Extending Logical Drive Capacity - Windows 2000

[Ayman Altounji]

What's the position with extending the logical drive capacity under Windows 2000? The User Guide says that it's supported. The latest Array Configuration Utility comes up with a warning saying that it's not recommended and data loss may result!

Andy Walinski
Alstec Ltd
UK

[Ayman Altounji]

Are you running array config from within Win2K or from Smartstart itself?

[Ayman Altounji]

I'm running the Comaq Array Config Utility 2.51A in Windows 2000.

Andy Walinski

[Ayman Altounji]

I too am having this problem -- and I have upgraded to the latest 2.6 version of the Array Configuration utility. Is expansion possible from within the RAID controller's boot-time config utility?

[Ayman Altounji]

We ran into this recently. The problem is not with the Configuration Utility, but with Windows 2000. This is what the Windows 2000 Server Documentation says about drive expansion - "The limitation on extending volumes occurs because the boot volume, which contains the Windows 2000 files, cannot be part of a spanned volume. If you extend a simple volume that contains a partition table (that is, a volume that was upgraded from basic to dynamic), then Windows 2000 Setup recognizes the spanned volume but cannot install to it because the boot volume cannot be part of a spanned volume. The only dynamic volumes that you can install Windows 2000 on are simple and mirrored volumes, and these volumes must contain the partition table (which means that these volumes must be upgraded from basic to dynamic)." - Clear as mud, huh?
This is the only thing I have been able to find on Microsoft.com that relates at all to RAID expanison. A simple "Does not support online RAID expansion" would have been nice.
Anyway, we contacted Microsoft Technical Support and were told that they are working on a fix...we'll just have to wait and see.

[Ayman Altounji]

Logical Drive Extension in Windows 2000 causes data corruption and bluescreen errors. OR cannot extend logical drive using ACU 4.50x.

Logical Drive Extension in Windows 2000 is not supported by Compaq at this time because of Microsoft's Dynamic disk feature in Windows 2000.

Logical Drive Extension is supported under windows NT4.0.

This limiation is not because of Compaq's ACU or Array Controllers; this is because of new "DYNAMIC" disk feature in W2K. W2K does not support logical drive extension that's why we remove the option to EXTEND LOGICAL DRIVE" in ACU ver 4.50X.

With Smart Start 5.0 or ACU Version 2.60.65.0 (12 Apr 2001) option to EXTEND LOGICAL DRIVE is back but it gives you 3 warning that if you will proceed data loss will occur, ( yellow, followed by Red warning window and then when you try to save the configuration it gives a another last yellow warning window. If YOU ignore that warning there is NO WAY BACK.

You can still make other arrays or logical drives in already existing arrays. That is called EXPANDING an array,

which is still supported by Compaq ACU in W2K

[Ayman Altounji]

Could it be that this limitation (as mentioned by Onion_Quest at May 15,2001 9:06am) has been removed with the "Smart Array 5300 Controller Support Diskette" v5.03A released on 07 Jun 2001?
I am now using that driver with "Options ROMPaq For Array Controllers v3.02A" which contains the firm ware 1.72 and "Compaq Array Configuration Utility for Windows 2000 v2.70.65.0"
the AC still gives me those panic messages but everything else seems to work properly.
I managed to extend a 1 drive 18GB logical volume by expanding the array with another 18GB drive and then extending the volume in the AC. After the controller is finished with the expansion/extension/rebuild the Disk-manager of Windows 2000 sees additional un-allocated space which i can then use to extend a volume on a dynamic disk.