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer > “Hide these specified drives in My Computer.” But this only hides it, not removes the letter.

Q: Will removing the drive letter affect my system’s boot?
A: Only if the partition contains boot files (like the System Reserved partition). If it’s a recovery partition, removing the letter won’t affect booting, but it might prevent recovery tools from working if you need them.

Q: The E: drive appears but shows 0 bytes. What does that mean?
A: That usually means the partition is empty or the file system is corrupted. Run chkdsk on it. If it’s a card reader with no card, it will show 0 bytes—that’s normal.

Q: I don’t have an E: drive in Disk Management, but File Explorer shows it.
A: This can happen with network drives or virtual drives created by software like Daemon Tools. Check “This PC” > “Map network drive” and your installed software’s virtual drives.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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