Disk conversion: dynamic to basic

You might want to convert dynamic disks back to basic ones, for example, if you want to use an operation system that does not support dynamic disks.

To convert a dynamic disk to basic:

  1. Right-click the disk that you want to convert, and then click Convert to basic.
  2. Click OK.

The conversion will be performed immediately and your machine will be rebooted, if necessary.

This operation is not available for dynamic disks that contain Spanned, Striped, or RAID-5 volumes.

After the conversion, the last 8Mb of disk space is reserved for a future conversion of the disk from basic to dynamic. In some cases the possible unallocated space and the proposed maximum volume size might differ (for example, when the size of one mirror establishes the size of the other mirror, or the last 8Mb of disk space are reserved for the future conversion of the disk from basic to dynamic).

Conversion of disks comprising system volumes takes some and any power loss, unintentional turning off of the machine or accidental pressing of the Reset button during the procedure could result in bootability loss.

In contrast to Windows Disk Manager, the program ensures:

  • Safe conversion of a dynamic disk to basic when it contains volumes with data for simple and mirrored volumes
  • In multiboot systems, bootability of a system that was offline during the operation