Label (command) explained

label
Developer:	Microsoft, IBM, Digital Research, Novell, Joe Cosentino, ReactOS Contributors
Operating System:	MS-DOS, PC DOS, SISNE plus, OS/2, eComStation, ArcaOS, Windows, DR DOS, ROM-DOS, PTS-DOS, FreeDOS, ReactOS
Platform:	Cross-platform
Genre:	Command
License:	MS-DOS, PC DOS, Windows, OS/2: Proprietary commercial software FreeDOS, ReactOS: GNU General Public License

In computing, label is a command included with some operating systems (e.g., DOS, IBM OS/2,^[1] Microsoft Windows^[2] and ReactOS^[3]). It is used to create, change, or delete a volume label on a logical drive, such as a hard disk partition or a floppy disk. Used without parameters, label changes the current volume label or deletes the existing label.

History

The command was originally designed to label floppy disks as a reminder of which one is in the machine. However, it can also be applied to other types of drive such as mapped drives.^[4]

It is available in MS-DOS versions 3.1 and later and IBM PC DOS releases 3 and later.^[5] It is an external command. MS-DOS 4.0x and earlier used label.com as the external file. MS-DOS 5.0 and Windows use label.exe as the external file.^[6] DR DOS 6.0 includes an implementation of the command.^[7] The FreeDOS version was developed by Joe Cosentino and is licensed under the GPL.^[8]

In modern versions of Microsoft Windows, changing the disk label requires elevated permissions. The Windows [[dir (command)|dir]] command displays the volume label and serial number (if it has one) as part of the directory listing.

In Unix and other Unix-like operating systems, the name of the equivalent command differs from file system to file system. For instance, the command [[e2label]] can be used for ext2 partitions.

Syntax

LABEL [drive:][label] LABEL [/MP] [volume] [label]

Arguments:

drive: This command-line argument specifies the drive letter of a drive.
label Specifies the label of the volume.
volume Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon), mount point, or volume name.

Flags:

/MP Specifies that the volume should be treated as a mount point or volume name.

Note: If volume name is specified, the /MP flag is unnecessary.

Example for the command.

C:\Users\root>label D: Backup

Supported file systems

FAT12
FAT16
FAT32
exFAT
NTFS

Limitations

FAT volume labels

FAT volumes have the following limitations:

Volume labels can contain as many as 11 character bytes and can include spaces, but no tabs. The characters are in the OEM code page of the system that created the label.
Volume labels cannot contain the following characters: ? / \ | ., ; : + = [] < > "
Volume labels are stored as upper-case regardless of whether they contain lower-case letters.

NTFS volume labels

NTFS volume labels can contain as many as 32 Unicode characters.

External links

label | Microsoft Docs

Notes and References

Web site: JaTomes Help - OS/2 Commands . www.jatomes.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190414130029/http://www.jatomes.com/Help/Os2Cmd.php . 2019-04-14.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490925.aspx Microsoft TechNet Label article
https://github.com/reactos/reactos/blob/master/base/shell/cmd/label.c
https://ss64.com/nt/label.html Label - Disk label - Windows CMD - SS64.com
Book: Wolverton. Van. Running MS-DOS Version 6.22 (20th Anniversary Edition), 6th Revised edition. 2003. Microsoft Press. 0-7356-1812-7.
https://www.computerhope.com/labelhlp.htm MS-DOS and Windows command line label command
Web site: DR DOS 6.0 User Guide Optimisation and Configuration Tips . 2019-08-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190930135943/http://www.4corn.co.uk/archive/docs/DR%20DOS%206.0%20User%20Guide-opt.pdf . 2019-09-30 . dead .
Web site: FreeDOS 1.2 Updates Package - label (FreeDOS Base) . Ibiblio.org . 2021-11-19 . 2022-09-04.