Troubleshoot | This Operation is Not Allowed on the Invalid Disk Pack

This operation is not allowed on the invalid disk pack!

Dynamic disks are a separate form of volume management that allows volumes to have noncontiguous extents on one or more physical disks. Dynamic disks and volumes rely on the Logical Disk Manager (LDM) & Virtual Disk Service (VDS) and their respective features.

These features can help you execute tasks such as changing/cloning disks from dynamic to basic or creating fault-tolerant volumes.

Nevertheless, if your dynamic disk 1 containing important files is marked as invalid and you’re reminded that this operation is not allowed on the invalid disk pack, it can be worrisome.

When you encounter disk errors in Windows, opening Disk Management to investigate and access pertinent disk information is often advisable.

In this case, you’re only permitted to see this invalid dynamic disk in Disk Management rather than accessing the data saved on this drive.

Why is my disk showing up as invalid?

Why is dynamic disk invalid? Windows incompatibility issues, bad sectors, hard drive issues, bad SATA issues, or virus attacks are responsible for invalid dynamic disk errors.

◢ Windows incompatibility problem is the primary reason. All Microsoft Home Editions of operating systems like Vista Home Premium Edition do not support dynamic disks.

Moreover, if you’ve converted your drive to a dynamic disk via Windows 7 Professional Version and switched to a new computer using Windows 8 Home Version, you’re likely to see this operation is not allowed on the invalid disk pack.

◢ Another important cause of an invalid dynamic disk is the absence of recorded dynamic disk information.

If you add a dynamic disk to another PC, the system registry may fail to create a record of the dynamic disk information. In such cases, it becomes necessary to import the dynamic disk information to the system registry of the new computer.

Part 1. How to recover data from dynamic disks?

If you encounter a dynamic disk invalid problem on Windows computers, you might be worried about the disk data. So how to read data from invalid dynamic disks? Moreover, how to recover data from dynamic disks?

The deleted or lost data on the dynamic disk remains intact and can be recovered with a professional data recovery tool.

Support scanning dynamic disks and volumes and recovering deleted/missing files from dynamic disks, powerful MyRecover could be a pretty good choice for you.   

★Highlights of MyRecover:   

High-efficiency: Recover MS Office files, WPS files, folders, compressed files, images, audio, songs, videos, and websites, from internal and external HDDs, USBs, SD cards, SSDs, etc.

Advanced scanning method: MyRecover runs Quick Scan & Deep Scan automatically to search all the recoverable files. Specify the filename, saved path, date, or size to filter your needed files.

Convenience: Retain the original filename, path, and format for the deleted files.   

Excellent compatibility: Support NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS file systems.

The sooner you begin data recovery with MyRecover, the better your chances you’ll be. Download and install MyRecover on your Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, or Sever PC now!

Step 1. Launch MyRecover > hover the mouse over your dynamic disk > click Scan.

Step 2. MyRecover will automatically run Quick and Deep Scan together to scan your dynamic disk and display all the recoverable files.

You can preview or filter specific files according to Documents Type, Name, Path, or Date.

• Name: Type the relevant filenames in the search bar to quickly locate your desired deleted/lost files.
• Date modified: Set a customized date (today, yesterday, last 7 or 30 days, etc.)
• Size: Filter the file size (<128KB, 128KB~1MB, 1MB~512MB, etc.)

Step 3. Go to the Deleted Files/Recycle Bin/Other Missing Files and select the files you want. Then click “Recover x files” to begin the data recovery process.

Notes:✎...

After recovery, please designate a new saved path to save your retrieved files.

MyRecover allows you to recover 30 MB of files for free each time. To recover a large number of deleted/missing files from local hard drives, upgrading MyRecover is a better and more cost-effective choice.

Part 2. How to fix this operation is not allowed on the invalid disk pack?

This part guides you to fix this operation is not allowed on the invalid disk pack. Please refer to the following solutions.

Fix 1. Upgrade your Windows OS

As explained earlier, dynamic disks cannot be utilized in all Windows Home versions. So you can upgrade your Windows operating system to a Professional Version or a more advanced edition that allows for the utilization of dynamic disks for data storage.

Alternatively, reinstalling the Windows OS and connecting the dynamic disk to the new system seems like another feasible way, but it is a time-consuming process that needs reinstalling applications and programs.

Fix 2. Reactivate the invalid dynamic disk via Diskpart

To repair invalid dynamic disks without data loss with diskpart, please refer to the steps below. If your SD card won’t format, you can also try diskpart to solve it.

Step 1. Type “cmd” in the search bar and select “Run as administrator” to open the command prompt window.

Step 2. Type the following command lines one by one. And hit “Enter” after each line.

• diskpart
• list disk
• select disk (The disk number is the number of the invalid dynamic disks you want to bring online.)
• online disk

Fix 3. Change disk from dynamic to basic via Disk Management

How to convert dynamic invalid disks into basic disks without loss of data? To ensure the safety of your data on the target dynamic disk, this conversion can be achieved using Disk Management. Let’s show how it works.   

Notes:✎...

Apart from that, you can also utilize powerful partition management software, AOMEI Partition Assistant to convert dynamic invalid disks into basic disks without losing data.

Step 1. Press “Win + R” to open the Run box and type “diskmgmt.msc” in the search box to open it.

Step 2. Right-click on your invalid dynamic disk and click the “Convert to Basic Disk” button.

If the option Convert to Basic Disk is greyed out, you’ll need to delete all partitions and data on them. Then you’re ready to convert to basic disk to repair invalid dynamic disks.

Fix 4. Import dynamic disk information to another computer

If you receive this error message: this operation is not allowed on the invalid disk pack, you can import dynamic disk information to another working PC to resolve this problem.

Related suggestions

In conclusion, this passage explains the causes, implications, and fixes for the dynamic disk invalid issue. Please refer to the corresponding part to get helpful information.

Furthermore, there’re several points that deserve your attention for invalid dynamic disks.

• Please avoid using dynamic disks for data storage in Windows Home Versions.
• Converting your dynamic disk to a basic disk is a viable solution. Prior to conversion, it is advisable to recover data from dynamic disks.
• After resolving the issue, it is recommended to safeguard your data by making regular backups. Leading Windows backup software like AOMEI Backupper Standard can be employed for this purpose without paying.

• Please don’t put all your eggs into one basket to prevent data loss.