What is STORAGE-SPACES-DEGRADED?
Windows Storage Spaces pool degraded (STORAGE-SPACES-DEGRADED) is a critical-severity fault affecting the Windows operating system. A Storage Spaces pool is in a degraded state because one or more member drives failed or disconnected. The usual suspects are SATA/USB connection lost and disk firmware bug causing disconnection. Follow the steps below to fix it.
Common Causes
- Physical drive failure in the pool
- SATA/USB connection lost
- Disk firmware bug causing disconnection
Step-by-Step Fix Guide
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1
Open Storage Spaces in Control Panel and check drive status
This step, "Open Storage Spaces in Control Panel and check drive status", specifically rules out physical drive failure in the pool.
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2
Repair the pool: Repair-VirtualDisk -FriendlyName 'YourVirtualDisk'
"Repair the pool: Repair-VirtualDisk -FriendlyName 'YourVirtualDisk'" is the next step worth ruling out for STORAGE-SPACES-DEGRADED.
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3
Replace the failed drive and re-add to the pool
"Replace the failed drive and re-add to the pool" is worth trying when physical drive failure in the pool turns out to be the culprit.
Commands & Diagnostics
Get-StoragePool
Get-VirtualDisk
Get-PhysicalDisk | Where-Object HealthStatus -ne 'Healthy'
Frequently Asked Questions
Physical drive failure in the pool accounts for the majority of STORAGE-SPACES-DEGRADED reports; SATA/USB connection lost and disk firmware bug causing disconnection come up less often but are documented.
Most STORAGE-SPACES-DEGRADED reports resolve after "Open Storage Spaces in Control Panel and check drive status". The rest of the guide above is there for the cases that don't.
STORAGE-SPACES-DEGRADED is rated critical severity in our database. It's worth acting on quickly rather than letting it recur.
Usually. STORAGE-SPACES-DEGRADED is fixable with the steps above; a full Windows reinstall is rarely necessary unless everything else has failed.
Sometimes. Microsoft regularly releases patches that fix known BSOD triggers including STORAGE-SPACES-DEGRADED. Make sure Windows is fully up to date via Settings → Windows Update before attempting more advanced fixes.
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