Delete a dynamic volume

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To delete a dynamic volume

Open Computer Management (Local).
In the console tree, click Computer Management (Local), click Storage, and then click Disk Management.
Right-click the dynamic volume you want to delete, and then click Delete Volume.

If the menu item reads Delete Partition instead of Delete Volume, the volume is a partition or logical drive. For instructions on how to delete a partition or logical drive, see Related Topics.

Caution

Use caution when deleting a volume. Deleting a simple volume, spanned volume, striped volume, mirrored volume, or RAID-5 volume deletes all the data on the volume as well the volume itself.
You cannot recover deleted volumes.

Notes

To perform this procedure on a local computer, you must be a member of the Backup Operators group or Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. To perform this procedure remotely, you must be a member of the Backup Operators group or Administrators group on the remote computer. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure. For more information, see Default local groups, Default groups, and Using Run as.
To open Computer Management, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.
You cannot delete the system volume, boot volume, or any volume that contains the active paging file or crash dump (memory dump).
Dynamic simple, spanned, striped, mirrored, and RAID-5 volumes are not available on Windows XP Home Edition. Dynamic mirrored and RAID-5 volumes are not available on Windows XP Professional or Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium).

Open Command prompt.
Type:

diskpart
At the DISKPART prompt, type:

list volume

Make note of the number of the dynamic volume you want to delete.
At the DISKPART prompt, type:

select volumen

Select the dynamic volume, where n is the volume's number, that you want to delete.
At the DISKPART prompt, type:

delete volume

Deletes the selected dynamic volume.

Caution

Use caution when deleting a volume. Deleting a simple volume, spanned volume, striped volume, mirrored volume, or RAID-5 volume deletes all the data on the volume as well the volume itself.
You cannot recover deleted volumes.

Value	Description
list volume	Displays a list of basic and dynamic volumes on all disks.
select volume	Selects the specified volume, where n is the volume number, and gives it focus. If no volume is specified, the select command lists the current volume with focus. You can specify the volume by number, drive letter, or mount point path. On a basic disk, selecting a volume also gives the corresponding partition focus.
delete volume	Deletes the selected volume. You cannot delete the system volume, boot volume, or any volume that contains the active paging file or crash dump (memory dump).

Notes

To perform this procedure on a local computer, you must be a member of the Backup Operators group, Administrators group, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure. For more information, see Default local groups, Default groups, and Using Run as.
To open a command prompt, click Start, point to All programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command prompt.
You cannot delete the system volume, boot volume, or any volume that contains the active paging file or crash dump (memory dump).
Dynamic simple, spanned, striped, mirrored, and RAID-5 volumes are not available on Windows XP Home Edition. Dynamic mirrored and RAID-5 volumes are not available on Windows XP Professional or Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium).
For more information about DiskPart, see Related Topics.

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