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Converting Basic Disks to Dynamic Disks with Disk Management
== Converting Basic Disks to Dynamic Disks with Disk Management ==
 
Windows Server 2008 allows basic disks to be converted to dynamic disks using the Disk Management interface. Before covering the steps to perform such a conversion there are a number of rules which need to be observed.
 
In the first instance, MBR disks must have at least 1Mb of free space at the end of the disk where the dynamic disk database will be stored. Both Disk Management and diskpart allocate this space automatically so this will only be a problem if the disk was partitioned using a third party tool or a n oder version of Windows.
 
GPT disks can only be converted if they have contiguous, Windows compatible partitions. It is not, for example, possible to convert a basic GPT disk containing one or more Linux partitions to a dynamic disk.
 
Finally, basic disks with sector sizes in excess of 512 bytes cannot be converted to dynamic disks.
 
Assuming that the above requirements are met, the first step is to open the Disk Management interface. This can be achieved by running ''compmgmt.msc'' in command prompt window or Run dialog and selecting ''Storage -> Disk Management''.
 
To perform the conversion simply right click on the icon for the drive in question and select ''Convert to Dynamic Disk...'' from the popup menu.
== Converting Basic Disks to Dynamic Disks from the Command Line ==

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