Why Is Windows Installed On C Drive?

For once in your life you must have had the question, Why is Windows installed on the C drive? What is so special about the letter C. Why did  Microsoft choose it over other letters and break the sequence when they could just start from A.

History

Well, to answer this we will have to go a little back in history when computers used floppy drives for storage. In around 1980’s, most computers had a floppy drive which was given the letter A since it was the first storage device. Then many computers also had secondary storage devices which were also floppy disks and given the letter B. The CP/M operating system which was used by IBM at that time considered these 2 drives and hence it used to install the operating system in the C drive.

Later on, when IBM switched to Microsoft, they got their first OS called MS-DOS which was heavily inspired by CP/M. So Microsoft kept the concept and didn’t bother changing it.

Why is it still used?

When Microsoft began its Windows lineup, floppy disks were still around and it made no sense to change an already existing pattern. In the modern times, this hasn’t been changed because a lot of software depends on the fact that the drive with the Operating System is labeled C.

Today floppy drives have disappeared from the scene but Microsoft still keeps the default drive C as even though it may not be a requirement anymore, it has become a convention to do so.