This command-line tool simplifies the manual system recovery process associated with storage configuration. You must a member of the Administrator group to run this tool.
Use Dump Config to:Windows disk devices are partitioned. These partitions can be used directly as logical devices, subdivided further into smaller logical devices, or combined into larger, multi-disk logical devices called volume sets. Normally, access to a logical device requires that a drive letter be assigned and the device be formatted with a file system, although there are techniques for accessing Windows devices as "raw" devices using either drive letters or a physical drive designation.
Windows keeps track of which disk is which based on a unique 4-byte disk signature that is recorded in the Master Boot Record (MBR) of each disk at offset 0x1B8. DumpConfig can be used to modify this value. This signature is generated by the Disk Administrator when it initializes if the disk does not already have a non-zero value in this field. This technique does not rely on knowledge of physical properties that might change such as SCSI ID or which adapter a disk is connected to. Therefore, disk hardware connections may be changed without upsetting existing software fault tolerance.
The advantage of using the signature to identify a disk is that even when the physical disk configuration is changed, Windows can still correctly identify volume sets and assign drive letters to their original devices. When a disk that already has a valid signature appears on a Windows system, Disk Administrator will not write a new signature, but will record the signature in the DISK key.
Duplicate signatures are not allowed. This can create problems when making copies a disk at the track level, which occurs with some breakable mirror and disaster protection software, if the disk copy (which also has a copy of the signature) is visible from the same system as the original disk. When Disk Administrator detects a duplicate signature, it will ask permission to write a new signature to the offending disk. If permission is denied, it will make the disk unavailable. You can use DumpConfig to change the disk signature, making the disk readable again.
Note
The disk can still be accessed by programs using physical drive address semantics.
Dump Config Topics
File Required