Storage Spaces

Windows 11 allows users to merge multiple hard drives into a single volume for easier data management. This can be done using either the Disk Management tool or the Settings app. To create a large volume using Disk Management, users must delete existing volumes if necessary, select unallocated space, and create either a "New Spanned Volume" or "New Striped Volume." The "New Spanned Volume" writes files sequentially, risking data loss if one drive fails, while the "New Striped Volume" enhances performance but makes the entire volume inaccessible if one drive fails. A minimum of two drives is required for both options. To extend a volume with existing data, users can right-click the drive volume in Disk Management, select the Extend Volume option, and add additional drives without erasing existing data. Using the Settings app, users can create a large volume by navigating to System > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Storage Spaces, where they can create a pool and select drives. The "Simple" option creates a volume without data protection, while the "Parity" option provides some redundancy but requires at least three drives. Both Storage Spaces and RAID combine multiple drives into one logical unit but differ in implementation and flexibility. Storage Spaces is a software-only solution, while RAID is more complex but can offer superior performance. These instructions apply only to secondary drives, as the boot drive requires a RAID solution for redundancy.