DriveInfo.GetDrives Method

Definition

Retrieves the drive names of all logical drives on a computer.

public:
 static cli::array <System::IO::DriveInfo ^> ^ GetDrives();
public static System.IO.DriveInfo[] GetDrives ();
static member GetDrives : unit -> System.IO.DriveInfo[]
Public Shared Function GetDrives () As DriveInfo()

Returns

An array of type DriveInfo that represents the logical drives on a computer.

Exceptions

An I/O error occurred (for example, a disk error or a drive was not ready).

The caller does not have the required permission.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates the use of the DriveInfo class to display information about all of the drives on the current system.

using System;
using System.IO;

class Test
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        DriveInfo[] allDrives = DriveInfo.GetDrives();

        foreach (DriveInfo d in allDrives)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Drive {0}", d.Name);
            Console.WriteLine("  Drive type: {0}", d.DriveType);
            if (d.IsReady == true)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("  Volume label: {0}", d.VolumeLabel);
                Console.WriteLine("  File system: {0}", d.DriveFormat);
                Console.WriteLine(
                    "  Available space to current user:{0, 15} bytes",
                    d.AvailableFreeSpace);

                Console.WriteLine(
                    "  Total available space:          {0, 15} bytes",
                    d.TotalFreeSpace);

                Console.WriteLine(
                    "  Total size of drive:            {0, 15} bytes ",
                    d.TotalSize);
            }
        }
    }
}
/*
This code produces output similar to the following:

Drive A:\
  Drive type: Removable
Drive C:\
  Drive type: Fixed
  Volume label:
  File system: FAT32
  Available space to current user:     4770430976 bytes
  Total available space:               4770430976 bytes
  Total size of drive:                10731683840 bytes
Drive D:\
  Drive type: Fixed
  Volume label:
  File system: NTFS
  Available space to current user:    15114977280 bytes
  Total available space:              15114977280 bytes
  Total size of drive:                25958948864 bytes
Drive E:\
  Drive type: CDRom

The actual output of this code will vary based on machine and the permissions
granted to the user executing it.
*/
Imports System.IO

Class Test
    Public Shared Sub Main()
        Dim allDrives() As DriveInfo = DriveInfo.GetDrives()

        Dim d As DriveInfo
        For Each d In allDrives
            Console.WriteLine("Drive {0}", d.Name)
            Console.WriteLine("  Drive type: {0}", d.DriveType)
            If d.IsReady = True Then
                Console.WriteLine("  Volume label: {0}", d.VolumeLabel)
                Console.WriteLine("  File system: {0}", d.DriveFormat)
                Console.WriteLine( _
                    "  Available space to current user:{0, 15} bytes", _
                    d.AvailableFreeSpace)

                Console.WriteLine( _
                    "  Total available space:          {0, 15} bytes", _
                    d.TotalFreeSpace)

                Console.WriteLine( _
                    "  Total size of drive:            {0, 15} bytes ", _
                    d.TotalSize)
            End If
        Next
    End Sub
End Class
'This code produces output similar to the following:
'
'Drive A:\
'  Drive type: Removable
'Drive C:\
'  Drive type: Fixed
'  Volume label: 
'  File system: FAT32
'  Available space to current user:     4770430976 bytes
'  Total available space:               4770430976 bytes
'  Total size of drive:                10731683840 bytes 
'Drive D:\
'  Drive type: Fixed
'  Volume label: 
'  File system: NTFS
'  Available space to current user:    15114977280 bytes
'  Total available space:              15114977280 bytes
'  Total size of drive:                25958948864 bytes 
'Drive E:\
'  Drive type: CDRom
'
'The actual output of this code will vary based on machine and the permissions
'granted to the user executing it.

Remarks

This method retrieves all logical drive names on a computer. You can use this information to iterate through the array and obtain information on the drives using other DriveInfo methods and properties. Use the IsReady property to test whether a drive is ready because using this method on a drive that is not ready will throw a IOException.

Applies to

See also