Dynamic disk showing as foreign, cannot use.

[Guest]

I have a hard disk I pulled from one of my old machines, a 200gig WD, the old
machine was running xp pro, and this disk was set up as dynamic. I have put
this disk into an external case and no matter which machine I hook it up to I
cannot access the contents of the drive.
When I go to Computer Management, it tells me that it is a dynamic drive and
that it is foreign. The other drives I have are all basic.
My question is: what do I need to do to be able to access all the
information on this drive???

 

[Bill Blanton]

I have a hard disk I pulled from one of my old machines, a 200gig WD, the old
machine was running xp pro, and this disk was set up as dynamic. I have put
this disk into an external case and no matter which machine I hook it up to I
cannot access the contents of the drive.
When I go to Computer Management, it tells me that it is a dynamic drive and
that it is foreign. The other drives I have are all basic.
My question is: what do I need to do to be able to access all the
information on this drive???

Is the new host XP-Pro? Was that the only physical disk in the "disk group" ?
If so, right-click on the physical disk itself; is there an option to "Import Foreign disk"?

Note that this type of operation is not without risk. The best approach would be to
return it to the original host system and back up your data before proceeding.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Is the new computer running XP Home? Dynamic disks are not supported in XP
Home. If the new machine is XP Pro try installing the disk internally rather
than in an external enclosure. Dynamic disks are not supported on removable
drives. Most external drives are treated by XP as a removable drives. If the
data is important and the old computer is still working then as Bill Blanton
has mentioned the recommended course of action would be to reinstall the
drive in the old computer and backup the data from there.

 

[Guest]

The new computer is running XP Pro, but unfortunately it is a laptop, so i
cannot install it internally. The only other option I have is my other
computer which is only running XP Home. Unfortunately I can't put the disk
back in the old machine either as the motherboard has decided it doesn't want
to play anymore.
The information is quite important, it contains about 6 months worth of
photographs that I hadn't had a chance to back up to CD yet.
Would it help if I got a 'donor' machine that is running XP Pro and
installed it internally in there?

 

[Guest]

Bill, the new host is XP Pro, but the only options when right clicking is
'properties' or 'Convert to Basic'. If I attempt to convert my understanding
is that all the information will be lost?

 

[Kerry Brown]

Yes, you should get an option to import a foreign disk in the Disk
Management console. Once you go through that procedure you should be able to
access the drive. You may have to take ownership of the files.

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/.../all/proddocs/en-us/dm_add_disk.mspx?mfr=true

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

 

[Bill Blanton]

Correct, you do not want to convert to basic.

Bill, the new host is XP Pro, but the only options when right clicking is
'properties' or 'Convert to Basic'. If I attempt to convert my understanding
is that all the information will be lost?

 

[Guest]

Thanks heaps for your help Bill and Kerry, finally got myself a copy of XP
Pro, installed it, and everything worked a treat, just like you said it
would. Now I need to back up my photos before anything else happens!
Thanks

 

[Kerry Brown]

Glad to hear you goti it working. Thanks for the update.