technotes:winscp_drive_selection_how
How to choose an external drive in WinSCP
WinSCP itself can browse any drive (C:, D:, F:, etc.).
But when you connect to your own PC using SFTP,
the server on Windows exposes only what it considers the “root,”
and by default that root is mapped to C:. Other drives don’t appear automatically.
This behavior is documented:
Windows’ built‑in OpenSSH SFTP server redirects the root folder to C:,
and does not list other drives unless you manually switch to them.
Here's how to select external drice F, as an example:
- Ensure you're logged into WinSCP.
- Click on the source area (left pane) to ensure the focus is on your local system (not on the server).
- Press CTRL + o (Open Directory).
a window will open - write F:\ (It must be a back slash).
In WinSCP over SFTP → the server expects a Unix‑style path, not a Windows one.
The app always remembers the last used drive when you log in again.
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technotes/winscp_drive_selection_how.txt · Last modified: by tony
