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How to Recover Data from Invalid Dynamic Disk?

Wondershare Recoverit Authors

Jan 18, 2024 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions

I took the hard disk from a broken notebook of mine. Then I tried to connect it to another computer. It was supposed to work fine. But the computer told me that the hard disk is "Dynamic & Invalid". Now I'm unable to open it. I don't know what happened, but I need the files on that disk back. Is there any way that I can do so? Please help me.

First of all, this problem is a normal issue when you want to connect an external hard drive to a computer. This does not mean that your external hard drive is broken. It happens because of "MBR ERROR" or other system errors. But coming here, you can stay calm. In this article, we will show you get lost data back with Recoverit and repair invalid dynamic disk by converting it to a basic disk.

In this article

Part 1: How to Recover Data from an Invalid Disk

One of the quickest and stress-free ways to recover data from an invalid dynamic disk is to use the best quality data recovery tool. There are several options on the market, of course, and so it is necessary to read reviews and do your best to obtain the most appropriate tool. A good tool will be able to retrieve data from an invalid dynamic disk even if you cannot see your disk partitions. It will give you the option to search for and recover the lost partition. A reputable and effective tool gets rid of all the thinking and caution that goes with Recoverit.

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Guide to Hard Disk Data Rescue

The following guide is based on the Windows version of Recoverit. If you are a Mac user, you can process the recovery with the Mac version with similar steps. Also, this page - Mac external hard disk recovery, may come in very handy to you.

Step 1. Choose a recovery scenario

To recover data from an invalid disk, you can go to select the option "Hard Drives and Locations" to start

Step 2. Select your invalid disk

Select your external hard drive where you lost significant data under the External Devices section, and click the disk to scan lost files.

invalid disk data recovery

Step 3. Scan the invalid disk to search for lost data

Recoverit will have your disk scanned. You can also stop or pause the scanning process at anytime to recover files from invalid dynamic disks.

retrieve data from invalid disk

Step 4. Recover data from invalid disk

All found contents on your invalid disk will be displayed in the window. You can view file names if you want to check how many files on your invalid disk can be recovered.

retrieve data from invalid disk

In the end, you just need to select the files you want and click "Recover" to save them on partitions on your computer.


Part 2: How to Repair an Invalid Dynamic Disk Without Data Loss

After successfully recovering data from the invalid dynamic disk, you can attempt to repair it without data loss by following the 3 solutions introduced below.

1. Reconnect the Dynamic Invalid Disk

If the disk is connected incorrectly, it may lead to a dynamic disk invalid issue. In such a scenario, you can resolve it by following these steps:

  1. Power off your computer and disconnect the disk.
  2. Remove the SATA cable and power cable.
  3. Reconnect the SATA and power cables, ensuring the dynamic disk is connected correctly.
  4. Restart the computer and access Disk Management to verify if the dynamic disk is still invalid.
  5. If the issue persists, attempt connecting the disk to another PC or use a new SATA cable.

2. Upgrade the Windows Operating System

If you last updated your computer a while ago, the invalid issue might stem from compatibility problems between the operating system and the dynamic disk. To address this, navigate to Settings, Update & Security, and select Windows Update to upgrade your operating system. Once the upgrade is finished, restart the computer and reconnect the dynamic disk.

update operating system

3. Convert Dynamic Disk to Basic Disk Without Losing Data

If your hard drive appears as a dynamic disk and is in an "invalid" status in the Disk Management screen, you will be cut off from the data in the drive. One of the main ways to solve this problem is to attempt to convert the invalid dynamic disk into a basic disk. As many operating systems support a basic disk, it will be easy to change any dynamic disk you have to a basic one. As you are likely to lose data when performing this act, it is advisable to do a data recovery step with suitable software. After this, follow these steps.

  1. Look for Compmgmt.msc in your Start Menu first.
  2. Press your Enter key on the keyboard to view Disk Management.
  3. Right-click the invalid dynamic disk.
  4. From the right-clicking menu, choose Convert to Basic Disk.

convert to basic disk

4. Reactivate the Invalid Disk via Commands

  1. Go to your computer's search bar on the Start Menu. Type "cmd".
  2. Next, run the "cmd" as an administrator.
  3. A pop-up Command Prompt screen will appear. Type "diskpart" on it and press Enter key.
  4. Then, type "list disk". Click Enter key on your keyboard.
  5. After that, confirm the number of the invalid disk.
  6. Next, type "select disk<disk number>" and hit Enter.
  7. Finally, type "online" and press Enter once again.

Part 3. What Is a Dynamic Disk

A dynamic disk is a logical disk that is upgraded from local hard drives on the Windows OS. It is capable of using multiple hard disks as well as splitting and duplicating data. It can contain up to 2000 additional and independent partitions and volumes. In a dynamic disk, your data storage is divided into volumes rather than partitions. Besides, using a dynamic disk, you can make volume changes without having to restart the OS and losing important data.

Part 4. Reasons for Dynamic Disk Invalid Problem

Major causes of an invalid disk status are usually three. They entail the following:

Other triggers include wrong Bios settings, conflicting software, hardware faults, OS problems, partitioning mistakes, and file system boot sector damage among others. In all the above-mentioned cases, data may get lost or deleted. But this is not as bad as it sounds. You can restore your files regardless of their formats with a hard drive recovery software tool.

Final Words

In conclusion, the best way to avoid encountering the dynamic disk invalid status is to dodge the causes. In reality, though, you cannot stay away from some of the causes. It is your computer that decides when to pop up the invalid error. As we noted earlier, the invalid status is sometimes caused by human error. For instance, you can partition your hard drive wrongly and trigger a widespread invalid disk error. As well, you might neglect your computer's security and privacy by not using a good quality anti-virus tool. The entry of viruses and malware can corrupt your computer's partition table and cause an invalid disk status.

It may be useful to use a Registry clean-up tool to maintain the health of registry files as these could cause an invalid disk error when damaged. Once you do everything you can to avoid this error and it still happens, follow the methods outlined in this article to solve it.

When you're repairing or have repaired the invalid dynamic disk, you might find your data lost unexpectedly. To get all lost data back, you can use Recoverit Data Recovery to assist you. It is a reliable hard disk data recovery application to retrieve more than 500 formats of data back from a variety of storage devices.

Recoverit author

Theo Lucia

chief Editor

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