Knowledge Base

Limitations on dynamic and GPT disks support

This article applies to:

• Acronis True Image Home 2010 Plus Pack
• Acronis True Image Home 2011 Plus Pack

(!) For Acronis True Image Home 2012 please see Acronis True Image Home 2012 GPT & UEFI Support.

Description

Support of dynamic disks and disks with GUID Partition Tables (GPT) is available in Acronis True Image Home 2010 Plus Pack and Acronis True Image home 2011 Plus Pack. You can back up to and restore from dynamic and GPT disks. If you do not have Acronis True Image Home 2010 Plus Pack or Acronis True Image Home 2011 Plus Pack, please see Acronis True Image Home Does Not Support Dynamic Disks or Disks with GUID Partition Tables (GPT).

Basically, with the Plus Pack add-on you can back up and restore dynamic disks both in Windows or from Acronis Bootable Media. In terms of dynamic disks and backup or restore, the product functions the same when run in Windows or from Acronis Bootable Media:

• You can back up a dynamic disk and restore it to a dynamic disk. As a result, you will have a dynamic disk;
• You can back up a dynamic disk and restore it to a basic disk. As a result, you will have a basic disk.

Limitations on dynamic disks and GPT disks support in Acronis True Image Home 2010 Plus Pack and Acronis True Image Home 2011 Plus Pack:

• RAID-1 (Mirrored) and RAID-5 volumes are not supported. See also Acronis True Image Home RAID Support;
• Creation of Acronis Secure Zone is not supported;
• Recovery of a dynamic volume as a dynamic volume with manual resizing is not supported;
• GPT disks can be recovered only "volume-to-volume" without the possibility of resizing;
• Try&Decide cannot be used for protecting dynamic and GPT disks;
  
• Clone disk operation is not supported for dynamic and GPT disks.

Detailed information on recovery operations involving dynamic/GPT disks and volumes

• Acronis True Image Home supports recovery of dynamic volumes to the following locations on the local hard drives:
  • to the original location (to the same dynamic volume)
  • to another dynamic disk or volume
  • to unallocated space of the dynamic group
  • to a basic disk

  If a dynamic volume is recovered to unallocated space of the dynamic group, the type of the recovered volume will be the same as it was in the archive.

  Manual resizing of dynamic volumes during recovery to dynamic disks is not supported. If you need to resize a dynamic volume during recovery, it should be recovered to a basic disk.

  When performing a so called "bare-metal recovery" of dynamic volume(s) to a new unformatted disk, the recovered volumes become basic. If you want the recovered volumes to remain dynamic, prior to recovery the target disk(s) should be prepared (partitioned and formatted) using third-party tools, for example, Windows Disk Management snap-in (Start-Run -> compmgmt.msc).

• The target disk's partitioning scheme remains unchanged after recovery:
  • if a GPT disk image is recovered over a GPT disk, the target disk remains a GPT disk
  • if a GPT disk image is recovered over an MBR disk, the target disk remains an MBR disk
  • if an MBR disk image is recovered over an MBR disk, the target disk remains an MBR disk
  • if an MBR disk image is recovered over a GPT disk, the target disk becomes an MBR disk

  Recovery to unallocated space of a GPT disk is not supported.

• The target volume type does not change when recovering over an existing volume. Examples:
  • When a dynamic volume is recovered over a basic volume, the target volume remains basic
  • When a dynamic spanned volume is recovered over a dynamic striped volume, the target volume remains striped

More information

(!) Acronis True Image Home 2010 and Acronis True Image Home 2012 do not support UEFI systems. Acronis True Image Home 2012 does - see Acronis True Image Home 2012 GPT & UEFI Support.

See also:

• Dynamic Disk Types Support in Windows Editions
• Acronis True Image Home Does Not Support Dynamic Disks or Disks with GUID Partition Tables (GPT)
• Acronis Snap Deploy Does Not Support Dynamic Disks or Disks with GUID Partition Tables (GPT)
• Acronis True Image Home RAID Support
• Acronis True Image Home 2011 Installation of Acronis Plus Pack
• Acronis True Image Home 2012 GPT & UEFI Support