Aug 15, 2024 • Filed to: Take Data Backup • Proven solutions
Hey All, So I am trying to clone (and then extend) the primary HDD on a server, which is dynamic, and is in a software mirror to another larger new drive. But no matter what I use, Acronis, Paragon, I even tried an old copy of Symantec Ghost, but none can clone the source drive because it is Dynamic. Is there any way to clone a dynamic disk with the system partition on it to a larger HDD and extend it in this way?
Also....to try a workaround for this, I put another blank HDD in the server and then reset the mirror to the new large drive, then I tried to remove the original HDD and boot to the new large secondary mirrored drive. But I cannot. So I figured I would do a fixed boot off of the Windows Server 2008 R2 DVD, but I simply cannot boot off the DVD to run the fix boot. I get a gray screen with no dialog boxes when I try to boot off to the DVD. Thinking the DVD (or drive itself) was terrible, I tried another with the same results and then tried mounting the ISO via HP's ILO but no luck. Ironically a Windows 2008 non-R2 DVD works fine. My hunch is the R2 DVD is getting hung up on a driver.
What would your recommended course of action be for me to move all the data to a new drive and then extended the system partition to take advantage of the free space? Thanks for all your help in advance!
Cloning or backing up the data to other devices or on the same storage media in different partitions is done to secure the data. The same goes for the case when dealing with the dynamic disk. The task of clone dynamic disk to save the data against any data loss consequence. As the number of volumes increases in the magnetic drive, the risk of volume or partition corruption or crash increases. If the task is to protect data, the only way out is to clone a dynamic disk. This article is all about the importance of cloning the dynamic drive.
As mentioned above, creating backups or making clones of the entire disk is done to secure the data against potential dangers. So is the case that is under discussion in this article i.e., clone dynamic drive. Before heading towards the cloning of the dynamic disk, let's get some deeper insights regarding the characteristics and functionality of the dynamic disk.
Dynamic disk is the kind of hard drive in which you can create countless volumes. All the created volume can then be used for storing massive data sets. Five different types of volumes can be created i.e., simple volume, mirrored volume, striped volume, spanned volume, and RAID-5 volume. Each volume enhances the performance of your hard drive i.e., dynamic disk. The disk uses a database system to track all the information stored on different volumes on the same disk or different magnetic disks in the same device. This database location can be determined from the partition style. In the case of MBR, it is located in the last 1 MG of the disk, whereas, for GPT, it is present in 1 MG of reversed partition.
With this complex data storing system, it is quite challenging to clone a dynamic disk. One cannot perform this task via the device disk management tool. This article explains all about the reasons why you need to clone the dynamic drive. It also gives the method to do so. Third-party software is recommended as a solution. Here are the topics that would be discussed in detail.
As mentioned above, due to the complex system of data storage in a dynamic disk, creating clones to protect data is necessary. Any damage i.e., system crash, drive corruption, virus, or malware attacks, can cause dynamic disk corruption, on the whole, hence leading to data loss. There are other reasons which demand the clone dynamic disk. Some of them are as follows:
Apart from the built-in utilities or tools like the disk management tool, third-party application software is always on the go for helping out in tasks to create a clone dynamic disk. For creating a clone for a magnetic disk, one can use Wondershare UBackit. It is a powerful backup software that can help generate system images/disk images and saves them on external drives or network locations. The following are some excellent features of Wondershare UBackit.
It is compatible with Windows 10, 8, 8.1, 7. Using this software, one can clone the dynamic disk and save it to SSD. How? Here are the steps to follow:
Step 1 Launch And Install Wondershare UBackit
Step 2 Select A Dynamic Disk to Clone
From the list of the available drives, just choose the drive to back up (like C/D/E/F) and click on the “Select” button.
Step 3 Select SSD as Backup Destination
It is advised that you choose a brand new external hard drive to store the backup data and settings. Also, ensure that the storage space is big enough to load the whole disk.
Step 4 Complete the Dynamic Disk Cloning Process
After clicking on the “Clone” button, you can just sit back, and wait for a while. The application will display the progress of the disk backup process on the screen.
In the end, UBackit will inform you once the Disk Backup process is completed.
As soon as the process completes, the new cloned dynamic disk would work typically, and your data is saved on the drive.
Hence, as the other external or internal storage media demands to create successful backups and clones to protect data against data loss, the same goes for the dynamic disk. The clone for the dynamic disk is required when the device is running slow, the disc is out of space, when the drive is not performing well or if you want to add an extra layer of security to data. This article is all about creating the clone of a dynamic disk. In this regard, a third-party application software is recommended. Wondershare UBackit is the cloning software that can be used to perform the task.
Amy Dennis
staff Editor