Hello all,
Background info:
I have two 2TB drives set up as a single volume in Windows. In Disk Management these physical drives are listed as Dynamic. I set them up in Windows 7, and they continued to function fine when upgrading to Windows 8.1. I boot off of a separate drive (SSD). I upgraded to Windows 10 and now I am unable to access the drive. To change a dynamic disk back to a basic disk using the Windows interface. Back up all volumes on the disk you want to convert from dynamic to basic. In Disk Management, right-click each volume on the dynamic disk you want to convert to a basic disk, and then click Delete Volume for each volume on the disk. Change a dynamic disk back to a basic disk Microsoft Docs – DavidPostill ♦ Jun 3 '18 at 5:58 Note there are several commercial programs that will convert without the need to have a backup (although this is recommended) and restoring data from backup.
I built my gaming PC back in 2014 and a few days ago it got the blue screen of death (BSOD), I ended up taking it to a PC fix-it shop to handle the issue for me. They ended up clean installing windows 10 on it for me. I originally bought Windows 8 back in 2014 from my university and upgraded to Windows 10 Pro (I assume?), but after the clean install I have Windows 10 Home 64-bit (10.0, build 17134). The windows install was done using the Windows Creation media free for download on Microsofts website.
Problem:
I have a C: drive which is a 128GB SSD drive that has my OS on it. I also have an E: drive which is a 1 TB HDD.
Right now the 1TB HDD is being recognized as a dynamic type (partition type MBR), and it has a 'foreign' status. Do I just need to convert this to a basic type, lose all my data, and go through the pains of reinstalling everything? Or is there a way to recognize this dynamic device and access this drive?
Any and all advice is welcome, and thanks!
Any and all advice is welcome, and thanks!
Kind Regards, Labwindows cvi programming.
Tom Faulconer
'Yesterday I took a dynamic disk out from an old computer to my one. Unfortunately, I can't see my data on the dynamic disk. Besides, when I click the dynamic disk in Disk Manager, it shows 'foreign'. Is there anybody can tell me what's going on? How can I access the disk and fix foreign dynamic disk? Thanks in advance.'
What is Foreign Dynamic Disk and Why is Dynamic Disk Showing Foreign
When you move a dynamic disk from one computer to another one which does not support dynamic disk, such as all Windows home editions, and then the dynamic disk created on the previous computer will be flagged as a foreign disk in Disk Manager. Besides, if your computer is dual-boot and one of the operating systems does not support dynamic disk, the status of the disk will also be shown as a foreign disk. The following two points may explain why the dynamic disk is showing foreign:
- The dynamic disk comes from another computer installing Windows 2000, Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium), Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003 family Operating System.
- Computers are configured to dual-boot with Windows XP Home Edition and another Operating system (such as Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional) that uses dynamic disks, which are not supported on Windows XP Home Edition or on portable computers.
Two Ways to Access and Fix Foreign Dynamic Disk Easily
In fact, if your dynamic disk is showing foreign, the data on the disk is still there. The data is just invisible. To fix this, you must follow the two ways below.
1. Import the foreign disk
Basic Vs Dynamic Disk Windows 10
To access data on the disk, you must add the disk to your computer's system configuration. In Disk Management, right-click the foreign disk and select 'Import Foreign Disks'. After that, any existing volumes on the foreign disk become visible and accessible.
2. Convert Foreign Dynamic Disk to Basic Disk
As we know, some versions of Windows cannot access the dynamic disk, so you need to convert the foreign dynamic disk to basic by right click the foreign disk and select 'Convert to Basic Disk'. This operation will wipe out all the data on the disk. If you want to convert dynamic disk to basic without data loss, please read on.
Google download free for windows 8. Windows 8 & 8.1: A welcome dialog appears. Click Next to select your default browser.
EaseUS Partition Master can change dynamic disk containing simple volumes into a basic disk directly.
Step 1: Install and open EaseUS Partition Master on your Windows computer by clicking the download button.
Step 2: Select dynamic disk which you want to convert to basic. Right-click it and choose 'Convert to Basic'.
Step 3: Click 'OK' on the pop-up window and you will add this conversion to the pending operations.
Convert Basic Disk To Dynamic Disk
Step 4: Click the 'Execute 1 Operation' button at the top-left corner and 'Apply' to begin to convert dynamic to basic disk. After that, you can also use this partition manager to resize/move, clone, merge, format, and delete the partitions.