Help needed to convert hard disk from Dynamic to Basic Type.

D

Bought a new Desktop PC a month back and installed windows 8 pro.Everything was fine untill today when I decided to install Ubuntu 13.04.I had a single 1 TB HDD with 3 partitions C-100GB, D-100GB, E-800GB wanted to install Ubuntu in a 30GB partition and shrinked drive D using Windows tool :-(

....All the partitions got converted into Dynamic and I am unable to install Ubuntu also.

Merged those 30GB and 70GB to get back the 100GB partition again but still its dynamic.

Can anyone plz suggest me the best software available to convert all the partitions to basic(primary) without losing any data in any drives.

Thank you

EaseUS partition manager..
Free Partition Magic alternative & free Partition Manager Software for Windows PC, Workstation and Server - EaseUS.

Not sure if the EaseUs partition manager will work on this converion issue , at least it didn't worked in my case.
Now , just in case if it doesn't works , you can try (Dynamic partition manager).

Also see Mini Tool Partition Wizard, though I am not sure if this have the option in the free version or not.

D

Ok thanks guys for your help ....I will try those things....but before that I wanted to know how many drives can be created or partitioned if the hdd type is basic.My current partition is like this

Can I partition that New Volume(D drive) drive into two more partitions of 30+70Gb and keep all the partitions as basic.

Also how much time it may take to do that type conversion....What happens if power goes off in between because my battery backup lasts for only 5-7 mins :cry:

I don't think its possible to "convert" that dynamic partition to basic, without formatting the drive.
I too did that mistake with my 500GB HDD 5 years back (just to make manageable partitions i.e. more than 4) and now I'm stuck with that since then. I use my 8 year old 80 GB IDE HDD for my OS, and the newer 500GB one for storing the data. Can't afford to lose all that content gathered over "years of hard work" :-D

.

A google search revealed that there are ways (risky ones) for that. Check these links out.
Convert a Dynamic Disk to a Basic Disk - Windows 7 Help Forums
Change a Dynamic Disk Back to a Basic Disk

D

Oh okay thats bad....thanks CyberKID.........so I guess I need to back up that 800Gb contents before trying anything huh :-x

One more query can i install Ubuntu 13.04 in my pc with dynamic partition??....I tried but Dynamic partition HDD was not at all detected while installation procedure.

CyberKID said:
I don't think its possible to "convert" that dynamic partition to basic, without formatting the drive.
I too did that mistake with my 500GB HDD 5 years back (just to make manageable partitions i.e. more than 4) and now I'm stuck with that since then. I use my 8 year old 80 GB IDE HDD for my OS, and the newer 500GB one for storing the data. Can't afford to lose all that content gathered over "years of hard work" .

A google search revealed that there are ways (risky ones) for that. Check these links out.
Convert a Dynamic Disk to a Basic Disk - Windows 7 Help Forums
Change a Dynamic Disk Back to a Basic Disk

I was able to do it with Dynamic Partition Manager , however I lost one of the partitions in teh process of conversion. Total data loss was estimated at around 25-30% of 1TB.
It's definitely risky , but possible using some tools.

D

Okay Rishi thanks......Can I install Ubuntu 13.04 in that dynamic partition? if it is possible then I wont even try to do that conversion.....anyhow if I backup those contents and do a fresh insrtalation of windows 8, how to format my entire hdd so that it is done as a basic type??

I don't think it's possible to install ubuntu on a dynamic partition. Afterall, it too, is an OS. Moreover, it does require a completely new file system (Ext3).

dikart4 said:
Okay Rishi thanks......Can I install Ubuntu 13.04 in that dynamic partition? if it is possible then I wont even try to do that conversion.....anyhow if I backup those contents and do a fresh insrtalation of windows 8, how to format my entire hdd so that it is done as a basic type??

Just simply backup all the required data from it on another storage media.
Now , simply use any software like EaseUs and you'll get options for converting "Dynamic disk to basic." But'll format the contents. Once a basic disk is created , you can partition is accordingly depending on your needs.

It IS possible to convert dynamic disk to basic without formatting, via EasyUS partition master. It did work in my case.

D

Thank you Guys ....EaseUS worked like a charm here is my new Basic Type HDD

I had backed up important documents before doing it and the entire process was completed within 3 mins.More importantly there was no data loss :lol:

Now Only drive C is reported as primary type(as in the image uploaded) and Drive D and E are reported as logical......Can I convert those drives as primary? Is it necessary to convert that new volume into primary to install another OS like Ubuntu 13.04?

dikart4 said:
Thank you Guys ....EaseUS worked like a charm here is my new Basic Type HDD View attachment 11188

I had backed up important documents before doing it and the entire process was completed within 3 mins.More importantly there was no data loss

Been there been thru.. so told ya abt it.. :-D

D

Chaitanya said:
Been there been thru.. so told ya abt it..

oh okay......I was worried about loosing data thanks a lot for your valuable suggestion.

After conversion Only drive C is reported as primary type(as in the image uploaded) and Drive D and E are reported as logical......Can I convert those drives as primary? Is it necessary to convert that new volume into primary to install another OS like Ubuntu 13.04?

AFAIK.. you can convert primary to logical never tried other way though..
For installing linux you better spare some space & OS will create a volume for itself...

Better if you leave it untouched cause a system cannot have more than 4 primary partitions..

D

I want to install ubuntu in another drive other than windows 8 drive(drive C)....so I am planning to divide drive D into 30+70Gb partitions.

Can I install any OS windows/ubuntu in a logical partition/drive or should I have to convert that partition to primary type and then go for installation.

Can I install Ubuntu on a logical partition ? What will be the advantage or disadvantage of using a logical partition to install Ubuntu 12.04? - Ask Ubuntu

D

Chaitanya said:
Can I install Ubuntu on a logical partition ? What will be the advantage or disadvantage of using a logical partition to install Ubuntu 12.04? - Ask Ubuntu

That link really helped ....thank you Chaitanya

You can install Ubuntu on a logical partition, but not windows. Latter needs a primary partition.

D

dashing.sujay said:
You can install Ubuntu on a logical partition, but not windows. Latter needs a primary partition.

okay thanks......learnt a lot of new things because of that dynamic drive problem

^If at all you face this dynamic problem again with windows, and do not have access to other system , then DO NOT restart/shutdown system, otherwise you will not be able to recover it.

Good thing I have only Logical and Basic type in my drive.