2nd HDD wont import

[Guest]

I recently upgraded my computer from Windows 2k to Windows XP Home. I have a
backup drive in my computer which is a 250GB. It is already partitioned into
3 partitions and it has all of my backup information on it. I have already
did the same thing I had to do previously for Windows 2k, which was add the
registry key Enable LBA, basically enabling the 48bit LBA support, but the
drive is seen in computer management as a dynamic disk. It will not allow me
to import the drive.

Some background info, the drive is seen in the bios, and it sees the full
250GB, the antivirus detection in the bios is turned off. Any help or ideas
will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Guest]

Youre BIOS is turned off...I dont think so,w/o the Basic Input Output System
the board would'nt function...Either way,home doesnt run dynamic disks,only
pro..

 

[Guest]

"the antivirus detection in the bios is turned off."

And thankyou

 

[Anna]

Noiz:
The problem is not with your BIOS being "turned off" (whatever that means!)
as one responder to your query has stated.

The problem is that the problem HD was created as a dynamic disk in your
previous OS. Unfortunately, the XP Home Ed. does not support dynamic disks
and I know of no reliable way to convert that disk to a basic disk in XP
Home without destroying all the data on the drive. (I have heard of some
hacks out there that purport to do this but I've no experience with them.
You may want to do a Google search).

At this point I believe the only reliable workaround, assuming you still
have access to the Win 2000 OS, is to reinstall the drive in that system and
copy as much data off that disk to a CD/DVD with the ultimate objective of
later copying that data to your Win XP HE system. Naturally any programs
will have to be reinstalled in your XP system.

You may want to take a look as http://faq.arstechnica.com/link.php?i=1806.
The author details a method that ostensibly can "convert a dynamic disk back
to a basic disk without data loss". I've never used that method so I can't
comment on its effectiveness.
Anna