Thread: Help to change the hard disk type from dynamic to basic

Guys,

usual apologize for posting this issue in this section.

I got 250GB IDE hard disk last week and i connected as secondary hard disk as i have OS installed in 40GB IDE. I have around 200GB data in my new hard disk with 3 partions

However my old IDE is almost damaged and its giving many problem so i jus wanted to install OS in my 250GB IDE..

When i install OS its showing 250GB as bulk and its saying "XP cannot recognize the type please unpartion and partion it again"

So i checked with Mycomputer-->manage-->disk management.
Its showing my 250GB hard disk as dynamic type wheras my 40GB as basic.

he partion of 250GB are showing as "simple volume" whereas 40GB as 1 primary partion and 2 logical drives.

So i hope if i have primary partion or logical they i could install OS in 250GB disk. now i want to chnge that into the above specified type without losing the data as i cant take backup of 200GB.

do u have any idea about it??

i really pissed of with my new writer and hard disk man.. help me out..

it is not possible to change a dynamic disc into a bootable type without formatting so my suggestion is buy a new 40/80/160 GB new hard disc.these are very cheap now-a-days & you should be able to get one around Rs.1800 i think.anyway it is always better to have your OS on a different disc & all your important data on another disc/discs.

as for dvd writer just connect your dvd writer to some other computer to check its working with same discs.also check those discs with some other dvd writer.this way you can know for sure if the problem is with dvd writer or system.

Well dynamic discs are not generally used.
Well u can get rid of ur problem by this solution ...check this link out
How to non-destructively convert dynamic disks to basic disks « My PKB and
HOWTO: Convert a dynamic disk back to a basic disk without data loss
This will allow u to get the disc back to the basic structure from dynamic disc drive without data loss.
U cannot install a OS on dynamic drives cos ...ther is no MBR.Hence the OS does not get a launch point hence u cant install.All the partitions information in case of a dynamic disc drive is stored in a 1MB file in the last cluster of the dynamic disc drive.
Try that link hope so it works ....or else u can always take backup but 200gb it a bit more to backup.

@shriniketsarkar,good information but i think following above links will prove difficult for an average user as both method involves lot of command line usage along with editing some sector information in 2nd link & if any mistake is made by the user there is a risk of data loss.this is why microsoft official policy is format the dynamic disc to convert it to a basic disc & the above methods are more of a hack.

Originally Posted by whitestar_999

@shriniketsarkar,good information but i think following above links will prove difficult for an average user as both method involves lot of command line usage along with editing some sector information in 2nd link & if any mistake is made by the user there is a risk of data loss.this is why microsoft official policy is format the dynamic disc to convert it to a basic disc & the above methods are more of a hack.

Well i can understand what u intend to say but u see there is no other option.....well what microsoft said is correct but u wil have to backup the data in that case ......
And as our friend has huge amount of data to handle, it will be more costly for him to get another disk ,backup all data and then move to format.
Hence if he can study all that is required to get the transformation done its well and good.
hence i posted those links ...i havent tried them yet cos i dont have any spare HDD's.

i know it is hard to backup 200GB's & that is why i suggested buying a new 40/80/160GB hard disc as these are very cheap now-a-days & it is always better to have your OS on 1 disc & important stuff on other.also there is no need for aruncse30 to move/backup his data from 250GB hard disc.he just have to format & install OS on the new 40/80/160GB hard disc which is already empty after connecting it.

Hmm that is really a nice solution.

i have a lot of experience regarding using multiple hard discs as i am currently using 4 hard discs(40,80,250 & 500GB).first two are PATA & rest two bigger hard discs are SATA.my OS is on 40GB.80GB is dynamic & 250,500GB are basic discs.

Hey thats nice ...i would like to have some information then ......can u tell me how much did that 500GB HDD cost u ?And where did u purchase it from ....?And of which company ?
I intend to take one ...but couldnot get the exact pricing on the net.
I intended to go for seagate.
can u give me the details?

i bought my 500GB on 20th july 2007 & that time it costs me Rs.6500.the brand is seagate Barracuda 7200.10 model---ST3500630AS.its actual capacity is 468GB after format.i am planning on buying 1 more 500GB hard disc & right now price is around Rs.4400 in delhi,nehru place.i bought my previous 500GB from there too.seagate & western digital both are good & costs same.i heard that WD provides door replacement warranty so this time i am planning on buying WD but not sure.do remember that i am talking about the SATA versions of hard discs.PATA are also available i think but they are costlier & also not recommended because PATA standard is now obsolete & newer motherboards only have SATA ports with 1 PATA port maybe.

Originally Posted by whitestar_999

i bought my 500GB on 20th july 2007 & that time it costs me Rs.6500.the brand is seagate Barracuda 7200.10 model---ST3500630AS.its actual capacity is 468GB after format.i am planning on buying 1 more 500GB hard disc & right now price is around Rs.4400 in delhi,nehru place.i bought my previous 500GB from there too.seagate & western digital both are good & costs same.i heard that WD provides door replacement warranty so this time i am planning on buying WD but not sure.

hey buddy.. i got the same seagate Barracuda,but 250Gb for 3000/-.

i thought to buy a 500GB hard disk.. but the sales man said.. my 845 chipset will not support 500GB.. so i got 250GB...

anyhow.. still my problem is exist.. i dont want to do this code change and all...

wat would happen if i lost all 250GB data if i do these code change...

better would try to get any hard disk from my frds to take backup..

new 40/80/160GB should not cost much now-a-days.ask about the price & if you can afford buy one.it is good to have your OS on another smaller hard disc so that if in future due to some problem you have to format/reinstall windows your important data will be safe on the 250GB.

Originally Posted by whitestar_999

new 40/80/160GB should not cost much now-a-days.ask about the price & if you can afford buy one.it is good to have your OS on another smaller hard disc so that if in future due to some problem you have to format/reinstall windows your important data will be safe on the 250GB.

hey thats wat i said.. now i have my OS in 40GB har disk.. but i feel thai it has bad sector and it might have damaged little bit as im using it for the past 6-7 years.. thats y i wanted to have it in 250GB hard disk..

do u want me to have the 40GB hard disk itself..(i dont have idea about buying another one..)

If you are only having OS and other software on this (old) 40GB HDD, can you exercise the option of reformating and re-installing?

you can install hdtune a very good software which will tell you your HD health by checking S.M.A.R.T parameters of HD.@aruncse30,yes,my suggestion is to buy a new 40/80GB hard disc as 6-7 years is a long time.in my opinion 40/80Gb hard discs of samsung are pretty good.

Originally Posted by just4kix

If you are only having OS and other software on this (old) 40GB HDD, can you exercise the option of reformating and re-installing?

mm.. yes.. i tried everything... my new OS will work only for 2 months.. then it will start to give problems.. hanging... slow down the machine and etc.. si usuallu i will install OS for every 2 months..

Originally Posted by aruncse30

mm.. yes.. i tried everything... my new OS will work only for 2 months.. then it will start to give problems.. hanging... slow down the machine and etc.. si usuallu i will install OS for every 2 months..

In fact i would say its better ....i also keep installing ....OS in 2 months time .
I dont know why but windows gets horrible if u try trying new things on it.
Thought i have a genuine lisenced os but still it gets slower as we go on using it.Even if we go on for say defragmentation on a regular basis ..still the performance lag is seen.

@aruncse30,install hdtune( HD Tune website ).then use it to check your hard disc.

You want convert dynamic disk to basic disk, I tell you two ways to carried out the operation.
The basic way people usually think of is use the disk management, do you know, if use disk management, you should delete all the dynamic volumes, so you have to back up your large amount data before.
I suggest you convert dynamic disk to basic disk through the 3-rd software, such as dynamic disk converter, it just take you several seconds to finish the work and guarantee the data security. And you needn't back up your data at all.

dynamic-disk.com/convert-dynamic-disk-to-basic.html

Very glad to tell you that you can convert dynamic disk to basic disk and will not lose data through the 3rd software. I just solve the same problem as you.
You can have a try.
dynamic-disk.com/convert-dynamic-disk-to-basic.html