Solved - Windows Cannot Be Installed on Dynamic Disk
Cannot Install Windows on Dynamic Disk
Question:
I want to dual boot Windows 8 alongside Windows7 on my laptop. I followed the How-to-geek article on it and created a separate partition with 25 gb space.
I am also able to boot into Windows 8 setup using my USB stick but when the option to select the drive on which to install comes I get a error saying “Windows cannot install to this disk. One or more dynamic volumes in this disk don’t support installation”.
I’ve tried formatting the disk and tried again but it doesn’t work.
— howtogeek
Tip:
If you are troubled by other error message saying Windows cannot be installed to a disk, due to GPT or MBR partition style, etc. Solutions are here.
How Does This Error Message Appear
While trying to install Windows on a dynamic disk, we are likely to encounter the following message: “Windows cannot be installed to this hard disk space. The partition contains one or more dynamic volumes that are not supported for installation”. Why cannot install Windows on dynamic disk? Here are the explanation giving by Microsoft.
“You can perform a fresh Windows installation on a dynamic volume only if that volume was converted from a basic volume and retained an entry in the partition table. Simple volumes converted from basic disks do not have an entry in the partition table unless they were system or boot volumes prior to conversion.”
after reading the reference, we can make a conclusion that we can only install Windows to dynamic volume which was used to be a boot partition or system partition before we convert it to dynamic disk. Thus, if we want to continue installing Windows, the best solution is to convert dynamic disk to basic disk.
Convert Dynamic Disk to Basic Disk to Install Windows
Generally speaking, we have two ways to convert dynamic disk to basic in Windows: by using Disk Management utility, or diskpart. It is worth mentioning that both methods require deleting all existing dynamic volumes, leading to data loss unless we make a backup.
1. Use Disk Management Utility
Run “diskmgmt.msc” to open Disk Management. Then delete all volumes on the dynamic disk we want to install Windows. After these steps, the dynamic disk will become basic disk automatically or we can click on the disk to convert it to basic if you are running older OS.
2. Employ Diskpart
If no Windows OS is available, we will have to make us of Windows installation CD or DVD to run Diskpart. Take Windows 8 for example:
Boot computer from the installation disc and open CMD by choosing Repair your computer -> select Troubleshoot -> select Command Prompt.
Then, type the following commands in order and end each one with Enter key: diskpart -> list disk -> select disk N (N is the number of the dynamic disk) -> detail disk -> select volume=0 -> delete volume -> select volume=1 -> delete volume…
After all volumes on the dynamic disk are deleted, type convert basic. A few seconds later Diskpart will show it have successfully converted the selected dynamic disk to basic. Ta this time we should type exit to quit Diskpart.
3. Convert Dynamic Disk to Basic Using Partition Wizard
Just as what we have said at the beginning, there are usually two ways to convert dynamic disk to basic when Windows cannot be installed on dynamic disk. Then why there is a third solution?
In fact, the third solution is put forward to prevent data loss. MiniTool Partition Wizard is a Windows based partition magic that can revert a dynamic disk to basic disk without losing data. For detailed steps, please see Convert Dynamic Disk to Basic Disk.
Tip:
- Only the paid versions support dynamic disk management.
2. If Windows fails to boot normally, MiniTool Partition Wizard Bootable CD is a good choice for it can boot computer without Windows OS.