MS DOS Command: LABEL.EXE

Reference from Microsoft MS-DOS cmd help

Description

Creates, changes, or deletes the volume label (name) of a disk.

MS-DOS displays the volume label as part of the directory listing. If a volume serial number exists, MS-DOS displays this number as well.

Syntax

LABEL [drive:][label]

To specify that MS-DOS is to display the current volume label and serial number, if they exist, and that MS-DOS is to prompt you to enter a label or delete the existing one, use the following syntax:

LABEL

Parameters

drive:	Specifies the location of the disk you want to name.
label	Specifies the new volume label. You must include a colon (:) between drive and label.

Related Commands

For information about displaying the current disk label, see the DIR or VOL command.

For information about the volume serial number of a disk, see the VOL command.

Remarks

LABEL command messages

If you do not specify a label when you use the LABEL command, MS-DOS displays a message in the following format:

Volume in drive A is xxxxxxxxxxx

Volume Serial Number is xxxx-xxxx

Volume label (11 characters, ENTER for none)?

The "Volume Serial Number" part of the message is not displayed if the disk has no serial number.

You can type the volume label you want or press ENTER to delete the current label. If a disk has a label and you press ENTER for none, MS-DOS prompts you with the following message:

Delete current volume label (Y/N)?

Press Y to delete the label; press N to keep the label.

Limitations on volume label names

A volume label can contain as many as 11 characters and can include spaces but no tabs. Consecutive spaces may be interpreted as a single space.

Do not use any of the following characters in a volume label:

* ? / \ | . , ; : + = [ ] ( ) & ^ < > "

MS-DOS displays volume labels in uppercase letters. If you enter a volume label in lower-case letters, the LABEL command converts the letters to uppercase.

Using LABEL with a redirected drive

LABEL does not work on a drive created with the SUBST command.

Examples

To label a disk in drive A that contains sales information for 1991, you might type the following:

label a:sales1991