Once it comes to Disk Management connecting to Virtual Disk Service, the main suspect is the Remote Access Connection Manager and you will need to check if this service is running. You should also consider running Check Disk, removing the external hard drives, running DISM and SFC scans, and performing a system restore. Check out this article to learn more on what to do when you notice that Disk Management takes longer to connect to Virtual Disk Service.
A List Of Possibilties
Services
In case you don’t know, as Disk Management establishes connection to Virtual Disk Service, it relies on two services. The two services include Virtual Disk Service and Remote Access Connection Manager. If one of the services runs into trouble, Disk Management should either take a lot of time to connect to Virtual Disk Service or get stuck at “connecting to Virtual Disk Service.”
Corruption
If your disk drive contains corrupted system files, the Disk Management should have a hard time connecting to Virtual Disk Service. Unless you take care of the corruption, Disk Management is going to act up every time it connects to Virtual Disk Service.
External Hard Drive
Your device is connected to external hard drives at the moment? Then those drives could be what complicates the connection between Disk Management and Virtual Disk Service. For your information, old/damaged external hard drives usually interfere with the performance of Windows computers. Since Disk Management is the utility that manages drives, it would go haywire if you connect your PC to less than ideal external hard drives.
What You Could Do
Take Services Into Account
- Step 1: Press Windows + R to open Run, type Services.msc and hit enter to open Services.
- Step 2: Navigate to Remote Access Connection Manager, right-click it and choose Properties.
- Step 3: On the General tab, hit Start if the service status is Stopped and change Startup type to either Automatic or Automatic delayed.
- Step 4: Click Apply, choose Ok and close Remote Access Connection Manager.
- Step 5: Return to Services, navigate to Virtual Disk Service, right-click it and choose Properties.
- Step 6: On the General tab, hit Start if the service status is Stopped and change Startup type to either Automatic or Automatic delayed.
- Step 7: Click Apply, choose Ok and close Virtual Disk Service.
- Step 8: Restart your computer, open the Disk Management and determine whether the connection issue persists.
Run CHKDSK
Disk Management connecting to Virtual Disk Service is a process that involves disk drives. Thus, it’s a good idea to give CHKDSK (Check Disk) a go if you believe that something might have gone wrong.
- Step 1: Press Windows key + E to open File Explorer.
- Step 2: Select This PC, right-click the C: drive and choose Properties
- Step 3: Navigate to Tools tab, hit Check and wait
- Step 4: Once the check concludes, proceed to pick Scan drive.
- Step 5: Lastly, select Show Details to view any errors that were repaired then select Close to close the window.
Remove External Hard Drives
As you troubleshoot problems in Disk Management connecting to Virtual Disk Service, it’s wise to disconnect external hard drives. After you finish getting the drives out of the way, restart your computer, open Disk Management and see the result.
Run SFC And DISM
SFC, short for System File Checker (SFC), is a utility in Windows that can scan through all the files and replace corrupted ones with cached copies. On the other hand, Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) restore the system image to a healthy state. For the best outcome in Windows 10, it is recommended to run DISM before running the SFC scan
- Step 1: Press Windows key + R to open Run.
- Step 2: Type cmd then hit Enter to open Command Prompt.
- Step 3: In Command Prompt, type sfc /scannow then hit Enter.
- Step 4: Once SFC scan concludes, type DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth then hit Enter.
- Step 5: After DISM scan wraps up, close Command Prompt then restart your computer.
System Restore
None of the above restore the connection between Disk Management and Virtual Disk Service to normal? In that case, you must consider using System Restore to bring your system back to the point in the past.
- Step 1: Go to Search bar, type restore and click Create a restore point.
- Step 2: On the System Protection, click System Restore.
- Step 3: Choose Next and select the restore point.
- Step 4: Click the Scan for affected programs to confirm the apps that will be removed.
- Step 5: Hit Close, select Next and choose Finish. When the process wraps up, open Disk Management again and witness the result.
What Do The Two Sections Of Disk Management Do?
Ever wondered what the two sections on Disk Management do? The top section contains a list of all the partitions, formatted or not, that Windows recognizes. The bottom section contains a graphical representation of the physical drives installed in the computer.
Can I Format My Disk With Disk Management?
Yes, Disk Management does all the actions you need to apply to your disk including formatting. To format the disk in Disk Management, right-click on the drive you want to format then select Format. Click Yes for the warning concerning active partition that shows up. You can leave the formatting options such as the Volume label and File system to default then click OK to initiate the process.
A Beginner’s Guide
- Want to enhance the speed of your PC? Switch to Solid State Drive (SSD).
- Defragment your drives using the Defragment and Optimize Drives.
- Upload files you rarely use to OneDrive then remove them from your PC to save space.
- Reduce the number of programs that run upon boot up to stop your PC from becoming slugging as it turns on.
- To avoid complete data loss, create backups from time to time
Michael Kan has been with Ginno Security Lab since October 2017, covering a wide range of topics, including consumer electronics, cybersecurity, social media, networking, and gaming. Prior to working at Ginno Security Lab he was a foreign correspondent in Beijing for over five years, covering the tech scene in Asia.
Areas of Expertise: Michael Kan has been working as a journalist for about 15 years— He start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City. Amazingly he is still here. Lately, he has been following SpaceX’s Starlink network, emerging online cyber threats, and the PC graphics card market (which led him to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000). He is always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send he tips.
The Best Tech he has Had:
- First video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
- Sega Saturn despite PlayStation’s popularity.
- The iPod Video received as a gift in college
- Xbox 360 FTW
- The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone he was proud to own.
- The PC desktop he built in 2013, which still works to this day.
