Error while creating a Dev Drive on Windows 11 Pro

[rafalkwol]

Dev Home version

0.503.261.0

Windows build number

10.0.22621.2428

Other software

No response

Steps to reproduce the bug

Go to Windows Settings application > System > Storage > Advanced Storage Settings > Disk & volumes > Create Dev Drive. Select the volume where you want to create the Dev Drive, continue with the steps until you reach a point where you see a dialog for creating a new Dev Drive.

Expected result

Create the Dev Drive.

Actual result

On the top of the dialog an error is showing: Unable to load data. Please try again. ReFS is not supported.

Included System Information

No response

Included Extensions Information

No response

[rafalkwol]

It seems to me that no matter what kind of Dev Drive I try to create on Windows 11 Pro it always ends up with the error mentioned above. I tried this on my work PC and on my laptop. The end result is always the same. I have a feeling it has something to do that Windows 11 Pro does not support ReFS at the moment? But why do we get a Dev Drive option then on this system flavor if it can't be created then? Am I on the right track and is the Windows 11 Pro getting ReFS creation support anytime soon?

[slaci]

I also face the same issue with Windows 11 Pro Build 22621.2428. I created a VHDX first, but could not create a dev drive inside of it because of the same error message. Then I shrinked my SSD by 50 GB, but when trying to create a dev drive from the unallocated space, I get the same REFS is not supported error.

I have found a registry setting HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem which google says should be 1 for ReFS to be enabled and it's 1 for me, so I don't really have more ideas what's wrong with my setup.

[rafalkwol]

I have found a temporary workaround. It seems it's possible to create a VHD or a normal partition first as NTFS and than use a command from administrative command line "format X: /DevDrv /Q" where X: is the letter of the partition you want to make the Dev Drive. After using it the partition is visible as developer drive in Windows settings application. It seems the Dev Drive creation only doesn't work from Windows settings application UI. I hope it will help someone.

I don't close the issue as the original problem is still there and should be fixed as I'm guessing the intention is to have a working UI for this.

[slaci]

Yeah formatting from the cmd line seems to work, thanks.

[AdamBraden]

With the September update (.2428), Windows Servicing does Controlled Feature Rollout. This means new features are slowly turned on. To get all the features on by default, you also need to install the optional the “Configuration Update package” - KB5030509

To do this, goto Settings->Windows Update and enable “get the latest updates as soon as they’re available.”

• 

Then, you can search for updates and get the kb package:

• 

[rafalkwol]

This update is not the issue here. I already had this update when I made the original issue. I have the option to create Dev Drive, but it just doesn't detect the ability to create a ReFS volumne in Windows Settings UI.

[AdamBraden]

@rafalkwol - there was a fix that might be related in last week's windows update KB5031455. Can you apply that and retry?

If not please use FeedbackHub and submit an entry under Developer Platform -> Dev Drive, and reproduce the issue. That will gather traces so we can try and figure out what is going on.

[RobThree]

Thanks @rafalkwol , the format X: /DevDrv /Q (where X is the letter of the partition you want to make the Dev Drive) worked for me. The settings app showed the same message (but in Dutch) for me too: "Error: Unable to load data. Please try again. REFS is not supported."

[rafalkwol]

@AdamBraden - I checked the mentioned Windows update KB5031455. I have it installed and it is still the same. Also yesterday I got on my laptop a 23H2 update and it also didn't fix it.

[krojew]

Got the same issue today - ReFS is not supported.

[RobThree]

Got it today on another machine as well, again format X: /DevDrv /Q fixed it (where X is the letter of the partition you want to make the Dev Drive). Using format X: /u /fs:refs /i:enable and other 'solutions' found on the web didn't work at all.

[AdamBraden]

@rafalkwol , @krojew , and @RobThree - can you confirm that you have both configuration update (KB5030509) and the latest windows update (KB5031455)? Also note that if you are in a managed environment (InTune, etc), then your organization has to enable Dev Drive for the company. See https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dev-drive/group-policy

If that all looks correct, please enter an issue in FeedbackHub under Developer Platform->Dev Drive.

[krojew]

@AdamBraden I would love to, but thanks to the changes to the control panel in Windows 11, it's now impossible to check if a particular update got installed, and neither dism or systeminfo return this information anymore.

[AdamBraden]

Not sure if there is a better way, but its in Settings app, under Windows Update -> Update History. Unfortunately you have to manually search through the titles.

[krojew]

@AdamBraden with the help of OCR and some patience, I confirmed I have KB5031455. Unfortunately, I have no way to check for KB5030509 because the update list abruptly ends with some text cut off, which suggests there's more updates, but simply invisible. I can only assume I do, since I have the other one. Side note - this new settings UI is just horrible. There's no way to actually find information other than clicking on unintuitive buttons and reading screen after screen of unsearchable text.

[rafalkwol]

@AdamBraden - as I have written before I have both those updates. I also have 23H2 update that came out not long ago and it also didn't fix it. It's the same on my work computer and private one (the second one for sure doesn't have any kind of organization policy as it's not in any domain). The same exact issue affects all my colleagues at work with exactly the same symptoms.

The thing you mention with group policy prevents you from clicking the button to create Dev Drive so you can't event start the process (I know as I already tried multiple ways to overcome this issue). But we don't have a problem with starting the whole creation process. The issue is about the fact that in the middle of it we get a message that ReFS is not supported, so we can't finish it. It seems it's the same issue that was already reported in the past in #1295 and closed. I think I have seen other issues with this also, but can't find them quickly right now.

[AdamBraden]

@krojew & @rafalkwol - thanks for confirmation. Please enter a feedbackhub issue and reproduce the error. Then we can investigate what is going on with the traces.

If you reply with the link, I can followup on the issue.

[sidsharma5]

@rafalkwol, @krojew, @RobThree and @slaci - As previously suggested by @AdamBraden, submitting a FeedbackHub issue for this would help us get the necessary information to investigate the issue. Additionally, to help us understand the issue better, could you please provide the following details:

1. Which 'Create Dev Drive' option did you use when creating your Dev Drive? Was it Option A, Option B, or both?

Option A:

Option B:

2. For option B, did you run into the issue when selecting "Unallocated space" and/or "Resize an existing Volume"? I see VHD has already been explicitly mentioned in the thread above.

[rafalkwol]

@sidsharma5 I had tried every of the mentioned ways using the UI. Problem is always in the same screen which is after the volume is created, but it seems like it can't be formatted to ReFS. If you go the VHD route you are left in a state where the VHD is created on the disk, but it's unformatted so to get rid if it you need to create a simple volume, eject it and than you can delete it.

[airborn]

I suppose this is the screen @rafalkwol is referring to (with polish translations): This happens after new volume is being created.

[rafalkwol]

@airborn @sidsharma5 This is exactly the screen I was talking about.

[sidsharma5]

@rafalkwol @airborn -Thank you for the responses, we are investigating this issue.

[grawi-sikorsky]

Got the same issue here 🤔

[sidsharma5]

@rafalkwol, @grawi-sikorsky ,@airborn - We appreciate your cooperation in helping us investigate this issue so far. To further our investigation, we require some additional data. Kindly follow the steps outlined below to gather and submit the necessary information:

1. Install and Launch WinDbg: If not already installed, download it from the Microsoft Store or from here. Then, run WinDbg as an administrator.

2. Record a Time Travel Trace:

   • The detailed steps can be found here
   • The process of interest is SystemSettingsAdminFlows.exe (refer the screenshot below), which can be launched from command line using the command- "c:\Windows\System32\SystemSettingsAdminFlows.exe StorageAdminHelper"
   • Ensure the 'Record Process with Time Travel Debugging' option is checked before you begin.
   • Start the recording and then proceed to replicate the issue you are experiencing.
   • After you have successfully recreated the issue, select 'Stop and debug' to conclude the recording session. A .run file will be saved at the location you selected before starting the recording.

3. Prepare the Required Files for Submission: Locate the .run file from step 2 and pair it with the 'ifsutil.dll' and 'urefs.dll' files, which can be found in the 'C:\Windows\System32' directory. Compress these files into a single ZIP file

4. Submit Feedback with the attached file : Finally, submit a feedback issue via the FeedbackHub app under Developer Platform->Dev Drive (Shortcut: Windows key+F). Ensure that the previously created ZIP file is attached. This submission will provide the necessary information for further investigation.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about gathering the requested information. Reply with the link here once the feedback is submitted.

[rafalkwol]

@sidsharma5 I submitted the feedback according to your instructions. In the end of the process of adding the feedback there wasn't any link to share. I guess it was because I didn't wanted to log in to the feedback app. Anyway if you can search those feedback messages I named it "Dev Drive Error" and inside the feedback description I added a link to this issue so you can identify it this way.

I also wanted to ask if its safe for me to share this debug information I sent as I'm guessing it contains some information about my computer that can be a security issue? In the feedback app there was some information that the files I attach will be public which worried me a bit.

[kpankowski]

Got the same issue, fortunately I was able to create the DevDrive from PowerShell using the following command:

Format-Volume -DriveLetter D -DevDrive

Edit: Of course first we need to create non-DevDrive volume.

[sidsharma5]

@rafalkwol - Your feedback was received, Thank you for sending that.

Regarding security concern: Please note that only the verbatim/words of the customer’s feedback are visible to other Microsoft customers. Diagnostics, attachments, and telemetry are not shared with other users.

[rafalkwol]

Any news on resolving this?

[gvdvenis]

I'm also faced with this issue:

Same error (only in Dutch) in which I'm not able to set a size:

I have the necessary space available:

My windows version is up-to-date:

[ChandKV]

Hi @rafalkwol, sorry for the delay with resolving this issue. Our attempts to repro the scenario in PRO didn't really run into the issue. I had issues accessing the trace and looks like the trace is no longer available. Could you please reattach the trace (.run file) to the feedback? Thank you again for helping with additional diagnostic data to help resolve the issue.

Regarding the question about the information in the .run file, it contains the time travel trace of SystemSettingsAdminFlow.exe which is a helper process that's used by the Settings page. The trace will be used only for analyzing this failure and will be aged out in 60 days. And the attachments should be available only for Microsoft Support engineers and shouldn't be visible publicly (https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/privacy-of-feedback-hub/af3e230f-8093-430c-8eab-9b598301b7d0).

[Naxemar]

Same issue here on Windows compilation version:

[eduarddejong]

Same issue here (Windows created the VHDX, but failed to format it with REFS, with the error shown in yellow text).

But the PowerShell solution mentioned by @kpankowski does indeed work for me (but of course only when running PowerShell as administrator), so that is at least nice.

Windows 11 Enterprise version 23H2, build 22631.3672