How to Clone/Copy Dynamic Volumes to Basic Disk in Windows

Case: how do I clone volumes on dynamic disk?

To copy dynamic volumes to a basic disk without data loss, you can use the built-in tool, Diskpart, in Command Prompt. First, assign a drive letter to the dynamic volume you want to copy, then create a new basic disk on the target Seagate hard drive. Next, use the "copy" command in Diskpart to copy the dynamic volume to the new basic disk. Finally, remove the dynamic volume from the original disk and you'll have a copied basic disk with the same data.

People often copy dynamic volumes to extend storage space, replace a hard disk, or backup important data. However, unlike basic disks, dynamic volumes cannot be copied or cloned. This limitation is due to the unique nature of dynamic disks, which are composed of multiple physical disks. As a result, trying to copy or clone a dynamic volume can lead to data loss or corruption. Fortunately, there are alternative methods, such as using third-party software or built-in tools, that can help copy or clone dynamic disks without compromising the data.

Overview for dynamic volume, dynamic disk and basic disk
To copy dynamic volumes on dynamic disks in Windows, you can use the built-in Disk Management tool. First, open Disk Management by typing "diskmgmt.

Overview for dynamic volume, dynamic disk and basic disk

To copy dynamic volumes of dynamic disks, you may need to consider the characteristics of dynamic disks and volumes. Dynamic disks and volumes are not directly copyable due to their dynamic nature, which means their size and structure can change over time. This makes traditional copying methods, such as using the copy command or backup software, ineffective. To effectively copy dynamic volumes, you may need to explore alternative methods, such as using disk imaging software or creating a disk clone, which can capture the dynamic nature of the volumes.

👉What is a dynamic volume?

Dynamic volumes, found on dynamic disks, include simple, mirrored, striped, spanned, and RAID-5 volumes.

👉What's the difference between dynamic disk and basic disk?

🔹Basic disk	A basic disk is a type of disk management system that uses normal partition tables or logical drives to manage all partitions and data. It has a limit of 4 primary partitions or 3 primary and 1 extended partition with multiple logical drives. There are two partition styles: MBR and GPT. In a basic disk, existing partitions cannot be modified or changed.
🔹Dynamic disk	A dynamic disk uses dynamic volumes to manage data, allowing for flexible and expandable storage configurations without the limitations of a traditional partition table. This enables dynamic disk to extend volumes with dynamic disk configuration, and does not have a limit on the number of primary and secondary-extended partitions.

👉Can I convert dynamic disk to basic disk for volumes copying?

A basic disk can be easily converted to a dynamic disk without losing data. To do this, go to Disk Management, right-click the basic disk, and select the option to convert it to a dynamic disk. This process is straightforward and doesn't involve any data loss.

The conversion of a dynamic disk to a basic disk is only possible if the dynamic disk is empty. This conversion is irreversible, meaning that if you attempt to convert a dynamic disk that contains existing volumes, you will need to delete all the volumes on the dynamic disk, which is the opposite of the original purpose of cloning dynamic volumes, unless you make a backup first.

How to copy dynamic volumes on dynamic disks without conversion

Due to limitations in Windows, you can't directly copy a dynamic volume, and converting from dynamic to basic also deletes all volumes on the dynamic disk. To sidestep these issues, using a powerful dynamic disk clone software is highly recommended.

The feature should allow for the direct copying of dynamic volumes, including data volumes and system volumes, to another disk, enabling users to replace or upgrade hard drives without losing data, with an operation as simple as in Disk Management.

Qiling Disk Master Professional is a reliable choice for all Windows PCs to meet all standards.

✔ This software allows you to clone or backup volumes between different disk types, including MBR (Master Boot Record) and GPT (GUID Partition Table), as well as between dynamic disks and basic disks.
✔ You can use System Clone for dynamic system volumes and Partition Clone for non-system volumes. Additionally, you can edit partition size, perform intelligent or sector-by-sector clone, and align SSD partitions.
✔ You can also back up dynamic volumes to image files using System Backup or Partition Backup, and schedule backups, perform full/incremental/differential backups, compress/split/encrypt backups, and set up auto-delete chemes for old backups.schemes for old backups.

Here are 2 ways to copy dynamic volumes in Windows 11/10/8/7:

Free Download
Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

1. Clone dynamic volumes to basic disk (for OS and data migration) by using Disk Management or third-party software such as Acronis True Image, EaseUS Todo PCTrans, or AOMEI Backupper. This method involves creating a basic disk from a dynamic volume, which can then be used as a replacement for the original dynamic volume.
To copy dynamic volumes as a backup image for data protection, one can use the `dd` command in Linux. This command creates a bit-for-bit copy of the dynamic volume, preserving its original structure and data. The process involves running `dd` with the necessary options to specify the source and destination paths, such as `dd if=/dev/dynamichd1 of=/path/to/backup.

1. Clone dynamic volumes to basic disk

To create an exact copy of dynamic volumes to a basic disk, partition cloning is the easiest solution. It's safer than manual copy & paste and allows the cloned data to be accessed directly and normally.

With Qiling Disk Master Professional, the operation becomes incredibly easy. You don't need to convert the dynamic disk to a basic disk first; instead, you can simply follow the steps provided by the software to achieve your desired outcome.

Preparations:
◆ If you want to clone dynamic volumes to another hard drive, install the new drive first. If there's only one drive bay, use a USB-to-SATA adapter to connect it.
◆ The destination volume or partition will be completely replaced with the source data during the cloning process, so any existing data on it will be lost. It's recommended to back up the destination volume or partition before proceeding with the cloning.

Step 1. Launch the software, go to the Clone tab and select Partition Clone to copy a volume.

If you want to copy only system volumes to another disk, System Clone would be a better choice, allowing you to easily transfer OS to another hard drive.

Step 2. Select the volumes on the dynamic disk that you want to clone, then click Next.

Step 3. To save the dynamic volumes, choose the destination on the basic disk that was just connected, and then click "Next" to continue.

Step 4. Confirm the operation and click Proceed. You can also click Edit Partition, SSD Alignment or Sector By Sector Clone to optimize the cloning before confirming the operation and clicking Proceed.

Edit Partition - modify partition size and drive letter on the destination disk.
SSD Alignment - accelerate the reading and writing speed of the target SSD.
Sector By Sector Clone The software will create an intact copy of all sectors with longer cloning time without ticking it, instead running intelligent cloning by default to copy only used sectors.

Notes:

You cannot directly clone an entire dynamic disk, but you can achieve the same goal by cloning dynamic system volumes and other data volumes separately using System Clone and Partition Clone. This allows you to clone dynamic disk contents.
If you cloned your system volume to another HDD/SSD and want to boot from it, you can either replace the old dynamic disk with the new one or reboot to BIOS and set the new disk as the first boot option, allowing you to keep the old disk as a secondary storage.

2. Copy dynamic volumes as a backup image

Copying a dynamic volume is not only for replacing a hard drive without losing data, but also for backing up volumes to save storage space.

Step 1. Launch Qiling Disk Master, go to the Backup tab and choose Partition Backup or System Backup, depending on your needs.

Step 2. To add the dynamic volumes you want to copy, click on "Partition or Volume" and select the desired volumes. This allows you to copy multiple volumes simultaneously.

Step 3. Choose a destination to store the image file, which can be an internal or external hard drive, a USB drive, a cloud drive, or a NAS, as long as there's sufficient space. Click Proceed to execute the task.

Options The user can perform various actions on the backup image, including compressing, splitting, and encrypting it. They can also choose the backup mode, write a comment, and perform other tasks.
Schedule Backup Set up automatic backup options such as daily, weekly, monthly, or event triggers, as well as USB plug-in backups.
Backup Scheme To free up storage space, set up a rule to automatically delete old backups after a certain period of time, such as 30, 60, or 90 days. This will ensure that your storage space remains available for newer backups, while still maintaining a reasonable history of previous backups.

✎Tips:

To prepare for potential system errors, create a bootable media in advance, which allows you to boot the computer into WinPE and restore the system to a previously created image.
The system backup created by Qiling Disk Master Professional can be restored to a computer with different hardware via the Universal Restore feature.

Dynamic disks/volumes FAQ

What is the main advantage of using dynamic volumes?

Dynamic volumes offer advanced disk management features that basic volumes don't provide, including the ability to extend or shrink volumes on-the-fly, create fault-tolerant configurations using mirroring and RAID, and manage multiple disks as a single entity.

What are some types of dynamic volumes?

Dynamic volumes include various types, such as simple volumes, which use a single disk and function like basic partitions. There's also spanned volumes, which spread data across multiple disks, and striped volumes, which stripe data across multiple disks for enhanced performance. Additionally, mirrored volumes create a mirror copy of data on another disk for redundancy, and RAID-5 volumes distribute data and parity information across multiple disks for fault tolerance and improved performance.

Can I use dynamic volumes for data backup?

Dynamic volumes like mirrored volumes and RAID-5 volumes can be used for data backup and redundancy, but they don't replace regular backup practices.

Verdict

To copy a dynamic volume, a powerful clone tool is required, as Disk Management cannot handle this task. This tool can also be used to copy USB drives, replace hard drives in ASUS laptops, clone hard drives in Windows 10, and more.

Qiling Disk Master is a program that allows you to backup files, partitions, operating systems, and disks, with great compatibility and complete features, making it suitable for both data migration and daily data protection, including backup and copying of dynamic volumes in Windows Server.