How to cd to a Different Drive in Windows

To cd to a different drive on Windows, use either the bare drive letter (D:) or cd /d D:\path. Plain cd D:\ doesn’t switch drives — it silently updates D:’s remembered directory without leaving C:. The /d flag tells cd to change both the drive and the directory.

Contents

TL;DR
The drive-letter shortcut
Switch drive AND directory in one shot
PowerShell users — ignore all of this
Frequently asked questions
Related guides
References

Last verified: 2026-05-17 on Windows 11 cmd. Originally published 2022-09-30, rewritten and updated 2026-05-17.

TL;DR

:: Just switch drives, keep D:'s current directory
D:

:: Switch drive AND change directory in one go
cd /d D:\projects\site

:: cmd doesn't switch drives without /d — this is a no-op
cd D:\

The drive-letter shortcut

The fastest way to switch is to type the drive letter followed by a colon, with nothing else:

C:\Users\you> D:
D:\projects\site>

cmd switches to D: and resumes whatever directory was last current on that drive. Each drive has its own “current directory” — try cd on its own to see what cmd thinks the current directory is on the new drive.

cd to different drive Windows — D: switches drive, cd /d switches both drive and directory

Switch drive AND directory in one shot

cd /d D:\projects\site

The /d flag is the only way to change both in a single cd call. Without it, cmd silently does nothing visible — exactly the behavior that trips everyone up the first time.

PowerShell users — ignore all of this

PS C:\Users\you> cd D:\projects\site
PS D:\projects\site>

PowerShell’s cd (alias for Set-Location) handles cross-drive changes natively. The /d dance only applies to classic cmd.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn’t cd D:\ work in Windows?

Because plain cd in cmd only changes the directory on the current drive. Typing cd D:\ while sitting on C: changes what cmd remembers as D:’s current directory, but the prompt stays on C:. To actually switch drives, you either type the drive letter alone (D:) or use cd /d D:\path.

What does the /d flag do?

It tells cd to change both the drive and the directory in one command. cd /d D:\projects\site drops you straight into that path on D: regardless of which drive you started on. Without /d, cmd only changes the directory and prints nothing — a silent no-op that confuses everyone the first time.

Does PowerShell behave differently?

Yes — PowerShell’s Set-Location (alias cd) handles cross-drive changes natively: cd D:\projects works without any extra flag. The /d trick is a cmd-specific workaround. If you’re using PowerShell, just cd normally.

Can I jump to a drive that doesn’t exist or has no media?

No — cd /d X:\ with no drive X mounted returns The system cannot find the path specified. Useful as a quick check that a USB stick or network drive is actually mapped before scripts assume it’s there.

What about navigating UNC paths (network shares)?

cd by itself can’t make UNC paths (\\server\share) the current directory in cmd — that’s a long-standing cmd limitation. Workarounds: map the share to a drive letter first (net use Z: \\server\share) then cd /d Z:\, or use PowerShell where Set-Location \\server\share just works.