Windows 7: dynamic disk in windows 7

Hello,
I have been using computers for a while but just recently started to learn what is really going on. I am having trouble understanding what a dynamic disk is. I have read a lot online but I need a very very simple explanation as I am an older person and a lot of the explanations I read online use technical terms which I also do not understand. I think what I have is a basic disk and I don't understand what a dynamic disk is. Can you have a dynamic disk if you have just a single regular physical disk, and if so what is the advantage. Please keep it as simple as possible which I know is frustrating to smart young people to have to do but I thank you for your understanding and patience.

Hello Bob, and welcome to Seven Forums.

A dynamic disc is basically like RAID, but using software only. It's really not used to much these days due to poor performance, and that you can't use it on drives that a OS (Windows) is installed on since it would render the OS unbootable.

Was there something specific you were wanting to use a dynamic disc for?


For more detailed information on basic and dynamic disks to help better explain, see the links below. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.

• Convert a Basic Disk to a Dynamic Disk
• Convert a Dynamic Disk to a Basic Disk
• Basic and Dynamic Disks (Windows)

Hope this helps for now,
Shawn

thanks the links you posted helped. I read that dynamic disks are somehow a more efficient use of the hard disk because you can change the amount of space available if you have a file or database that is going to increase in size. It sounds like a dynamic disk is like raid which is multiple actual physical drives, but instead you divide your physical disk into multiple volumes, where the volumes act like the separate physical drives in raid

You're welcome. It sounds like you got it understood now.

I suppose that it could be useful if you had a need for it when RAID is not an available option, and this is not on a drive with a OS installed.