Windows 10: I'm starting a Storage Spaces Pool for backup using a total of 4 identical drives, but I'm...

I'd like to have 1 drive stored unused to replace any failed drives, 2 mirrored drives installed in my PC, a forth drive with a quarterly copy of the mirrored data that will stored physically in another offsite location. That fourth drive would be brought back every quarter to the PC and exchanged with one from the pool.It seems if I create the mirrored pool with 2 drives, adding a third erases the data on that drive, and then removing a drive from the pool also erases its data. How I setup the pool? Do I create a mirror with 3 drives, and then just take the third drive out of the PC without

:)

 

How to remove a bad drive in Windows 10 storage spaces pool

Could someone list the steps involved in replacing a bad drive from a Windows 10 storage spaces pool? I cannot find any info on the Microsoft support site that is specific to Windows 10. Also, could you list the steps to remove a 'good' drive and replace
it with another drive if the process is different?

 

NVMe M.2 SSD not showing in Windows 11 Storage Spaces

Did you try going here?: Go to Start > Settings > System > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Storage spaces

Storage Spaces in Windows - Microsoft Support

Is this what you are trying to do?:

Storage Spaces helps protect your data from drive failures and extend storage over time as you add drives to your PC. You can use Storage Spaces to group two or more drives together in a storage pool and then use capacity from that pool to create virtual drives called storage spaces. These storage spaces typically store two copies of your data so if one of your drives fails, you still have an intact copy of your data. If you run low on capacity, just add more drives to the storage pool.

How to create a storage space:

Storage Spaces in Windows - Microsoft Support

I believe these are the old control panel directions:

1. Add or connect the drives that you want to group together with Storage Spaces.
   
2. Go to the taskbar, type Storage Spaces in the search box, and select Storage Spaces from the list of search results.
   
3. Select Create a new pool and storage space.
   
4. Select the drives you want to add to the new storage space, and then select Create pool.
   
5. Give the drive a name and letter, and then choose a layout. Two-way mirror, Three-way mirror, and Parity can help protect the files in the storage space from drive failure.
   
6. Enter the maximum size the storage space can reach, and then select Create storage space.
   

Being that I rely on Microsoft 365, I have never created this type of storage space so someone else may be able to help better.

 

Storage Space and Space Pooling in x32Win10ProV20H2

Thank you very much for your reply.


You don't show a screenshot, so I am uncertain to which part of the process of creating a storage space you are referring. I pointed you to the tutorials. I now provide you with a screenshot of part of one of them, which shows a warning which might be what you are referring to.





Your question about double storage / redundancy appears to relate to the normal operation of storage spaces once configured, so seems obscure.

My impression is that few here have used storage spaces.

Note too the warning in
Create a New Pool and Storage Space in Windows 10