When dealing with spanned volumes on Windows Server 2008 R2, you might encounter situations where a disk starts failing (indicated by S.M.A.R.T. errors) and needs replacement. The challenge is removing the faulty disk from the spanned volume while preserving all data integrity.

Before proceeding, ensure:

• The replacement disk is already added to the system and converted to dynamic
• You have sufficient free space across remaining disks to hold all data
• A complete backup exists (always recommended)
• The replacement disk is at least as large as the failing disk

Here's how to safely remove the faulty disk:

1. Open Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc)
2. Right-click the spanned volume and select "Extend Volume"
3. Follow the wizard to add space from your new disk
4. Once extended, right-click the failing disk and select "Remove Disk"

For automated or scripted environments:

# Identify disk numbers
Get-Disk | Select Number, OperationalStatus, Size

# Extend volume using new disk (example)
Resize-Partition -DiskNumber 1 -Size (Get-PartitionSupportedSize -DiskNumber 1).SizeMax

# Remove old disk (after ensuring data is migrated)
Remove-Disk -Number 2 -Confirm:$false

Some critical points to remember:

• Never remove the disk before redistributing data
• Monitor the volume during migration for any errors
• Consider performing this during low-usage periods
• Verify data integrity after the operation

If you encounter problems:

• "Remove Disk" option grayed out: Ensure all data is moved off the disk first
• Insufficient space error: Add more disks to the spanned volume
• Access denied: Run Disk Management as Administrator

When dealing with Windows Server 2008 R2 dynamic disks configured in a spanned volume, disk failures can be particularly tricky. The scenario involves:

• Original configuration: Multiple physical disks converted to dynamic disks and combined into a single spanned volume
• Problem disk: One disk started reporting S.M.A.R.T. errors indicating impending failure
• Current state: Replacement disk added to the system, converted to dynamic disk, and incorporated into the spanned volume

Before removing the faulty disk, ensure:

1. The replacement disk has equal or greater capacity than the failing disk
2. All critical data has been successfully redistributed to the new disk
3. You have a complete backup of the spanned volume
4. The system shows no active errors in Disk Management

Here's how to safely remove the disk using PowerShell (preferred) or GUI:

Method 1: Using PowerShell (Recommended)

# First, identify your disks and volumes:
Get-Disk | Format-Table -AutoSize
Get-Volume | Format-Table -AutoSize

# Check the health status of your disks:
Get-PhysicalDisk | Select-Object DeviceID, FriendlyName, HealthStatus, OperationalStatus | Format-Table -AutoSize

# To remove the disk from the spanned volume (replace X with your disk number):
Remove-PhysicalDisk -FriendlyName "PhysicalDiskX" -StoragePoolFriendlyName "SpannedVolume"

Method 2: Using Disk Management GUI

1. Open Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc)
2. Right-click the spanned volume and select "Extend Volume"
3. In the wizard, select the new disk and allocate space
4. After ensuring data migration is complete, right-click the faulty disk and select "Remove Disk"

After removal:

• Run chkdsk /f on the volume
• Verify all files are accessible
• Monitor system logs for any storage-related errors
• Consider running a full backup immediately after the operation

To prevent future issues, implement this PowerShell monitoring script:

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
try {
    $disks = Get-PhysicalDisk
    $report = @()
    
    foreach ($disk in $disks) {
        if ($disk.HealthStatus -ne "Healthy") {
            $report += $disk | Select-Object DeviceID, FriendlyName, HealthStatus, OperationalStatus
        }
    }
    
    if ($report.Count -gt 0) {
        # Send email alert or log to file
        $report | Export-Csv -Path "C:\DiskHealthReport_$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd).csv" -NoTypeInformation
    }
}
catch {
    Write-EventLog -LogName System -Source "Disk Monitor" -EntryType Error -EventId 100 -Message $_.Exception.Message
}

• This process works for Windows Server 2008 R2 through 2022
• For larger volumes, the process may take several hours
• Always perform operations during maintenance windows
• Consider migrating to Storage Spaces in newer Windows Server versions for better reliability