Using Windows Disk Management Tool

[hlewton]

I have been experimenting working with Chris Greaves in creating encrypting drives. One of the steps requires me to use Windows Disk Management tool and create a New Simple Volume. At first I was using my oldest Win 10 Pro computer and it did not offer me that option to create the New Simple Volume. So, I tried it on my newest Win 11 Pro computer and it worked. I kind of just forgot about it because I don't use the Win 10 machine very often. However, today I tried Creating a New Simple Volume on my Windows 11 Pro machine that is slightly older than my newest machine. They both use the same version of Win 11, 23H2 and latest build. That machine did not offer me the option to create a New Simple Volume either. That concerns me.

Any idea why I am not offered that option on my machines? Any idea how to fix it?

Thanks

[StuartR]

Are these drives configured with MBR or GPT?

[hlewton]

Are these drives configured with MBR or GPT?

The Win 11 machines are both GPT but the Win 10 is MBR

[JoeP]

Here's an article that may (or may not) help - What is a simple volume.

[hlewton]

Here's an article that may (or may not) help - What is a simple volume.

Thank you for the link. I am just curious as to why some of my computers all me to use the Disk management tool to do that and other don't.

I found this article on the WEB and wonder what the last part of it means:

Click your Start Button, then just type cmd

From the resulting list, right click Command Prompt and choose 'Run as Administrator'

Run this command and hit Enter:

diskpart

Run this command and hit Enter:

list disk
(Being very careful, make note of the disk number you want to convert and enter it into the next command - replace disknumber)

Run this command and hit Enter:

select disk disknumber

Run this command and hit Enter:

clean

Run this command and hit Enter:

convert mbr

Then close Command Prompt

Open Disk Management again and see if you can now create a new volume on that drive . . .

The "convert mbr" is what I am wondering about. I have not tried it yet but wonder why 2 machines with the same version of windows would require it on 1 machine and not the other.

[JoeP]

"Convert mbr" converts a GPT disk to an MBR disk.

[BobH]

I ran into the same problem - following OMG's instructions, hmmm?

I'll go back and see if I can remember how I fixed it.

I might even have posted the problem and fix here.

[BobH]

OK, I found the post I made showing the solution that worked for me.

New Simple Volume.png

[hlewton]

OK, I found the post I made showing the solution that worked for me.

New Simple Volume.png

Thanks Bob. I have done almost exactly the same thing except on 2 of my machines Disk Management won't offer me the option to create a New Simple Volume. From what I have encountered, if I cannot create that New Simple Volume, I cannot encrypt the drive. I am working with only thumb drives because I really have no need for an encrypted hard drive on my computer. However, the problems I am having now, like I mentioned, also prevents me from creating multiple partitions, which is also part of the exercise.

[hlewton]

"Convert mbr" converts a GPT disk to an MBR disk.

Thanks Joe. So it converts the thumb drive to MBR, which I think means Master Boot Record. The thing I don't understand in that is, I may be getting things confused here because I have run so many different scenarios trying to figure all this disk partitioning out lately, I thought I had cleaned that disk of all on it by running DISKPART's CLEAN command. It must still leave GPT or MBR on the disk even though its properties shows no used space on the disk. I should quit all this because it hurts my brain.

[JoeP]

"clean" removes partition information regardless of the partitioning method used on the disk. See The difference between gpt and mbr and Disk Management for more information.

[hlewton]

"clean" removes partition information regardless of the partitioning method used on the disk. See The difference between gpt and mbr and Disk Management for more information.

Thank you for the links.

[hlewton]

Are these drives configured with MBR or GPT?

I am not sure what difference it would make in what I was trying to do and that was to try and create multiple partitions on a thumb drive. Truth be told, I am not sure about anything about what I was trying to do. The end result I hoped to achieve was to have two partitions on the thumb drive that I could then encrypt.

I had and still am using an 8 GB thumb drive. I cannot say for certain that I followed all the exact same steps in playing around with it, but I believe I did. Today, after going through all the steps it takes to reformat that thumb drive I was able to use the Disk Management tool to access the New Simple Volume on the one Win 11 machine that would not access it yesterday. I did not try nor do I know if the Win 10 would have responded the same.

Also, I did manage, using Disk Management, to create 2 partitions on that thumb drive. At this point in time, if or when, I reformat the thumb drive, not sure I could repeat those accomplishments.

There is still one step to accomplish before reformatting the thumb drive again. That is to encrypt both partitions. So far I can only see how to encrypt 1 of the partitions. Time and Chris Greaves will tell.