Laptop May Incorrectly Have Option to Upgrade Basic Disks to Dynamic

ID: Q234308

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

The option to upgrade Basic disks to Dynamic should not be available on laptop computers. However, the option may be available on some laptop computer models.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q232463 Option to Upgrade Basic Disk to Dynamic on Laptop Not Available
Upgrading from Basic to Dynamic disks is not supported for laptop computers even if the option is available. Microsoft does not recommend upgrading your disks on laptop computers.


CAUSE

Certain laptop computers that do not support Advanced Power Management (APM) or Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) and are not listed in the BIOS information file (%SystemRoot%\Inf\Biosinfo.inf) may erroneously have support for Dynamic disks enabled.


RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

To disable the "Upgrade to Dynamic Disk" command, use the following steps.

NOTE: If you have already created any Dynamic disks, delete any volumes on the Dynamic disks and revert them to Basic disks before continuing.

  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).


  2. Locate the Start value under the following key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\dmload


  3. On the Edit menu, click Modify.


  4. Change the data value from 0x0 (boot) to 0x4 (disabled), and then click OK.


  5. Quit Registry Editor, and then restart the computer.



MORE INFORMATION

The following registry value is checked to determine whether or not Dynamic disk support is enabled:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\IDConfigDB\CurrentDockInfo\

DockingState:REG_DWORD:0
A value of 0x1 indicates that Dynamic disks are not supported.

Some laptop computers that do not support APM or ACPI, and most desktop or server-class computers on which Dynamic disks are supported have a value of 0x0 (or the value may be missing altogether).

For additional information about Dynamic disks, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q175761 Dynamic vs. Basic Storage in Windows 2000

Additional query words: ldm veritas

Keywords : kbenv kbtool
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb


Last Reviewed: December 30, 1999
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