diff --git a/picard/metadata.py b/picard/metadata.py
index f7542fccc..fa5e6c37e 100644
--- a/picard/metadata.py
+++ b/picard/metadata.py
@@ -92,7 +92,8 @@ class Image(object):
             filename = os.path.join(dirname, filename)
         # replace incompatible characters
         if config.setting["windows_compatibility"] or sys.platform == "win32":
-            filename = replace_win32_incompat(filename)
+            drive, rest = os.path.splitdrive(filename)
+            filename = drive + replace_win32_incompat(rest)
         # remove null characters
         filename = filename.replace("\x00", "")
         return encode_filename(filename)