{"id":75963,"date":"2024-07-15T13:44:48","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T08:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=75963"},"modified":"2026-03-09T12:20:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T06:50:29","slug":"convert-dynamic-disk-to-basic-disk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/convert-dynamic-disk-to-basic-disk\/","title":{"rendered":"Convert a Dynamic disk to Basic (using Freeware) without Losing Data"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’ve inadvertently converted your disk to a dynamic disk using Disk Management, you can revert it to a basic disk using the built-in diskpart command. Dynamic disks have been deprecated in Windows and are no longer recommended. Here’s a Microsoft article that explains how to convert a dynamic disk to a basic.<\/p>\n

Change a dynamic disk back to a basic disk | Microsoft Learn<\/a><\/p>\n

However, the biggest drawback<\/strong> to using the built-in tools is that volumes on the dynamic disk must be deleted<\/strong> before converting it to basic.<\/p>\n

Also, most third-party disk partition tools don’t include the dynamic disk to basic disk conversion feature in their free or trial versions.<\/p>\n

\n

Note:<\/strong> Windows 11 (21H2 and later) setup does not run on dynamic disks.<\/p>\n

The error code 0x80070001<\/code> (“ERROR_INVALID_FUNCTION”) and the error message Something went wrong<\/code> appear when installing Windows 11 on a volume located on a dynamic disk. See the article Error 0x80070001 or Disk space Error During Windows 11 Setup<\/a> for more details.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Convert a Dynamic disk to Basic using NIUBI Partition Editor<\/h2>\n

An excellent freeware partitioning software named NIUBI partition editor<\/strong> can convert your dynamic disk to a basic disk without data loss. NIUBI is probably the only freeware partition manager app that can convert a disk from dynamic to basic. All other third-party programs require you to buy the Pro\/Premium version of their software if you need this feature.<\/p>\n

\n

\"warningImportant:<\/strong> Although the procedure was completed successfully during my testing, backing your data before beginning the conversion is always recommended.<\/p>\n

\n

Download and install NIUBI Partition Editor (free) from https:\/\/www.hdd-tool.com\/index.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Launch NIUBI. Right-click on the dynamic disk and choose “Convert to basic disk<\/strong>“.<\/p>\n

\"NIUBI<\/p>\n

Click OK<\/strong> to confirm.<\/p>\n

\"NIUBI<\/p>\n

Once done, click Apply<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"NIUBI<\/p>\n

Click OK<\/strong> to confirm the pending operation(s).<\/p>\n

\"NIUBI<\/p>\n

Restart Windows.<\/p>\n

The disk will be converted to a basic disk during the boot process.<\/p>\n

That’s it. Here’s the updated screenshot of Disk Management.<\/p>\n

\"NIUBI<\/p>\n

Thanks to the creators of the NIUBI utility for providing the dynamic to basic disk conversion feature in their free version.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’ve inadvertently converted your disk to a dynamic disk using Disk Management, you can revert it to a basic disk using the built-in diskpart command. Dynamic disks have been deprecated in Windows and are no longer recommended. Here’s a Microsoft article that explains how to convert a dynamic disk to a basic. Change a … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[965],"class_list":["post-75963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-utilities","category-windows","tag-disk-management"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33450,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/error-0x80070001-windows-11-setup\/","url_meta":{"origin":75963,"position":0},"title":"Error 0x80070001 or Disk space Error During Windows 11 Setup","author":"Ramesh","date":"February 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"When you install Windows 11 using Installation Assistant, USB disk, or ISO, one of the following errors appears, and the Setup process stops. Something went wrong Select Try again, and if that doesn't work, contact Microsoft support for help. Error code 0x80070001 -or- We can't tell if your PC has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 11"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 11","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-11\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"0x80070001 something went wrong windows 11 setup","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/0x80070001-error-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/0x80070001-error-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/0x80070001-error-3.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/0x80070001-error-3.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57345,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/find-if-disk-is-mbr-or-gpt\/","url_meta":{"origin":75963,"position":1},"title":"How to Find if a Disk Uses MBR or GPT","author":"Ramesh","date":"July 1, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Knowing how your disks were set up (MBR vs. GPT) is essential for troubleshooting boot issues and Windows Update errors. Master Boot Record (MBR) disks use the standard BIOS partition table. GUID partition table (GPT) disks use the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). The boot files reside in the System\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"diskpart gpt disk or mbr","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/diskpart-mbr-disk.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/diskpart-mbr-disk.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/diskpart-mbr-disk.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/diskpart-mbr-disk.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74125,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/diskpart-specified-service-does-not-exist-as-installed-service\/","url_meta":{"origin":75963,"position":2},"title":"DiskPart Error: “The specified service does not exist as an installed service”","author":"Ramesh","date":"March 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"When you run DiskPart, the following error may appear: DiskPart has encountered an error: The specified service does not exist as an installed service. See the System Event Log for more information. Cause The above error occurs if the \"Virtual Disk\" service (VDS) has been deleted from the system. Resolution\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10086,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/what-is-portablebaselayer-in-disk-management\/","url_meta":{"origin":75963,"position":3},"title":"What is PortableBaseLayer Partition in Windows 10 Disk Management","author":"Ramesh","date":"July 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"After upgrading to Windows 10 version 1903 (Codenamed \"19H1\"), the Disk Management window may show an additional drive named PortableBaseLayer of size 8191 MB (8 GB) When the PortableBaseLayer drive is right-clicked, all the options (except Properties) are grayed out. 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The selected disk is of the GPT partition style","author":"Ramesh","date":"May 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"When you clean install Windows 10 or 11 on your computer by booting from the USB setup disk, the following notification may be displayed: Windows can't be installed on drive n partition n When you click on the above notification, the following error message appears: Windows cannot be installed to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"UEFI-only vs Legacy BIOS boot option","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/bios-uefi-legacy-boot-modes.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/bios-uefi-legacy-boot-modes.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/bios-uefi-legacy-boot-modes.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/bios-uefi-legacy-boot-modes.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75963\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}