Detecting and Removing a Windows Snapshot Partition

If a request to add, encrypt, or extend a Windows disk fails with an error stating there are too many partitions on the disk, the problem may be that Windows added a Snapshot partition at the beginning of the disk. If the Windows Disk Manager shows only two partitions, excluding the Microsoft Reserved Partition and the DataControl private partition, use this procedure to see if there is a hidden Snapshot partition on the disk.

1. Log into the VM as a System Administrator and open a Command Prompt or start Windows PowerShell.
2. Enter the command diskpart.
3. At the DISKPART prompt, enter the command select Disk disk-number, where disk-number is the number of the Windows disk that you want to check.

4. Enter the command list partition.

   If there is a Snapshot partition, it typically starts at offset 273 KB. For example:

   DISKPART> list partition
   
   Partition ### Type             Size    Offset
   ------------- ---------------- ------- -------
   Partition  4  Unknown          256 KB  273 KB
   Partition  2  Reserved         31 MB   529 KB
   Partition  3  Primary          300 MB  32 MB
   Partition  1  Unknown          10 MB   332 MB

5. To verify that the partition is a Snapshot partition, enter the command select partition partition-number, where partition-number is the number of the partition you want to check. For example:

   DISKPART> select partition 4

6. Enter the command detail partition. If this is a Snapshot partition, the type will be listed as caddebf1-4400-4de8-b103-12117dcf3ccf. For example:

   DISKPART> detail partition
   Partition 4
   Type : caddebf1-4400-4de8-b103-12117dcf3ccf
   Hidden : Yes
   Required: No
   Attrib : 0000000000000000
   Offset in Bytes: 279552

7. To delete the Snapshot partition, enter the command delete partition.
8. Resubmit the add, encrypt, or extend request.