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Change a dynamic disk back to a basic disk

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Applies to: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012

This article describes how to delete everything on a dynamic disk and then convert it back to a basic disk. Dynamic disks have been deprecated from Windows and are no longer recommended. Instead, use basic disks or the newer Storage Spaces technology when you want to pool disks together into larger volumes. If you want to mirror the volume from which Windows boots, you might want to use a hardware RAID controller, such as the one included on many motherboards.

Warning

To convert a dynamic disk back to a basic disk, you must delete all volumes and permanently erase all data from the disk. Before proceeding, make sure you back up any data you want to keep.

Change a dynamic disk back to a basic disk by using Disk Management

  1. Back up data from all volumes on the disk that you want to convert from dynamic to basic.

  2. Open Disk Management with administrator permissions.

    You can type Computer Management in the search box on the taskbar, select and hold (or right-click) Computer Management, and then select Run as administrator > Yes. After Computer Management opens, go to Storage > Disk Management.

  3. In Disk Management, select and hold (or right-click) each volume on the dynamic disk you want to convert to a basic disk, and then choose Delete Volume.

  4. When all volumes on the disk have been deleted, right-click the disk, and then select Convert to Basic Disk.

Change a dynamic disk back to a basic disk by using the command line

  1. Back up data from all volumes on the disk that you want to convert from dynamic to basic.

  2. Open a command prompt and type diskpart.

  3. At the DISKPART prompt, type list disk. Note the disk number you want to convert to basic.

  4. At the DISKPART prompt, type select disk <disknumber>.

  5. At the DISKPART prompt, type detail disk.

  6. For each volume on the disk, at the DISKPART prompt, type select volume= <volumenumber> and then type delete volume.

  7. At the DISKPART prompt, type select disk <disknumber>, specifying the disk number of the disk that you want to convert to a basic disk.

  8. At the DISKPART prompt, type convert basic.

Command Description
list disk Displays a list of disks and information about them, such as their size, the amount of available free space, whether the disk is a basic or dynamic disk, and whether the disk uses the Master Boot Record (MBR) or GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition style. The disk marked with an asterisk (*) has focus.
select disk <disknumber> Selects the specified disk, where disknumber is the disk number, and gives it focus.
detail disk <disknumber> Displays the properties of the selected disk and the volumes on that disk.
select volume <disknumber> Selects the specified volume, where disknumber is the volume number, and gives it focus. If no volume is specified, the select command lists the current volume with focus. You can specify the volume by number, drive letter, or mount point path. On a basic disk, selecting a volume also gives the corresponding partition focus.
delete volume Deletes the selected volume. You can't delete the system volume, boot volume, or any volume that contains the active paging file or crash dump (memory dump).
convert basic Converts an empty dynamic disk into a basic disk.

Other considerations

  • The disk must not contain any volumes or data before you can change it back to a basic disk. If you want to keep your data, back it up or move it to another volume before you convert the disk to a basic disk.
  • After you change a dynamic disk back to a basic disk, you can only create partitions and logical drives on that disk.