Like all devices, a hard drive has a certain expiration date. After its completion, the drive “dies”, which is why it is no longer possible to access the stored files. Today, there are ways to prevent the loss of information. They suggest making a backup copy of the system volume, reserving individual files, or putting data on a cloud storage server. But the developers of Windows 10 have provided another feature that mirrors information from one hard drive to another. And below is described of its application.
Creating the new mirrored volume
To create a mirrored partition on the hard disk, in Windows 10, press the Win+X buttons and in the “Advanced User” menu, click on the item that opens the disk management utility. Click on the PCM space that does not store files to select the option that starts the creation of a new mirrored volume in the context list of commands.
Continuing the action with the appropriate button, specify the available volume on the left side, and then click “Add” and enter the size of the space for the future partition. Then select a free letter from the list. The next window will prompt you to format the partition by specifying NTFS as the file system, leaving the initial size of the placement unit, and writing the volume name.
To speed up the process, check the box next to the speed formatting function. By pressing the continue, ready, and confirm buttons, order the system to turn the disks from basic to dynamic. When the procedure is completed, only one volume will appear on the hard drive. If you create files on a new partition, the information will be automatically saved on an additional disk.
Creating a mirrored volume if the data is already on disk
Here you will need to use the Win+X buttons to open the context menu with the heading “Experienced User” to launch the built-in program for disk monitoring. After that, use the PCM to select the main section with files, and from its menu, select add a mirror. Next, the system will ask you to select a volume that will function as a duplicate.
Having satisfied her request, click on the button that adds a mirror. When the last step is confirmed, Windows will make the base partitions dynamic, form a mirrored volume, and then synchronize the information on the primary and secondary disk. The process lasts for a period determined by the total size of the data stored on the volume.
Restoring a mirrored volume after a crash
When the mirror is set up and the main hard drive suddenly fails, you will still be able to open your files. But sometimes the mirror partition starts to fail from a virus and other reasons. If it is damaged, use the program to control Windows 10 disks from the menu opened by the Win+X keys. After selecting a working HDD on the mirror from the list of volumes. Then click on the menu item to delete the mirror volume.
Having marked the disk with the name “Missing”, click on the button erasing the mirror and confirming such an operation. When the operation is over, select the main disk with the PCM files and select “Add mirror” in the menu. After that, specify the new section that you plan to mirror, and then click the add button. When you confirm the start of the process. Windows will turn the main volumes into dynamic partitions. And synchronize the information on the resulting volume.