Top 5 Ways to Fix Local Device Name Already In Use Error in Windows 10

Windows lets you map network drives to skip typing the address every time you want to use it. And there are times when you get the ‘local device name already in use’ error. The problem mostly occurs when there are problems with file and printer sharing settings and unassigned drive letters. Fortunately, there are several ways to fix it.

There are several reasons for the error. The most common are:

• Unassigned or incorrect drive letters.
• Disabled file and printer sharing options.
• Insufficient disk space on the network server.
• Problems in the mapping process.

We have compiled solutions to fix the ‘local device name is already in use’ error in Windows 10.

1. Assign or Change a Drive Letter

A missing or incorrect drive letter can cause a ‘local device name is already in use’ error in Windows. Follow this process to assign or change the drive letter.

Stage 1: Right-click the Windows Start button, find Disk management and click on it.

Step 2: When the Disk Management window opens, locate the partition whose letter you want to change and right-click on it.

Stage 3: Select, Change Drive Letter and Paths.

Step 4: In the next window, click Add.

Step 5: Select Assign the following drive letter and choose your preferred drive from the drop-down menu. Press OK to update the changes.

Note: It is recommended that you do not select drive A or B from the new drive letters. This is because these drives contain floppy versions of previous software, and assigning them to existing drives can break old programs.

2. Remap Network Drive

The Windows system assigns certain letters to your computer drives. However, during network mapping, drive letters may be confused or not have drive letters assigned for mapping. In such cases, you need to remap the network drive to fix the problem. Here’s how you can do that.

Stage 1: Type cmd in the Windows search bar and select the Run command option on the left.

Step 2: On the right, click Run as administrator.

Stage 3: Copy and paste this command and press Enter.

net use Z /delete

Remember to replace the ‘Z’ with the partition you want to delete.

Step 4: After deleting the device name, change it by running this command.

net use Z: \\server\share /user:username password

Remember to use the same drive letter ‘Z’ as where you want to map the drive. Also, enter a corresponding user and username password for the drive you want to change.

Step 5: Restart your device and confirm that the pairing issue is resolved.

3. Enable File and Printer Sharing

The error can also occur if the file and printer sharing options are turned off. Enable settings through Windows Defender Firewall to fix the error. Here’s how you can do that.

Stage 1: Medicine Control Panel In the Windows search bar and press Enter.

Step 2: Click System and Security.

Stage 3: In the Allowed apps window, find Windows Defender Firewall and tap ‘Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall’.

Step 4: Tap on Change settings and grant permissions if administrator permissions are required.

Step 5: Go to file and sharing option and check the boxes.

Complete the process by pressing OK and restarting your computer.

4. Change the Value of Protection Mode

Changing the value of the protection mode may also fix the problem. You can use the Registry editor to perform this operation.

Stage 1: Press Windows + R keys, type regedit text box and press Enter to open the Registry editor.

Step 2: Find this path in the next window.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\

Stage 3: In the right pane, find ProtectionMode and double-click on it.

Step 4: Change the value to ‘1’ and click OK to save.

Restart your device and confirm if the error is cleared.

5. Delete MountPoints2 Key

Deleting some registry keys can fix mapping problems on your system. Here’s how you can delete the MountPoints2 key.

Stage 1: Press Windows + R to launch the Run dialog, type regedit in and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.

Step 2: Find this path in the next window.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

Stage 3: Right-click MountPoints2 and select Delete. Confirm any dialog boxes that may appear and restart your system.

Fix Local Device Name

These solutions will help you fix the ‘local device name is already in use’ error in Windows 10. Note that insufficient storage on the server can also cause this error. Add additional storage or free up some space on the server to fix storage issues. Note that updating your system is also another easy way to fix the error.