Disk part can extend partitions on basic disks, but not if the partition is the boot partition.

If your boot partition/disk is dynamic, this limits your options quite severly for using 3rd party tools (partition magic/server magic), as they tend to only be compatible with basic disks.

I have come to this same conclusion regarding the choice of Dynamic drives. That choice was made years ago. Water under the bridge, so to speak.

The reason for the post was to come up with any possible solution or path to consider to solve the problem and which I may have overlooked.

If you were in this position how would you approach the problem? (may be a better way to phrase it)

A restore from disaster recovery is a last resort as far as I am concerned.

I have a total of four 36G drives and four 72G drives to work with.

I could reconfigure the RAID-5 array as it is back to three of the 36G drives, then
pull them, boot with the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant bootable disk, then,
set up one of the 72G drives as a basic drive with partitions sized the way I want.

My question at this point is what would be the best way to get the bootable contents of C: and the files on G: moved or copied from the Dynamic RAID-5 Array over to the Basic drive?

Then, if this is even possible to this point, can I then take that Basic drive with my bootable OS and files, and create a new larger RAID-5 from it?

Some possibilities for an end goal would be:

A) Use four 72G drives as a RAID-5 with two partitions of 12G (C:) and 216G (G:), or

B) Use two 36G drives as a RAID-1 with C: (the OS) on it and four 72G drives as a RAID-5 with the G: (files and Exhcange Server) on it.

The trick seems to be figuring out what tools to use to move the C: and G: drives around, and what are the advantages or disadvantages of the two possibilities outlined above.

Thanks for any input which may lead to a solution.

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@Dev Mgr wrote:
Disk part can extend partitions on basic disks, but not if the partition is the boot partition.

If your boot partition/disk is dynamic, this limits your options quite severly for using 3rd party tools (partition magic/server magic), as they tend to only be compatible with basic disks.

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This answer didn't really address solving the problem.

Could you elaborate on the options you allude to that are available and I am limited to?

Are there any options to reach my goal by using Array Manager, Repair Console, Ctrl-A, third-party, etc. or some combination of them?

Do you have any suggestions as to how to solve the problem described in the earlier post? See reply there for more info.

A couple of options are:

- A search in Google yields this.
- back up the OS and see if you can restore to a basic disk (back up, delete container, recreate, and see if you can restore (check with your backup software if this is an option)
- format and reinstall and never touch the dynamic disk option

Thanks for the link. That is another option that looks interesting.

One strategy I was considering is to use a spare 72G drive and format it with two partitions (12G and 60G) to hold the OS and Data drives (C: and G:).

Then, (after making a backup), booting to Windows 2000 Server Repair Console (installing the PERC 3/Di drivers) and using DISKCOPY (if it's available) to copy the images from the RAID to the basic disk.

Shut down, pull the RAID drives and reboot to the 72G basic drive.

Hopefully I can then use Array Manager to set up either: (opinions welcome)

a RAID-1 (Basic) for the OS and a RAID-5 (Basic) for the Data, or

a RAID-5 (Basic) with two partitions for OS and data, (can a RAID-5 have two partitions without being Dynamic?)

and then migrate the C: from the single 72G drive to the RAID-1 and the G: to the RAID-5, or optionally, each to a unique partition on the RAID-5.

This all depends upon DISKCOPY being an available command in Repair Console (or in Server Assistant?) and being able to run Repair Console with access to the RAID-5 array. Have you any experience with, or know if it is possible to access a RAID array on a PERC 3/Di controller via the Repair Console, or make a disk copy from Server Assistant?

Please let me know if you see any problems with the above scenario, or if it leads you to some other options to offer. I'll definitely keep far away from the Dynamic disk selection.

Thanks again for the link. I may be able to create a safe test for this option and try it out. Ultimately it would be the easiest way. I hope there aren't any caveats that weren't covered.

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@Dev Mgr wrote:
A couple of options are:

- A search in Google yields this.
- back up the OS and see if you can restore to a basic disk (back up, delete container, recreate, and see if you can restore (check with your backup software if this is an option)
- format and reinstall and never touch the dynamic disk option

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Further investigation reveals that dskprobe.exe is not an option for me for two reasons.

One) Windows Server 2003 is the minimum requirement. I am running Windows 2000 Server.

Two) It only works on dynamic drives with a single volume. I have two volumes on the drive (Virtual Drive 0 & 1)

Thought that I should follup with an FYI for the thread.

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@Dev Mgr wrote:
- format and reinstall and never touch the dynamic disk option

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Reading in Windows 2000 Server - Disk Management literature it indicates that all RAID drives MUST be dynamic in Win2K. Here's the URL . . .

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/2000/server/reskit/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/Windows/2000/server/reskit/en-us/core/fncb_dis_GXIH.asp

Is there a way to create a RAID-1 or RAID-5 array that is not Dynamic?

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Is there a way to create a RAID-1 or RAID-5 array that is not Dynamic?

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Not on an OS (software) level, but you can on a hardware level (raid controller).

The only way it used to be possible was to install NT4 server, create the software raid 5 and then upgrade to W2K. Obviously this is not a solution for you.