Windows Server 2022 supports two types of disk configurations: basic and dynamic. Basic disks are divided into partitions and can be used with previous versions of Windows. Dynamic disks are divided into volumes and can be used with Windows 2000 Server and newer releases.
When a disk is initialized, it is automatically created as a basic disk, but when a new fault- tolerant (RAID) volume set is created, the disks in the set are converted to dynamic disks. Fault- tolerance features and the ability to modify disks without having to reboot the server are what distinguish dynamic disks from basic disks.
Fault tolerance (RAID) is discussed in detail later in this chapter in the “Redundant Array of Independent Disks” section.
A basic disk can simply be converted to a dynamic disk without loss of data. When a basic disk is converted, the partitions are automatically changed to the appropriate volumes. However, converting a dynamic disk back to a basic disk is not as simple. First, all the data on the dynamic disk must be backed up or moved. Then, all the volumes on the dynamic disk have to be deleted. The dynamic disk can then be converted to a basic disk. Partitions and logical drives can be created, and the data can be restored.
The following are actions that can be performed on basic disks:
■ Formatting partitions
■ Marking partitions as active
■ Creating and deleting primary and extended partitions
■ Creating and deleting logical drives
■ Converting from a basic disk to a dynamic disk
The following are actions that can be performed on dynamic disks:
■ Creating and deleting simple, striped, spanned, mirrored, or RAID- 5 volumes
■ Removing or breaking a mirrored volume
■ Extending simple or spanned volumes
■ Repairing mirrored or RAID- 5 volumes
■ Converting from a dynamic disk to a basic disk after deleting all volumes In Exercise 3.8, you’ll convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk.
EXERCISE 3.8
Converting a Basic Disk to a Dynamic Disk
- Open Computer Management under Administrative Tools.
- Select Disk Management.
- Right- click a basic disk that you want to convert and select Convert To Dynamic Disk (see Figure 3.29).

4. The Convert To Dynamic Disk dialog box appears. From here, select all the disks that you want to convert to dynamic disks. In this exercise, only one disk will be converted.
5. Click OK.
6. The Convert To Dynamic Disk dialog box changes to the Disks To Convert dialog box and shows the disk/disks that will be converted to dynamic disks.
7. Click Convert.
8. Disk Management will warn that if you convert the disk to dynamic, you will not be able to start the installed operating system from any volume on the disk (except the current boot volume). Click Yes.
9. Close Computer Management.
The converted disk will now show as Dynamic in Disk Management.
Managing Volumes
A volume set is created from volumes that span multiple drives by using the free space from those drives to construct what will appear to be a single drive. The following list includes the various types of volume sets and their definitions:
■ Simple volume uses only one disk or a portion of a disk.
■ Spanned volume is a simple volume that spans multiple disks, with a maximum of 32. Use a spanned volume if the volume needs are too great for a single disk.
■ Striped volume stores data in stripes across two or more disks. A striped volume gives you fast access to data but is not fault tolerant, nor can it be extended or mirrored. If one disk in the striped set fails, the entire volume fails.
■ Mirrored volume duplicates data across two disks. This type of volume is fault tolerant because if one drive fails, the data on the other disk is unaffected.
■ RAID- 5 volume stores data in stripes across three or more disks. This type of volume is fault tolerant because if a drive fails, the data can be re- created from the parity off the remaining disk drives. Operating system files and boot files cannot reside on the RAID- 5 disks.
Exercise 3.9 illustrates the procedure for creating a volume set.
EXERCISE 3.9
Creating a Volume Set
- Open Computer Management under Administrative Tools.
- Select Disk Management.
- Select and right- click a disk that has unallocated space. If there are no disk drives available for a particular volume set, that volume set will be grayed out as a selectable option. In this exercise, you’ll choose a spanned volume set, but the process after the volume set selection is the same regardless of which kind you choose. The only thing that differs is the number of disk drives chosen.
EXERCISE 3.9 (continued)
4. The Welcome page of the New Spanned Volume Wizard appears and explains the type of volume set chosen. Click Next.
5. The Select Disks page appears. Select the disk that will be included with the volume set and click Add. Repeat this process until all of the desired disks have been added. Click Next.
6. The Assign Drive Letter Or Path page appears. From here you can select the desired drive letter for the volume, mount the volume in an empty NTFS folder, or choose not to assign a drive letter. The new volume is labeled as E. Click Next.
7. The Format Volume page appears. Choose to format the new volume. Click Next.
8. Click Finish.
9. If the disks have not been converted to dynamic, you will be asked to convert the disks. Click Yes.
The new volume will appear as a healthy spanned dynamic volume with the new available disk space of the new volume set.