Microsoft KB Archive/49739

Knowledge Base

How ASSIGN Determines True Name of Disk Drive

Article ID: 49739

Article Last Modified on 11/26/2003

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APPLIES TO

• Microsoft MS-DOS 3.1
• Microsoft MS-DOS 3.2 Standard Edition
• Microsoft MS-DOS 3.21 Standard Edition
• Microsoft MS-DOS 3.3 Standard Edition
• Microsoft MS-DOS 3.3a
• Microsoft MS-DOS 4.0 Standard Edition
• Microsoft MS-DOS 4.01 Standard Edition
• Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q49739

SUMMARY

ASSIGN does not check the current name for the disk drive; instead, it retains the "true", original name of the disk drive for reassignment.

If floppy disk Drive A contains a single file named A.TXT and floppy disk Drive B contains a single file named B.TXT, the following commands cause the file B.TXT to be displayed in the directory:

   C> ASSIGN A=B
   C> DIR A:
                

The syntax documentation for the ASSIGN command can be checked to verify that this is what should happen. The first drive specified is the drive that MS-DOS normally reads and writes to. The second is the drive that you want MS-DOS to read and write to when the first drive is referenced.

It is not quite so intuitive how to restore A to A and B to B. The following example demonstrates how to ASSIGN the drive back to itself:

   C> ASSIGN A=A
                

After this command is issued, a DIRectory of Drive A displays the file A.TXT.

Additional query words: 3.20 3.21 3.30 3.30a 4.00 4.01 5.00

Keywords: KB49739

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