All of my disks are listed as “basic.”

Cause: Windows XP Professional supports both basic and dynamic disks, however, XP Home Edition only supports basic disks. If you are using Windows XP Professional and you want to convert the disks to dynamic disks so that you can take advantage of volume management, you can easily convert them.

To convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk, follow these steps:
1. Log onto the Windows XP Professional computer with an administrator account.

2. Click Start--> Control Panel--> Administrative Tools--> Computer Management.

3. In the Computer Management console--> select Disk Management in the left console. You’ll see your disks listed in the right pane. Right-click the disk status box in the left pane of the disk you want to convert--> and click Convert to Dynamic Disk. This process will not damage any data. You will be prompted to reboot your computer once the conversion is complete.