Laptop May Incorrectly Have Option to Upgrade Basic Disks to Dynamic (234308)

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

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:

232463 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: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

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.

Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
Locate the Start value under the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\dmload
On the Edit menu, click Modify.
Change the data value from 0x0 (boot) to 0x4 (disabled), and then click OK.
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:

175761 Dynamic vs. Basic Storage in Windows 2000