How to Add Drives to Storage Pool for Storage Spaces in Windows 11/10

Essentially, Storage Spaces stores 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. In this post, we will show you how to add drives to Storage Pool for Storage Spaces in Windows 11/10.

Add Drives to Storage Pool for Storage Spaces

We can add drives to Storage Pool for Storage Spaces in Windows 11/10 in 2 quick and easy ways. We’ll explore this topic under the methods outlined below in this section:

1. Add Drives to the Storage Pool for Storage Spaces via the Settings app
2. Add Drives to the Storage Pool for Storage Spaces via the Control Panel

Let’s take a look at the description of the step-by-step process in relation to each of the methods.

These disk drives can be internal or external hard drives or solid-state drives. You can use a variety of types of drives with Storage Spaces, including USB, SATA, and SAS drives.

1] Add Drives to the Storage Pool for Storage Spaces via the Settings app

To add drives to Storage Pool for Storage Spaces via the Settings app in Windows 10, do the following:

• Connect the disk drive(s) that you want to add to the storage pool.
• Press the Windows key + I to open Settings.
• Tap or click System.
• Click/tap on Storage on the left pane.
• Next, scroll down and click/tap on the Manage Storage Spaces link on the right pane.
• Click on the chevron to expand a storage pool you want to add disk(s) to.
• Next, click on the chevron to expand the Physical disks for the storage pool.
• Now, click/tap on Add disks to storage pool.
• Select (check) the drives you want to add to the storage pool.
• Now, check (Recommended) or uncheck the Optimize disk usage option.
• Click/tap on Add button.

The following steps will guide you on how to add drives to the Storage Pool on Windows 11:

• Open Windows 11 Settings.
• Go to System > Storage.
• Scroll down to the Storage management section and expand the Advanced storage settings tab.
• You will see a number of options there. Select the Storage Spaces.
• Now, select the Storage Pool to which you want to add the drive.
• Click on the Add a disk button next to the Physical Disks.
• Select the hard disk you want to add and then click Add.

Note: Windows will permanently delete all partitions and files on selected formatted drives (disks). Be sure to back up anything you do not want to lose to another disk first.

The selected disk(s) will now be added to the storage pool. Exit the Settings app when done.

2] Add Drives to the Storage Pool for Storage Spaces via the Control Panel

To add drives to Storage Pool for Storage Spaces via Control Panel in Windows 11/10, do the following:

• Connect the disk drive(s) that you want to add to the storage pool.
• Press Windows key + R to invoke the Run dialog.
• In the Run dialog box, type control and hit Enter to open the Control Panel.
• From the top right corner of the window, set the View by option to Large icons or Small icons.
• Click Storage Spaces.
• Click/tap on the Change settings button and click/tap on Yes if prompted by UAC.
• Next, click/tap on the Add drives link for the storage pool you want to add drives to.
• Select (check) the drives you want to add to the storage pool.
• Now, check (Recommended) or uncheck the Optimize disk usage option.
• Click/tap on Add drives button.
• The selected disk(s) will now be added to the storage pool.

Note: Once the drive is added, if you like, you can click/tap on the Change link for the storage space to specify the maximum storage space size to what you want since you just added a drive(s) to have more space available.

Exit Control Panel when done.

That’s it. I hope this helps.

Read: How to Delete a Storage Pool for Storage Spaces

How do I assign a drive letter to a storage pool?

A Storage Pool does not have a drive letter. Instead, the Storage Spaces added to the Storage Pools have drive letters. You can change the drive letter of the Storage Spaces via the Disk Management.

How do I add more hard drives?

You can add more hard drives to your computer if your motherboard supports it. If your motherboard does not support the installation of more hard drives, you can connect external hard drives through a USB cable.

We will shortly see how to Upgrade Storage Pool for Storage Spaces in Windows 11/10.

Read next: How to Rename Physical Drive in Storage Pool for Storage Spaces in Windows.