Windows 10: Recover Data from Physical Disk used in Storage Space

Hello,I have run into a problem while using Windows Storage Spaces. I was attempting to add a new disk to my storage space "HDD 4" to replace a bad disk "HDD 1". During optimization, Windows decided that there was a problem with my good disk "HDD 2", so "HDD 4" did not receive all of the files. And now I cannot access any of my files. I know without a doubt that "HDD 2" has all of my files.How can I tell Windows Storage Space to use "HDD 2" without trying to "Reset" since I can't reset from any of the other drives? Alternatively, how do I simply copy all of the data off of HDD 2 so tha

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Windows Storage Spaces -- Moving a Physical Disk

Hope the following review/summary of my recent experimenting with Microsoft Storage Spaces will be of use to others. Sorry if this is too 'verbose'... The steps I performed/show could be used in one of several scenarios...

1] If you physically remove a disk from a functioning Storage Space without going thru Storage Spaces in the Control Panel first. 'How to Remove Drive from Storage Pool for Storage Spaces in Windows 10'

2] If there is a failure of a disk in a Storage Space [two-way mirror]

3] If there is a failure of the computer hosting the Storage Space [again a two-way mirror].

In scenario 2 you can replace the failed disk and press-on. But if you want/need to get the files off the remaining 'good' disk or in the case of scenario 3 you have no other option, you can physically remove the disk from the computer and connect to another. In my case, moving a 2.5" SSD [Identified in the Desktop Pool as 'SamsungSSD2'] from a Windows 10 Home Desktop to a Windows 10 Home Laptop and connecting with USB 3.0 to 2.5” SATA III Hard Drive Adapter/Cable.

When connecting the 2.5" SSD to the laptop got a Notification 'Check Storage Spaces for issues'





Windows displayed 'Microsoft Storage Space Device' in both Device Manager, Disk Manager and Explorer...

















All of the files stored on SSD2 were accessible thru Explorer. So at this point we can copy any/all the files from the Desktop's two-way mirror.

I can't speak to what would happen or the steps needed if you wanted to physically return the drive to the Desktop's original two-way mirror. The most straightforward option would be to build a new mirror on the Desktop from scratch and go from there.

At this point on the laptop, Windows treats the drive as a Storage Space [albeit in a 'Reduced resiliency' state]. The following steps will guide you thru how to get the SSD 'out' of Microsoft's Storage Space.

On the laptop, under Control Panel; Storage Spaces we are presented details about the Storage Pool as created on the Desktop, to include name of the Storage Space and the details about the Physical drives making up the original Two-way mirror. It happily finds SSD2, but SSD1 is missing. Hence the 'Warning' about 'Reduced resiliency...'. These details must be coming from somewhere on SSD2. I was not successful in finding out much about how/what is on a Storage Spaces Two-way mirror other than info on this Microsoft Blog in 2012

From here I selected 'Change Settings'; From there chose to 'Delete' the Two-way mirror Storage Space













This deletes the Two-way mirror Storage Space, but we still end up with the two drives in the Pool. A simple matter to 'Delete Pool'









And we end up here in the Control Panel...





SSD2 now appears in Disk Management and Windows Explorer









Of note... There were NO files from the Desktop Two-way mirror on SSD2 once we got to this point in the process!

Please, add/correct as needed since this was done in a bit of a rush.

 

1 disk in 3 disk Simple Storage Space failed

Hi,

When you create a simple storage space, it will write data in a stripe across physical disks (in your case, 3 disks) without any extra copies or parity information. This type of storage space will not offer resiliency or data protection. Data corruption
and data loss will occur when one of these drives fails.

Since simple space, or simple layout does not provide any data protection, it is best suited for use on files with backups, or users who are okay with losing or recreating the data if a disk fails.

You may still be able to recover your data using any third-party recovery tools but data integrity is not guaranteed.

We encourage you to check these articles for more information on Storage Spaces:

• Storage Spaces in Windows 10
• Storage Spaces Overview
• Storage Spaces - Designing for Performance

Feel free to ask the community should you have further questions. However, for more in-depth support regarding Storage Spaces, it is best to ask this on
TechNet as this subject is beyond the scope of this forum.

 

Storage Space stopped working but disks showing as healthy

Hello, Kevin_Tun

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

I’m sorry to hear about your issue with Storage Spaces. Here are some steps you could try:

1. Check the status of the drives: Use storage management software to check the status of the drives. If any of the drives are faulty, work with your vendor.
   
2. Update the storage and drive firmware if necessary: Ensure that the latest Windows Updates are installed on all nodes.
   
3. Run cluster validation and review the Storage Space Direct section: Ensure that the drives you use for the cache are reported correctly and have no errors.
   

If these steps don’t work, you might consider using professional tools to recover your storage space. Here are some other threads including free ones, I hope they could help at your side:

Mirrored Storage Space volume disappeared, but Disk Management still sees them as a "storage pool" - Microsoft Q&A

Or you can choose to open a case in the following link so that a dedicated Support Professional can assist you in a more efficient manner

Windows - Microsoft Q&A

Please remember to back up your data before attempting any fixes, as some solutions might result in data loss. Good luck!

Best regards,



Chandy |Microsoft Community Support Specialist