Drive class

A Drive represents a disk drive or a network share: its type, label, file system, serial number and free space, and its root folder. It has the members of the Drive of the Scripting Runtime, and adds SerialNumberHex and UnsignedSerialNumber.

A Drive is not created with New. GetDrive returns one, GetDrives returns a Drives collection of them, and so do File.Drive and Folder.Drive.

Dim d As Drive
Set d = GetDrive(Left$(GetSpecialFolder(sfWindowsFolder), 2))
Debug.Print d.Path = Left$(GetSpecialFolder(sfWindowsFolder), 2)   ' True
Debug.Print d.IsReady                                              ' True
Debug.Print d.DriveType = DriveTypeConst.Fixed                     ' True
Debug.Print d.TotalSize > d.FreeSpace                              ' True
Debug.Print Len(d.SerialNumberHex)                                 ' 9

Dim d As Drive
For Each d In GetDrives()
    If d.IsReady Then
        Debug.Print d.Path & " " & d.VolumeName & " " & d.FreeSpace
    End If
Next

A Drive asks Windows each time

A Drive keeps only its root, such as C: or \\server\share. Every property asks Windows again, because free space, readiness and media can change, so there is no method to refresh it. Reading the label, the file system and the serial number makes three calls, although one would give all three.

Drives that are not ready. A drive with no media, such as an empty optical drive or a card reader with no card, cannot be queried. The size, label, file system and serial number properties raise error 71 (Disk not ready) for it. Test IsReady first when that can happen.

Letter and share. A Drive made from a network path has no letter and a share name, and a local drive has a letter and no share name:

The drive	DriveLetter	ShareName
a local drive, `C:`	`C`	an empty string
a share given by its network path	an empty string	`\\server\share`

DriveTypeConst

The type of a drive, for DriveType. The enumeration is declared in the class, and its members are global: they are written Fixed or DriveTypeConst.Fixed. Drive.Fixed and Drive.DriveTypeConst.Fixed do not compile. Its values are those of the Scripting Runtime. They are one less than the numbers that Windows gives the same types, except for UnknownType.

Member	Value	Meaning
UnknownType	0	The type is not known, or the drive does not exist.
Removable	1	A removable disk, such as a USB disk or a floppy disk.
Fixed	2	A fixed disk.
Remote	3	A network drive.
CDRom	4	An optical drive.
RamDisk	5	A RAM disk.

In a project that references the Scripting Runtime as well, these names compile unqualified whichever library is listed first; see Using the package with the Scripting Runtime.

Properties

AvailableSpace

The free bytes that the current user can use.

Syntax: object.AvailableSpace As LongLong

Counts the disk quota of the user, so on a volume with quotas it can be less than FreeSpace. This is the number to check before a write.

DriveLetter

The letter of the drive.

Syntax: object.DriveLetter As String

One uppercase letter. An empty string for a Drive that was made from a network path.

DriveType

The type of the drive.

Syntax: object.DriveType As DriveTypeConst

A DriveTypeConst member. A drive that Windows cannot classify is UnknownType.

FileSystem

The name of the file system.

Syntax: object.FileSystem As String

NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and so on.

FreeSpace

The free bytes on the volume.

Syntax: object.FreeSpace As LongLong

The free space of the whole volume, which a disk quota does not reduce; compare AvailableSpace.

IsReady

Whether the drive can be queried.

Syntax: object.IsReady As Boolean

True when Windows answers a request for the free space of the drive. This raises no error, so it is the test to make before reading a size, a label or a serial number.

Path

The path of the drive. This is the default member, so an object used where a string is wanted gives its path.

Syntax: object.Path As String

The letter and a colon, C:, or \\server\share. There is no backslash at the end.

RootFolder

The root folder of the drive.

Syntax: object.RootFolder As Folder

Returns the Folder for the root of the drive, C:\.

SerialNumber

The serial number of the volume, as a signed Long.

Syntax: object.SerialNumber As Long

The serial number is an unsigned 32-bit value, and a Long is signed, so a number with its highest bit set is negative. SerialNumberHex gives the usual form, and UnsignedSerialNumber the number.

SerialNumberHex

The serial number of the volume, in the form that Windows Explorer shows.

Syntax: object.SerialNumberHex As String

Eight hexadecimal digits with a hyphen in the middle, D4A1-B2C3.

ShareName

The network path of the drive.

Syntax: object.ShareName As String

For a Drive made from a network path, the path itself. An empty string for a local drive. For a drive letter that is mapped to a network path, the property asks Windows for that path.

TotalSize

The size of the volume, in bytes.

Syntax: object.TotalSize As LongLong

UnsignedSerialNumber

The serial number of the volume, as an unsigned number.

Syntax: object.UnsignedSerialNumber As LongLong

A value from 0 to 4,294,967,295.

VolumeName

The label of the volume.

Syntax: object.VolumeName [ = value ]

Reading returns the label, which is an empty string when the volume has none. Setting it changes the label of the volume.