unable to recover data on a dynamic disk

I had a computer with two 3TB HDDs that were Dynamic Disk mirrors of one another. I'm trying to recover data off of one of them without success.

So I plugged one of these 3TB HDDs into a USB3<->SATA adapter and, in Disk Management, see the new disk as an "Invalid" "Dynamic" disk. I right click on that disk and then click "Reactive Disk" in the resultant menu and get this error:

This operation is not allowed on the invalid disk pack.

Does this mean the disk is bad? I found lots of paid data recovery software that I can use and maybe that really is the only option available to me but I can't help but seriously wonder if that's also just the result of those software vendors just spamming Google.

I'm running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Build 1803.

Solution 1:

The article Dynamic Disk Invalid recommends using a Hex editor to change on the disk the byte indicating the disk as "invalid drive" to "basic drive". Several persons have indicated that this solution has worked for them.

The recommended tool is the free HxD that can edit raw disks.

The byte to change is found in sector 0, location 1C2. Check that it contains the value "42" (invalid drive) and if so, change it to "07" (basic drive). The poster said he needed to reboot twice for this to take effect.

If this does not work, return the byte to "42", and search for a recovery utility.

One such utility is said to be MiniTool Partition Wizard Pro, whose use for solving the problem is described in the article If Dynamic Disk Invalid Issue Occurs, How to Repair It with Ease. Unfortunately, you will probably need the paid version ($39). A demo is available, which might mean a trial version.