System Connect or Disconnect Storage Spaces in Storage Pool in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to disconnect or reconnect Storage Spaces in a storage pool without deleting the space in Windows 11.

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.

Adding a storage space to a storage pool is like creating a volume or partition on a disk. The Storage Pool acts as a single virtual disk made up of the pool of added physical disks.

Storage Spaces appear as a virtual drive with a drive letter in File Explorer > This PC.

You can disconnect a storage space to unmount (offline) it and no longer appear as a virtual drive in File Explorer > This PC until you connect the storage space to mount (online) it again.

Disconnecting and reconnecting Storage Spaces will not delete any data on them.

You must be signed in as an administrator to connect or disconnect Storage Spaces.

EXAMPLE: Storage space as virtual drive in File Explorer > This PC




Here's How:

1 Open Settings (Win+I).

2 Click/tap on System on the left side, and click/tap on Storage on the right side. (see screenshot below)



3 Click/tap on Advanced storage settings to expand it open, and click/tap on Storage Spaces. (see screenshot below)


4 Click/tap on the Storage Pool name (ex: "Storage pool") that contains the Storage Space you want to connect or disconnect. (see screenshot below)


5 Under Storage spaces, click/tap on the Properties button of the Storage Space you want to connect or disconnect. (see screenshot below)

You can look at the Status of each storage space to see if it's currently Connected or Disconnected.

6 Under Status click/tap on Disconnect or Connect. (see screenshots below)


7 You can now close Settings if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink