Using Windows NT 4.0 multidisk storage

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

Using Windows NT 4.0 multidisk storage

Windows Server 2003 operating systems do not support mirror sets, stripe sets, stripe sets with parity, or volume sets created in Windows NT 4.0. These multidisk volumes must be backed up and deleted, or otherwise converted to dynamic disks prior to installing Windows Server 2003 operating systems. If you did not back up the volumes before you upgraded to Windows Server 2003, you can access these volumes using the FTOnline utility. You can install the FTOnline utility using the Support Tools setup program located in the \Support\Tools folder on the Windows XP Professional and on the Windows Server 2003 operating system CDs.

In Windows Server 2003 operating systems, you can use dynamic disks to create the equivalent types of multidisk storage found on basic disks in Windows NT 4.0.

Windows NT 4.0 Storage Type	Windows Server 2003 family Storage Type
mirror set	mirrored volume
stripe set	striped volume
stripe set with parity	RAID-5 volume
volume set	spanned volume

Mirrored volumes and RAID-5 volumes are not available on Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional and cannot be extended.

For more information about dynamic disks, see Using Dynamic Disks.