Consider the following scenario. You restore a computer by using the Windows Complete PC Restore program in Windows Vista. You use the Format and repartition disks option. In this scenario, all dynamic disk volumes are removed and then re-created. This behavior occurs even if the dynamic disk volumes are not included in the restore process.

In my article “Dynamic Disc: Microsoft’s Bastard Child?” I noted how you might upgrade a computer from Windows XP to Vista, only to then find that you cannot access a dynamic disc. This is most likely due to your version of Vista not supporting dynamic disk, which would require upgrading, probably to Ultimate, to be able to read the disc. If you’re not prepared to do that, but still want to be able to use the disk, you can convert it back to a basic disk. The draw back is that you will loose all of your data, since the process is to first delete the volume, then recreate it from scratch. The next tip will include instructions on how to hack your dynamic disc back to a basic disk, which may save your data, but only if your dynamic disk doesn’t span multiple disks. Keep reading →