How to Fix the DiskPart Virtual Disk Service Error in 2024

What does "DiskPart virtual disk service error" mean?

According to Microsoft, the Virtual Disk Service is a Windows service that performs query and configuration operations in response to requests from end-users, scripts, and applications. It enables users to manage disks, volumes, and so on by running the DiskPart command prompt.

When managing disk partitions with DiskPart, including formatting a disk to FAT32, cleaning a disk, deleting a partition, converting MBR disk to GPT disk, or vice versa, you may receive the DiskPart virtual disk service error.

Thus, the fixes for different errors in DiskPart may vary. On this page, we list common Virtual Disk Service errors along with their solutions.

Common DiskPart Virtual Disk Service Errors and Their Solutions

Please check the exact information of the error you are encountering and refer to the correct solution to eliminate it immediately from your computer.

8 Common DiskPart Virtual Disk Service Errors and Their Solutions:

Your Essential Tools

The best way to deal with Diskpart Virtual Disk Service errors is to try using a powerful third-party disk management tool. A utility like the acclaimed Partition Manager is an excellent choice. With just a few simple steps, it can perfectly resolve every error on your computer.

Download it to see how it works and to help.

Error 1: It is not allowed to clean up disks containing the current boot, system, page file, crash dump, or hibernation volume

Applicable to:

Virtual Disk Service error:
Cleaning of a disk that contains the current boot, system, page file, crash dump or hibernation volume is not allowed.

This error usually occurs when you run the DiskPart clean command on your system drive. If you want to clean an old system drive or the running system drive to reinstall the Windows OS, you need to create a bootable disk with Partition Master Tool.

The "Delete All" feature in the tool works similarly to the clean command and can be used to delete all partitions for assistance.

• #1. Clean the OS Disk - Delete all OS partitions
• #2. Clean the Data Disk - Delete all partitions

#1. Clean the OS Disk - Delete all partitions with the OS:

Step 1: Connect your USB drive, flash drive, or CD/DVD to the PC properly. Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, click "Make Bootable Media" then hit "Create Bootable Media", and then "Next".

Step 2. Once your device is detected, select it as either USB or CD/DVD and click 'Continue'.

If you don't have a writing device at hand, you can also save the ISO image to your hard drive for burning to media at a later time.

Step 3: Connect the WinPE bootable drive to your computer. Restart your computer and press either “F2” or “Del” to enter BIOS. Set the boot order to “Removable Device” (for USB drive) or “CD-ROM Drive” (for CD/DVD) to prioritize it over the hard drive. Press “F10” to save and exit.

4. Install and launch Partition Master. Select the HDD or SSD you want to wipe, then right-click on it and choose “Wipe Hard Drive.”

5. Set the number of times you want the data to be erased, up to a maximum of 10 times. Then, click "OK".

Set the time

Step 6. Click “Erase 1 Task” and then “Apply” to begin erasing the data.

#2. Clean and delete all existing partitions on the data disk:

Launch Partition Master > Right-click the target disk and choose "Delete All" > Click "OK" and "Execute Operation".

Do you like this professional tool to help you fix the Diskpart Virtual Disk Service error? Keep reading to see more features that can help you fix such errors. If you like this page, share it to help others in need!

Error 2: The specified disk cannot be converted. CDs and DVDs are examples of disks that cannot be converted.

Applicable to:

Virtual Disk Service error:
The specified disk cannot be converted. For example, CD-ROM and DVD disks cannot be converted.

If you receive an error message about a Virtual Disk Service error when you type list disk > select disk * > convert gpt or convert mbr, this is because your drive has partitions on it.

How do you fix this error? You have two options:

"Two Solutions to Fix Virtual Disk Service Error - The Specified Disk Cannot Be Converted"

1. #1. Convert Disk to MBR/GPT Without Losing Data
2. #2. Clean Up Disk and Convert to MBR/GPT

#1. Convert disk directly to MBR or GPT with Partition Master

AOMEI Partition Assistant is an excellent alternative to DiskPart that can convert a disk to MBR or GPT without deleting partitions. No data loss occurs.

Follow the steps below to fix the Virtual Disk Service error - The specified disk is not convertible error on your own:

Convert MBR to GPT:

Step 1: Download and run AOMEI Partition Assistant.

Step 2: Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, select “Convert MBR to GPT” and click “Next” to continue.

Step 3. Select the MBR disk that you want to convert to GPT and click "Convert" to start the conversion.

- Convert GPT to MBR:

In the “Partition Master” tool, right-click the target GPT disk > Select “Convert to MBR” > Click “OK” > “Apply”.

#2. Clean and Convert Disk to MBR or GPT with DiskPart Command

When you use the DiskPart convert command to change a disk to GPT or MBR, the partitions on the disk are deleted. Therefore, back up any important data on the target disk to an external hard drive first.

Here are the steps:

1. Type cmd in the search bar, right-click on "Command Prompt," and select "Run as administrator" to open DiskPart.

Type diskpart and press Enter.

Step 2: Type each of the following commands, pressing Enter after each one:

• List disks
• Select disk * (replace * with the target disk number)
• Clear
• Convert to GPT or Convert to MBR
• Exit

Error 3: It is not allowed to delete on the current boot, system, page file, crash dump, or hibernation volume.

Applicable to:

Virtual Disk Service error: Deletes are not allowed on the current boot, system, page file, crash dump, or hibernation volume.

This error typically pops up when you issue a command in DiskPart telling Windows to delete the boot or system partition. If the volume number you entered was off, hit the correct volume number, then give deleting the partition another shot.

If your goal is to delete the OS partition or the boot partition, try the tutorial below.

Solution: Delete the Boot/System Volume via Partition Master Bootable Disk

Partition Master provides a safe way to help you delete an operating system partition from a boot disk or a boot drive.

1) Firstly, you need to create a Partition Master WinPE boot disk. 2) Then, boot the computer from the boot disk and run the Partition Master tool. 3) In the Partition Master main window, right click on the system or boot partition and choose “Delete”. Click “OK”. 4) Finally, click “Perform Operations” to start deleting the boot, system, page file, crash dump or hibernation volume.

Error 4: No media in the device

Applicable to:

Virtual Disk Service error:
No media in the device.

"Virtual Disk Service" error: No media available

When you run DiskPart and perform certain operations on the target disk, and you receive the Virtual Disk Service error: There is no media in the device, it means that DiskPart can't find the specified media. In other words, it fails to load or access the device.

2 Solutions to Fix "Virtual Disk Service Error - No Media in Device"

#1. Try using a different USB port to reconnect the external storage device or re-install the HDD/SSD

#2. Update the drivers for your multimedia devices:

Step 1: Right-click This PC, and then select Manage > Device Manager.

Step 2. Expand “Disk Drives,” then right-click the device that's having the issue and select “Update Driver.”

Step 3: In the new window, select "Search automatically for updated driver software."

You might also want to refer to the article There Is No Media in The (Specified) Device for additional solutions.

Error 5: Volume size is too large

Applicable to:

Virtual Disk Service error:
Volume size is too large.

"Virtual Disk Service error: Volume size is too large"

This error typically occurs when you use the DiskPart utility to format a large partition or USB/external hard drive to the FAT32 file system. Due to limitations of the FAT32 file system, Windows doesn't allow you to format devices larger than 32 GB as FAT32. To resolve this error, you have two options, as described below.

Two Ways to Solve the Virtual Disk Service Error - Volume Size Too Large Issue

• #1. Formatting Large Devices to FAT32
• #2. Formatting Large Devices to Other File Systems

#1. Format the large device to FAT32 using a third-party formatting tool

If you tend to use large devices as FAT32 removable drives, then the professional formatting tool – Partition Master is your best choice. It breaks through the limitation of FAT32 and allows users to set large storage devices (over 32 GB) to FAT32 via its “Format” feature:

- Right-click on the external drive or USB you want to format and select "Format." - Set the Volume label, File system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and Cluster size, then click "OK." - Click "Yes" to proceed. - Click the "Perform 1 task" button and hit "Apply" to format the hard disk partition.

#2. Format the device with a different file system

Another fix you can try is to change the file system, and format your hard drive or external USB to another file system that Windows supports – NTFS (for internal HDD/SSD partitions) or exFAT (for external hard drives):

Step 1: Right-click "This PC," and then select "Manage." Next, enter "Disk Management."

2. Right-click on the target hard drive partition, and select “Format.”

Step 3: Give it a label, choose a file system, and click "OK" to begin formatting the drive.

Error 6: There is not enough space available for this operation.

Applicable to:

Virtual Disk Service error:
There is not enough space available to complete this operation.

"Virtual Disk Service" error: Insufficient space available

This error usually occurs when there is no unallocated space available on the hard drive, or when there isn't enough unallocated space for certain operations, such as extending a partition or creating a primary partition using the DiskPart utility.

Two solutions:

1. 1]. Shrink Partition to get unallocated space
2. 2]. Extend Partition, with or without unallocated space

Error 7: Service initialization failed

Applies to:

Virtual Disk Service error:
The service failed to initialize.

"Virtual Disk Service" error: The service failed to initialize.

Usually, the Virtual Disk Service starts automatically on a Windows PC. However, it might fail to start or initialize occasionally.

Two solutions:

1] Open the DiskPart utility and type net start vds, then press Enter.

2] Manually restart the Virtual Disk service: Type services in the search box, and press Enter > Right-click or double-click the Virtual Disk service > Select Start.

This will change the "Virtual Disk" service's startup type to "Automatic," and then restart Windows.

Start Virtual Disk Service

Error 8: Media is write-protected.

Applicable to:

Virtual Disk Service error:
The media is write protected.

"Virtual Disk Service" error: Initialization failed

This error usually occurs when a storage device gets encrypted or locked due to some manual operation or device malfunction. There are several ways to resolve this issue.

Full Fix:

5 ways to remove write protection from USB, SD card, and internal/external hard drive in Windows 10/8/7.

Additional hint:

After fixing the diskpart error, you can use this free disk tool to manage your disk. Here is a guide showing you how to do it.

What is Diskpart and How to Use Diskpart on Windows

After fixing the Diskpart virtual disk service error, you can apply Diskpart command lines to manage disk partitions. This page offers a complete guide to help you master and use Diskpart to partition hard drives by yourself.

Conclusions

These are several solutions that you can use to resolve typical Virtual Disk Service errors that you may encounter when managing disk partitions by using Diskpart.

As we've established, the fix for each error is different, and you need to figure out exactly what issue you're dealing with in DiskPart to know which method to use. We've gathered the most probable ones to help you out, so let's hope they work!

If the issue that you are experiencing is not listed on this page, use the Search option in the upper-right corner of this page to search for help.