Convert to dynamic disk is missing in SBS2003

The menu item "Convert to dynamic disk" is NOT present in Disk Management. I
have noticed Virtual Disk Service was not started. It is now, but still after
a reboot, the menu item is still not on the list.

Any suggestions?

Regards.

Dear customer,

Thank you for posting to the SBS Newsgroup.

I understand that you cannot convert basic disk to dynamic disk on the SBS
2K3 server. If I have misunderstood your issue, please let me know.

Before we change a basic disk to a dynamic disk, we must meet following
requirements:

a. You must have at least 1 megabyte (MB) of unallocated disk space
available on any master boot record (MBR) basic disk that you want to
change to a dynamic disk.

b. When you change a basic disk to a dynamic disk, you change the existing
partitions on the basic disk to simple volumes on the dynamic disk.

c. After you change a basic disk to a dynamic disk, you cannot change the
dynamic volumes back to partitions. You must first delete all dynamic
volumes on the disk, and then change the dynamic disk back to a basic disk.

d. Windows Server 2003 operating systems, Windows XP Professional, and
Windows 2000 support dynamic disks. After you change a basic disk to a
dynamic disk, you can only access the disk locally from these operating
systems.

For more detail information, please see:

323442 How to use the Disk Management Snap-in to manage Basic and Dynamic
Disks
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=323442

816307 Best practices for using dynamic disks on Windows Server 2003-based
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=816307

If the issue persists, please help to gather following information for us
to analysis:

1. Just double confirm, you mentioned "NOT present", do you mean the link
is grayed out or there is no link displayed at all?

2. Please capture a screen shot and send it to the Newsgroup for us to
better understand your scenario.

3. Please help to gather System Information. To do so:

a. On the server, go to Start -> Run "msinfo32" (without quotation marks).

b. Once System Information is up and running, click File and then Save.
Save the system information to a .nfo file.

Please send to my mailbox: v-.

4. Please also send Event Log to the Newsgroup. To do so,

a. On the server, run "eventvwr" (without quotation marks), check whether
there is any error in Application and System.

b. If yes, double click it, click the Copy button and paste the full
content to the Newsgroup.

[Note]: Please do not delete or edit any error information. We need the
exact error information for accurate research.

Please take your time to perform the steps above and collect the
information for us to troubleshoot your issue. If anything is unclear,
please feel free to let me know. I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Best regards,

Brandy Nee

Microsoft CSS Online Newsgroup Support

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
================================================== ====
This newsgroup only focuses on SBS technical issues. If you have issues
regarding other Microsoft products, you'd better post in the corresponding
newsgroups so that they can be resolved in an efficient and timely manner.
You can locate the newsgroup here:
http://www.microsoft.com/communities...s/default.aspx

When opening a new thread via the web interface, we recommend you check the
"Notify me of replies" box to receive e-mail notifications when there are
any updates in your thread. When responding to posts via your newsreader,
please "Reply to Group" so that others may learn and benefit from your
issue.

Microsoft engineers can only focus on one issue per thread. Although we
provide other information for your reference, we recommend you post
different incidents in different threads to keep the thread clean. In doing
so, it will ensure your issues are resolved in a timely manner.

For urgent issues, you may want to contact Microsoft CSS directly. Please
check http://support.microsoft.com for regional support phone numbers.

Any input or comments in this thread are highly appreciated.
================================================== ====
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.



--------------------
>Thread-Topic: Convert to dynamic disk is missing in SBS2003
>thread-index: AcXfuBkDTAmt4GSESo2mZ1PEi65oDQ==
>X-WBNR-Posting-Host: 80.161.253.250
>From: "=?Utf-8?B?bmlral9kaw==?=" <>
>Subject: Convert to dynamic disk is missing in SBS2003
>Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2005 06:17:03 -0800
>Lines: 7
>Message-ID: <826E5BBC-11F7-444B-9951->
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>Content-Type: text/plain;
> charset="Utf-8"
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>X-Newsreader: Microsoft CDO for Windows 2000
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>Importance: normal
>Priority: normal
>X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.3790.0
>Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs
>NNTP-Posting-Host: TK2MSFTNGXA03.phx.gbl 10.40.2.250
>Path: TK2MSFTNGXA01.phx.gbl!TK2MSFTNGXA03.phx.gbl
>Xref: TK2MSFTNGXA01.phx.gbl microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs:166917
>X-Tomcat-NG: microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs
>
>The menu item "Convert to dynamic disk" is NOT present in Disk Management.
I
>have noticed Virtual Disk Service was not started. It is now, but still
after
>a reboot, the menu item is still not on the list.
>
>Any suggestions?
>
>Regards.
>

Thank you for your very detailed answer.

If I have understood one of the articles correctly, it is not possible to
change a harddisk in a Windows Software mirror. If one disk fails, you can
access all of your data, back it up, but when you want to rebuild the mirror,
you have to start all over.

I refer to this phrase:
"Never break a healthy system disk or boot dynamic mirrored volume and
expect the mirrored drive to replace the original primary drive if it fails.
The manually broken mirrored drive is assigned the next available drive
letter, and this is updated to the permanent record in the LDM database. This
means that regardless of what position that drive takes in the boot process,
it is assigned the new (and incorrect) drive letter, so the operating system
cannot function correctly."

So, if I want to change a broken disk, I should get a hardware raid
controller, and install the disks on that?

Regards.

""Brandy Nee [MSFT]"" wrote:

> Dear customer,
>
> Thank you for posting to the SBS Newsgroup.
>
> I understand that you cannot convert basic disk to dynamic disk on the SBS
> 2K3 server. If I have misunderstood your issue, please let me know.
>
> Before we change a basic disk to a dynamic disk, we must meet following
> requirements:
>
> a. You must have at least 1 megabyte (MB) of unallocated disk space
> available on any master boot record (MBR) basic disk that you want to
> change to a dynamic disk.
>
> b. When you change a basic disk to a dynamic disk, you change the existing
> partitions on the basic disk to simple volumes on the dynamic disk.
>
> c. After you change a basic disk to a dynamic disk, you cannot change the
> dynamic volumes back to partitions. You must first delete all dynamic
> volumes on the disk, and then change the dynamic disk back to a basic disk.
>
> d. Windows Server 2003 operating systems, Windows XP Professional, and
> Windows 2000 support dynamic disks. After you change a basic disk to a
> dynamic disk, you can only access the disk locally from these operating
> systems.
>
> For more detail information, please see:
>
> 323442 How to use the Disk Management Snap-in to manage Basic and Dynamic
> Disks
> http://support.microsoft.com/?id=323442
>
> 816307 Best practices for using dynamic disks on Windows Server 2003-based
> http://support.microsoft.com/?id=816307
>
> If the issue persists, please help to gather following information for us
> to analysis:
>
> 1. Just double confirm, you mentioned "NOT present", do you mean the link
> is grayed out or there is no link displayed at all?
>
> 2. Please capture a screen shot and send it to the Newsgroup for us to
> better understand your scenario.
>
> 3. Please help to gather System Information. To do so:
>
> a. On the server, go to Start -> Run "msinfo32" (without quotation marks).
>
> b. Once System Information is up and running, click File and then Save.
> Save the system information to a .nfo file.
>
> Please send to my mailbox: v-.
>
> 4. Please also send Event Log to the Newsgroup. To do so,
>
> a. On the server, run "eventvwr" (without quotation marks), check whether
> there is any error in Application and System.
>
> b. If yes, double click it, click the Copy button and paste the full
> content to the Newsgroup.
>
> [Note]: Please do not delete or edit any error information. We need the
> exact error information for accurate research.
>
> Please take your time to perform the steps above and collect the
> information for us to troubleshoot your issue. If anything is unclear,
> please feel free to let me know. I am looking forward to hearing from you!
>
> Best regards,
>
> Brandy Nee
>
> Microsoft CSS Online Newsgroup Support
>
> Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
> ================================================== ====
> This newsgroup only focuses on SBS technical issues. If you have issues
> regarding other Microsoft products, you'd better post in the corresponding
> newsgroups so that they can be resolved in an efficient and timely manner.
> You can locate the newsgroup here:
> http://www.microsoft.com/communities...s/default.aspx
>
> When opening a new thread via the web interface, we recommend you check the
> "Notify me of replies" box to receive e-mail notifications when there are
> any updates in your thread. When responding to posts via your newsreader,
> please "Reply to Group" so that others may learn and benefit from your
> issue.
>
> Microsoft engineers can only focus on one issue per thread. Although we
> provide other information for your reference, we recommend you post
> different incidents in different threads to keep the thread clean. In doing
> so, it will ensure your issues are resolved in a timely manner.
>
> For urgent issues, you may want to contact Microsoft CSS directly. Please
> check http://support.microsoft.com for regional support phone numbers.
>
> Any input or comments in this thread are highly appreciated.
> ================================================== ====
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
>
>
>
> --------------------
> >Thread-Topic: Convert to dynamic disk is missing in SBS2003
> >thread-index: AcXfuBkDTAmt4GSESo2mZ1PEi65oDQ==
> >X-WBNR-Posting-Host: 80.161.253.250
> >From: "=?Utf-8?B?bmlral9kaw==?=" <>
> >Subject: Convert to dynamic disk is missing in SBS2003
> >Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2005 06:17:03 -0800
> >Lines: 7
> >Message-ID: <826E5BBC-11F7-444B-9951->
> >MIME-Version: 1.0
> >Content-Type: text/plain;
> > charset="Utf-8"
> >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
> >X-Newsreader: Microsoft CDO for Windows 2000
> >Content-Class: urn:content-classes:message
> >Importance: normal
> >Priority: normal
> >X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.3790.0
> >Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs
> >NNTP-Posting-Host: TK2MSFTNGXA03.phx.gbl 10.40.2.250
> >Path: TK2MSFTNGXA01.phx.gbl!TK2MSFTNGXA03.phx.gbl
> >Xref: TK2MSFTNGXA01.phx.gbl microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs:166917
> >X-Tomcat-NG: microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs
> >
> >The menu item "Convert to dynamic disk" is NOT present in Disk Management.
> I
> >have noticed Virtual Disk Service was not started. It is now, but still
> after
> >a reboot, the menu item is still not on the list.
> >
> >Any suggestions?
> >
> >Regards.
> >
>
>

Dear Customer,

Thank you for posting back!

I am not sure whether you are using Software or hardware mirror. If you are
using software mirror, you still can access database. What you need to do
is backing up the disk, and mirror it to new hard disk. If you are running
hardware mirror, then you need to contact your hard disk vendor for detail
support.

Hope this information helps. If you have any further questions or concerns,
please feel free to post back. I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Best regards,

Brandy Nee

Microsoft CSS Online Newsgroup Support

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
================================================== ====
This newsgroup only focuses on SBS technical issues. If you have issues
regarding other Microsoft products, you'd better post in the corresponding
newsgroups so that they can be resolved in an efficient and timely manner.
You can locate the newsgroup here:
http://www.microsoft.com/communities...s/default.aspx

When opening a new thread via the web interface, we recommend you check the
"Notify me of replies" box to receive e-mail notifications when there are
any updates in your thread. When responding to posts via your newsreader,
please "Reply to Group" so that others may learn and benefit from your
issue.

Microsoft engineers can only focus on one issue per thread. Although we
provide other information for your reference, we recommend you post
different incidents in different threads to keep the thread clean. In doing
so, it will ensure your issues are resolved in a timely manner.

For urgent issues, you may want to contact Microsoft CSS directly. Please
check http://support.microsoft.com for regional support phone numbers.

Any input or comments in this thread are highly appreciated.
================================================== ====
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.



--------------------
>Thread-Topic: Convert to dynamic disk is missing in SBS2003
>thread-index: AcXgTN+QiQul4sTeQI6TgMfDa/pwjg==
>X-WBNR-Posting-Host: 80.161.253.250
>From: "=?Utf-8?B?bmlral9kaw==?=" <>
>References: <826E5BBC-11F7-444B-9951->
<>
>Subject: RE: Convert to dynamic disk is missing in SBS2003
>Date: Thu, 3 Nov 2005 00:02:02 -0800
>Lines: 161
>Message-ID: <A82E8B87-2107-4B40-97EE->
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>Content-Type: text/plain;
> charset="Utf-8"
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>X-Newsreader: Microsoft CDO for Windows 2000
>Content-Class: urn:content-classes:message
>Importance: normal
>Priority: normal
>X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.3790.0
>Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs
>NNTP-Posting-Host: TK2MSFTNGXA03.phx.gbl 10.40.2.250
>Path: TK2MSFTNGXA01.phx.gbl!TK2MSFTNGXA03.phx.gbl
>Xref: TK2MSFTNGXA01.phx.gbl microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs:167209
>X-Tomcat-NG: microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs
>
>Thank you for your very detailed answer.
>
>If I have understood one of the articles correctly, it is not possible to
>change a harddisk in a Windows Software mirror. If one disk fails, you can
>access all of your data, back it up, but when you want to rebuild the
mirror,
>you have to start all over.
>
>I refer to this phrase:
>"Never break a healthy system disk or boot dynamic mirrored volume and
>expect the mirrored drive to replace the original primary drive if it
fails.
>The manually broken mirrored drive is assigned the next available drive
>letter, and this is updated to the permanent record in the LDM database.
This
>means that regardless of what position that drive takes in the boot
process,
>it is assigned the new (and incorrect) drive letter, so the operating
system
>cannot function correctly."
>
>So, if I want to change a broken disk, I should get a hardware raid
>controller, and install the disks on that?
>
>Regards.
>