Troubleshooting
Problem
After adding new disk to the Storage Pool, the virtual disk has no ability to expand the volume.
Symptom
In disk management when you right click on the selected volume you wish to extend, there is no Extend Volume option available.
Cause
You cannot change the NumberOfColumns after the disk has been created or continue a column if the other columns are not also continuing in a like fashion. The ONLY way to add additional space to a preexisting set is to add a number of disks equal to the NumberOfColumns value.
Environment
Windows operating system
Storage Pool
Diagnosing The Problem
Existing Virtual F drive with 12.6TB
Added 1 disk with 870 GB to the F Drive Storage Pool.
After adding the new drive to the F-Drive Storage Pool, we are able to see the additional 869 GB as free space.
Verified in F-Drive storage pool properties
When attempting to extend the virtual F drive in Disk Manager, there is no option to extend the volume.
Resolving The Problem
Steps after performing the Disk removal process below:
- Create 7 new disks cumulating in 870GB and present to the VM from vSphere host
- Add the 7 new disks to the F-Drive storage pool
- Extend the F drive in Disk Management
Virtual Disk removal process:
Note Included the commands unique to Server 2019 where applicable as there is a slight difference.
Get-PhysicalDisk to see where the disk is in the list. In this example, we are removing the second in the list (5GB)
Example:
To get the uniqueid of the disk (Server 2016), we use the following cmd
Get-PhysicalDisk | ft FriendlyName,SerialNumber,OperationalStatus,HealthStatus,Uniqueid (2016)
(Get-PhysicalDisk | ft FriendlyName,SerialNumber,OperationalStatus,HealthStatus,AdapterSerialNumber (2019)
Example:
Now that we have the disk identified, now we need to retire it before removing from the Pool
$thedisk = Get-PhysicalDisk -uniqueid 600224804C048BF056E037077BB1F24
Set-PhysicalDisk -usage Retired -InputObject $thedisk
Follow up with Get-PhysicalDisk to validate the disk shows Usage as “Retired”
Example:
Just to really make sure the disk no longer has any metadata from the Pool left, run the following to insure the VirtualDiskFootprint is 0
get-physicaldisk | ft *status, *foot*
Example:
Now we can remove the disk from the Pool
$Disk = Get-PhysicalDisk |? Usage -like Retired
Get-StoragePool *Data* | Remove-PhysicalDisk -PhysicalDisks $Disk
Example:
Now in Computer Management > Disk Management we can see the disk again in the Unallocated state
Example:
Note: if you have a situation where you plan the repurpose the disk on the server, then it is a good idea to perform a reset on the Disk even though you confirmed the virtual footprint is a 0 value
Get-PhysicalDisk -UniqueId 12345678 | Reset-PhysicalDisk (2016)
Get-PhysicalDisk -SerialNumber 12345678 | Reset-PhysicalDisk (2019)
From this point you can repurpose the disk or remove it from the VM from the vSphere Host Management Console
For additional information, you can search for the following:
-
Tip of the Day: NumberOfColumns
-
Storage Spaces: Understanding Storage Pool Expansion
Document Location
Worldwide
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Document Information
Modified date:
13 October 2025
UID
ibm17245053