Disk - Set as Offline or Online

How to Change Status of a Disk to Offline or Online in Windows


information   Information
When you take a disk offline, it will no longer show up or be accessible by users until an administrator brings it back online.

This tutorial will show you how to change the status of a hard disk to be offline or online for all users in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.

Note   Note
The Windows boot disk cannot be taken offline.

Removable media cannot be taken offline. They can be ejected or disconnected instead.





OPTION ONE

Set Disk as Offline or Online in Disk Management



1. Press the :winkey: + R keys to open the Run dialog, type diskmgmt.msc, and click/tap on OK to open Disk Management.

2. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on OK (Windows 7/8) or Continue (Vista).

3. Do step 4 or 5 below for what you would like to do.

4. To Set an Online Disk as Offline
A) In the bottom half of Disk Management, right click or press and hold on a Disk # that you want to make offline, and click/tap on Offline. (see screenshot below)​
Offline_Disk_Management.png

B) Shortly after, you will see the disk offline. Go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)​
Offline.png


5. To Set an Offline Disk as Online
A) In the bottom half of Disk Management, right click or press and hold on a Disk # that you want to make offline, and click/tap on Online. (see screenshot below)​
Online_Disk_Management.png

B) Shortly after, the disk will be online and open in explorer. Go to step 6 below.​

6. When finished, you can close Disk Management if you like.





OPTION TWO

Set Disk as Offline or Online in Command Prompt


2. In the command prompt, type diskpart, and press Enter. (see screenshot below step 5 or 6)​
3. In the command prompt, type list disk, and press Enter. (see screenshot below step 5 or 6)​
4. Do step 5 or 6 below for what you would like to do.​
5. To Set an Online Disk as Offline
A) In the command prompt, type the command below for the disk # of an online disk you want to set as offline, and press Enter.​
select disk #
Note   Note
Substitute # in the command with the actual disk # you want to set as offline.

Note   Note

For example: select disk 1


B) In the command prompt, type offline disk, press Enter, and go to step 7 below.​
Offline_Disk_Command.png

6. To Set an Offline Disk as Online
A) In the command prompt, type the command below for the disk # of an online disk you want to set as online, and press Enter.​
select disk #
Note   Note
Substitute # in the command with the actual disk # you want to set as online.

Note   Note

For example: select disk 1


B) In the command prompt, type online disk, press Enter, and go to step 7 below.​
Online_Disk_Command.png

7. When finished, you can close the command prompt if you like. If you opened a command prompt at boot, then you can restart the computer back to Windows now.​





OPTION THREE

Set Disk as Offline or Online in PowerShell


1. Open an elevated PowerShell.​
2. Do step 3 or 4 below for what you would like to do.​
3. To Set an Online Disk as Offline
A) In PowerShell, type get-disk, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)​
B) In PowerShell, type the command below for the disk # of an online disk you want to set as offline, press Enter, and go to step 5 below.​
set-disk # -isOffline $true
Note   Note
Substitute # in the command with the actual disk # you want to set as offline.

Note   Note

For example: set-disk 1 -isOffline $true

Offline_PowerShell.png

4. To Set an Offline Disk as Online
A) In PowerShell, type get-disk, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)​
B) In PowerShell, type the command below for the disk # of an online disk you want to set as online, press Enter, and go to step 5 below.​
set-disk # -isOffline $false
Note   Note
Substitute # in the command with the actual disk # you want to set as online.

Note   Note

For example: set-disk 1 -isOffline $false

Offline_PowerShell.png

5. When finished, you can close PowerShell if you like.​


That's it,
Shawn


 

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