How to Recover Data from Invalid Disk?

Theo Lucia

Aug 04, 2023 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions

Can I Retrieve Data from an Invalid Disk?

First of all, this problem is a normal issue when you want to connect an external hard drive to a computer. This does not mean that your external hard drive is broken. It happens because of "MBR ERROR" or other system errors. But coming here, you can stay calm. In this article, we will show you get lost data back with Recoverit and repair dynamic disk by converting it to a basic disk.

Part 1: How to Recover Data from an Invalid Disk

One of the quickest and stress-free ways to recover data from an invalid disk is to use the best quality data recovery tool. There are several options on the market, of course, and so it is necessary to read reviews and do your best to obtain the most appropriate tool. A good tool will be able to retrieve data from an invalid dynamic disk even if you cannot see your disk partitions. It will give you the option to search for and recover the lost partition. A reputable and effective tool gets rid of all the thinking and caution that goes with Recoverit.

Your Safe & Reliable Hard Disk Recovery Software

• Recover lost or deleted files, photos, audio, music, and emails from any storage device effectively, safely, and completely.
• Supports data recovery from recycle bin, hard drive, memory card, flash drive, digital camera, and camcorders.
• Supports recovery of data for sudden deletion, formatting, hard drive corruption, virus attack, and system crash under different situations.

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The Guide to Hard Disk Data Rescue

Step 1. Choose a recovery scenario

To recover data from an invalid disk, you can go to select the option "External Devices Recovery" to start

Step 2. Select your invalid disk

Select your external hard drive where you lost significant data and click the "Start" button to scan lost files.

Step 3. Scan the invalid disk to search for lost data

Recoverit will have your disk scanned. You can also go to "All-Around Recovery" to deeply search all files from invalid disks.

Step 4. Recover data from invalid disk

All found contents on your invalid disk will be displayed in the window. You can view file names if you want to check how many files on your invalid disk can be recovered.

In the end, you just need to select the files you want and click "Recover" to save them on partitions on your computer.

Part 2: How to Repair an Invalid Dynamic Disk Without Data Loss

1. What Is a Dynamic Disk

A dynamic disk is a logical disk that is upgraded from local hard drives on the Windows OS. It is capable of using multiple hard disks as well as splitting and duplicating data. It can contain up to 2000 additional and independent partitions and volumes. In a dynamic disk, your data storage is divided into volumes rather than partitions. Besides, using a dynamic disk, you can make volume changes without having to restart the OS and losing important data.

2. Reasons for Dynamic Disk Invalid Problem

Major causes of an invalid disk status are usually three. They entail the following:

• Corrupted partition table – A partition table is present in your desktop PC and laptop and it is the component that keeps the records of your disk partitions. This table could get corrupted owing to a serious malware and virus attack or a human error. If the table gets corrupt, the dynamic disk will appear "Invalid" and there will be data loss.
• Windows Registry defects – A computer's Windows Registry is a core area with nearly every important detail about your PC. If a single registry file develops a defect for whatever reason, the dynamic disk could become invalid. This could cause data loss.
• Reinstallation of an Operating System – When altering your current OS from Windows to Mac or from Mac to Windows, an invalid disk error could result. This may happen if your OS does not accept dynamic data storage. The same error can emerge when you are upgrading from a lower OS version to a higher OS version.

Other triggers include wrong Bios settings, conflicting software, hardware faults, OS problems, partitioning mistakes, and file system boot sector damage among others. In all the above-mentioned cases, data may get lost or deleted. But this is not as bad as it sounds. You can restore your files regardless of their formats with a hard drive recovery software tool.

3. How to Convert Dynamic Disk to Basic Disk Without Losing Data

If your hard drive appears as a dynamic disk and is in an "invalid" status in the Disk Management screen, you will be cut off from the data in the drive. One of the main ways to solve this problem is to attempt to convert the invalid dynamic disk into a basic disk. As many operating systems support a basic disk, it will be easy to change any dynamic disk you have to a basic one. As you are likely to lose data when performing this act, it is advisable to do a data recovery step with suitable software. After this, follow these steps.

1. Look for Compmgmt.msc in your Start Menu first.
2. Press your Enter key on the keyboard to view Disk Management.
3. Right-click the invalid dynamic disk.
4. From the right-clicking menu, choose Convert to Basic Disk.

4. Reactivate the Invalid Disk via Commands

1. Go to your computer's search bar on the Start Menu. Type "cmd".
2. Next, run the "cmd" as an administrator.
3. A pop-up Command Prompt screen will appear. Type "diskpart" on it and press Enter key.
4. Then, type "list disk". Click Enter key on your keyboard.
5. After that, confirm the number of the invalid disk.
6. Next, type "select disk<disk number>" and hit Enter.
7. Finally, type "online" and press Enter once again.

Final Words

In conclusion, the best way to avoid encountering the dynamic disk invalid status is to dodge the causes. In reality, though, you cannot stay away from some of the causes. It is your computer that decides when to pop up the invalid error. As we noted earlier, the invalid status is sometimes caused by human error. For instance, you can partition your hard drive wrongly and trigger a widespread invalid disk error. As well, you might neglect your computer's security and privacy by not using a good quality anti-virus tool. The entry of viruses and malware can corrupt your computer's partition table and cause an invalid disk status.

It may be useful to use a Registry clean-up tool to maintain the health of registry files as these could cause an invalid disk error when damaged. Once you do everything you can to avoid this error and it still happens, follow the methods outlined in this article to solve it.

When you're repairing or have repaired the invalid dynamic disk, you might find your data lost unexpectedly. To get all lost data back, you can use Recoverit Data Recovery to assist you. It is a reliable hard disk data recovery application to retrieve more than 500 formats of data back from a variety of storage devices.