To move disks to another computer

Using the Windows interface

Print this procedure or write down the steps before attempting to move disks from one computer to another.

Use Disk Management to make sure the status of the volumes on the disks is Healthy. If the status is not Healthy, you should repair the volumes before you move the disks. For more information about repairing disks, see Related Topics.

How?

Open Computer Management (Local)

In the console tree, click Disk Management.

Where?

Computer Management (Local) > Storage > Disk Management

Volume status is displayed in the Volume List and Graphical View:

•	In the Volume List view, volume status is displayed in the Status column.
•	In the Graphical View, volume status is displayed under the disk size and file system information.

Uninstall the disks you want to move using Device Manager.

How?

1.	Open Computer Management (Local)
2.	In the console tree, click Device Manager. Where? Computer Management > System Tools > Device Manager
3.	In the device list, double-click Disk drives.
4.	Right-click the disks you want to uninstall, and then click Uninstall.
5.	In the Confirm Device Removal dialog box, click OK.

For basic disks, skip to step 5. For dynamic disks, use Disk Management to remove the disks you want to move.

How?

1.	Open Computer Management (Local)
2.	In the console tree, click Disk Management. Where? Computer Management (Local) > Storage > Disk Management
3.	Right-click the disks that you want to move, and then click Remove Disk.
4.	If the disks are external, unplug them from the computer. If the disk are internal, turn off the computer and then physically remove the disks.

If the disks are external, plug them into the computer. If the disks are internal, make sure the computer is turned off and then physically install the disks in that computer.

Start the computer that contains the disks you moved.

Follow the instructions in the Found New Hardware dialog box.

If the Found New Hardware dialog box does not appear, click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then click Add Hardware to start the Add Hardware Wizard.

Use Disk Management to detect the new disks.

How?

Open Computer Management (Local)

In the console tree, click Disk Management.

Where?

Computer Management (Local) > Storage > Disk Management

Click Action, and then click Rescan Disks.

If the disks are dynamic disks, Disk Management displays Import Foreign Disks dialog box. Right-click any disk marked Foreign, click Import Foreign Disks, and then follow the instructions on your screen.

Note

•	To open Computer Management, click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Performance and Maintenance, click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.
•	You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure.
•	When moved to another computer, basic disks receive the next available drive letter on that computer. Dynamic disks retain the drive letter they had on the previous computer. If the drive letter is already use on the computer where they are moved, the disk receives the next available drive letter.
•	After you move a dynamic disk from another computer, you can see and use any existing volume on that disk.
•	If you are moving spanned, striped, mirrored, or RAID-5 volumes, it is highly recommended that you move all disks containing the volume together. Otherwise, the volumes on the disks cannot be brought online and will not be accessible except to delete them.
•	Do not move multidisk volumes from computers running Windows NT 4.0 to computers running Windows XP or . Windows XP and do not support mirror sets, stripe sets, stripe sets with parity, or volume sets. Instead, you must back up and then delete these volumes before you move the disks, and then create new dynamic volumes on and restore the data.
•	Every time you remove or import disks to a computer, you must click Action, click Rescan Disks, and then verify that the disk information is correct.
•	You can move multiple disks from different computers to a computer by installing the disks, opening Disk Management, right-clicking any of the new disks, and then clicking Import Foreign Disks. When importing multiple disks from different computers, always import all of the disks from one computer at a time. For example, if you want to move disks from two computers, import disks from the first computer and then import disks from the second computer.
•	Disk Management describes the condition of the volumes on the disks before they are imported. Review this information carefully. If there are any problems, this will tell you what will happen to each volume on these disks once the disks have been imported. For more information, see Related Topics.
•	Move GUID partition table (GPT) disks only to other Itanium-based computers running Windows XP 64-Bit Edition, Whistler Advanced Server for Intel Itanium systems, or Whistler Datacenter Server for Intel Itanium systems. On x86-based computers, Disk Management shows GPT disks as containing one partition that covers the entire disk, but you cannot access any data on the disk.

Using a command line

1.	Open Command Prompt
2.	Type: diskpart
3.	At the DISKPART prompt, type: rescan
4.	At the DISKPART prompt, type: list disk Make note of the disk number of the disk you want to import.
5.	At the DISKPART prompt, type: select disk n
6.	At the DISKPART prompt, type: import

Value	Description
rescan	Locates new disks that may have been added to the computer.
list disk	Displays a list of disks and information about them, such as their size, amount of available free space, whether the disk is a basic or dynamic disk, and whether the disk uses the master boot record (MBR) or GUID partition table (GPT) partition style. The disk marked with an asterisk (*) has focus.
select disk n	Selects the specified disk, where n is the disk number, and shifts the focus to it.
import	Imports a foreign disk group into the local computer's disk group. The import command imports every disk that is in the same group as the disk that has focus.

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Note

•	To open command prompt, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.
•	You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure.
•	Do not move multidisk volumes from computers running Windows NT 4.0 to computers running Windows XP or . Windows XP and do not support mirror sets, stripe sets, stripe sets with parity, or volume sets. Instead, you must back up and then delete these volumes before you move the disks, and then create new dynamic volumes on and restore the data.
•	After you move a dynamic disk from another computer, you can see and use any existing volume on that disk.
•	Move GUID partition table (GPT) disks only to other Itanium-based computers running Windows XP 64-Bit Edition, Whistler Advanced Server for Intel Itanium systems, or Whistler Datacenter Server for Intel Itanium systems. On x86-based computers, Disk Management shows GPT disks as containing one partition that covers the entire disk, but you cannot access any data on the disk.
•	For more information about DiskPart, see Related Topics.

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•	DiskPart
•	Troubleshooting
•	Disk status descriptions
•	Volume status descriptions