We have several clients with Windows 2000 servers with disks which have been upgraded to dynamic rigth after the install. (After we did this we created the data partitions so these partitions could easily be resized)
Now we would like to resize the C: drive of the server, or in another case clone the server. The tools we use (Partition Magic and Ghost) no longer recognize the partitions. Downgrading the partitions to basic would destroy all data.
We have checked the following tools to directly change the disks or downgrade to basic disks on a test server without success:
Paragon Partition Manager: www.paragon.ag (corrupts disk)
Powerquest Volume Manager: www.powerquest.com (doesn't support dynamic disks at all)
What methods or programs could we use to accomplish our task?
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Unfortunately, I've had very little success in downgrading a partition (especially a boot partition) from dynamic to basic.
The recommendation by Microsoft, and the method I've had success with:
Backup all data, and systemstate.
Delete the partition, and redo the partition as a basic disk,
restore information to (now) basic disk.
(See here: http://support.microsoft.c
Hope this helps!
:o)
Bartender_1
I am not sure if you are familiar with linux but if you feel confindent enough ......
Begin an install of either Mandrake or Redhat linux and it will go throught repartitioning. Just do not finish the installation if you do not want your system to dual boot.
I have used this when nothing else works and it acually works very well.
I have to back up the comment Bartender stated. There is no SAFE/For Sure way to downgrade a dynamic Disk to a basic disk without doing the Back-up all data to anothe disk volume then repartition the target C: drive (boot Partition) to a basic drive. These parameters for dynamic drives are easily upgraded to however it is recommended by Microsoft that it only be done knowing that it is in their words "not easily reversable".
Not raising too many hopes but I am pretty sure there was another post like this and there was a fix.
I just wished I bookmarked it.
I think the solution was to ghost an image then revert it back to basic. Once done you re-imaged it with a switch (like -fxxx) and that worked.
I can't find the post though and it was only in the last two weeks!! Not sure if it was in Operating Systems, WinXP or 2000 sections though!!
Please close this question. Paragon Partition Manager (www.paragon.ag) will soon be able to downgrade dynamic disks to basic without losing data.
I have successfully "downgraded" a dynamic disk in Windows 2000 by using Norton Ghost. All that you have to do is ghost the drive to another disk and then restore the ghost to the original drive. The process automatically converts back to basic since Norton Ghost does not support the restoration of a dynamic disk.
Jeff Hault
Nerds-on-wheels.com
Business Accounts
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by: YarnoSGPosted on 2003-10-16 at 11:03:10ID: 9564160
Partition Magic SHOULD be able to do it at the latest revision - what version do you have?