Vista supports both basic and dynamic disks (as does Windows 2000 and XP). You can use the Disk Management console to convert a basic disk to dynamic. Before you attempt to make the conversion, you need to keep the following points in mind:

• You cannot revert to a basic disk without first deleting all partitions and volumes.
• Vista Home editions do not support dynamic disks.
• Portable computer do not support dynamic disks.

You can convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk by completing the steps below:

1. Click Start, right click Computer and click Manager.
2. Type mmc and click OK.
3. Click Storage.
4. Click Disk Management.
5. In the right pane, right-click the disk you want to convert and click Convert to Dynamic Disk.

Alternatively, you can also use the ‘convert dynamic’ command from the Command Prompt.

Unfortunately converting back to a basic disk is not as simple but you need know the general process that has to be completed. Your very first step will be to back up data on the volumes. You can then use the ‘convert basic’ command from the command prompt to return the disk to a basic disk.

The next installment of this article will look at configuring dynamic disks under Vista.

[tags]vista, basic disk, dynamic disk, windows, microsoft, partition, volume, drive[/tags]