How to Convert a Basic Volume to a Primary Partition

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Simple Volume and Primary Partition

A simple volume is a primary partition on a dynamic disk. It can be created only on a dynamic disk in Windows NT 4.0 and earlier versions.

A primary partition is one that can be used to boot an operating system. It can only be created under a basic disk with MBR or GPT partition table in all Windows systems.

Simple volumes exist on dynamic disks, while primary partitions reside on basic disks. Therefore, to convert a simple volume to a primary partition, you would actually be converting the dynamic disk back to a basic disk.

How to Convert a Basic Volume to a Primary Partition

As we know, Windows Disk Management allows users to convert a basic disk to dynamic disk, but you cannot directly convert a dynamic disk back to basic disk unless you delete all the volumes. That is to say, once you choose to convert to basic disk with Windows Disk Manager, you have to create a hard drive backup in advance if there is any data involved.

As shown below, you cannot convert a dynamic disk to a basic disk in Windows Disk Management.

"Convert dynamic disk to basic" is not available

In this case, a third-party disk management alternative software – tools Partition Master will save your effort to convert simple volume to primary without deleting or removing any data. It offers a "Convert to Basic Disk" feature that completes the task with just a few easy clicks and no data loss.

3 Steps to Convert Simple Volume to Primary Partition with Partition Master Tool

Here are the steps to use a dynamic disk conversion tool - AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional.

Step 1. Install and launch the Partition Master, then go to Disk Converter.

Step 2: Choose the disk conversion mode that suits your needs:

• Convert to Dynamic Disk: Convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk.
• Convert to Basic Disk: Convert a dynamic disk to a basic disk.

Step 3. Choose the destination disk - Basic or Dynamic. Make sure you have selected the right disk and then click "Convert" to start the conversion.

0:00 - 0:18 Convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk; 0:19- 0:36 convert a dynamic disk back to a basic disk.

The program will automatically convert all these simple volumes to primary and logical partitions on a dynamic disk.

Suggested reading:

1. If your dynamic disk is an MBR disk and has more than 4 simple volumes, you will end up with 4 primary partitions after the conversion, and the rest will become logical drives. As long as you haven't reached the limit, you can use a partition manager tool to convert a logical partition to primary. However, if your dynamic disk is a GPT disk, all simple volumes will be converted to primary partitions after the above steps.

2. The "Convert to Basic Disk" function can only be used on dynamic disks that have simple volumes and mirrored volumes. It does not support spanned volumes or striped volumes.

3. While Convert to Basic Disk is running, all other operations are unavailable.

Frequently Asked Questions about "Convert Simple Volume to Primary Partition"

Here, we also list some frequently asked questions about converting simple volumes to primary partitions. You can follow and find the answers to the listed questions below if you are interested:

How do I create a primary partition?

To convert a simple volume to primary, you need reliable partitioning software like the Primary Partition Converter recommended on this page. It lets you easily switch a logical simple volume to a primary one with just a few clicks.

2. How do I convert a basic data partition to a primary partition?

Launch Partition Master. Right click the target primary data partition, choose “Advanced”, then select “Convert to Primary Partition”. Click “OK”, then click “Apply”.

3. Is it better to use simple volumes instead of partitions?

A primary partition is a volume used to install and boot an operating system and applications on a computer, while a simple partition is mainly used for data storage on an extended partition.