Dynamic Volume Manager (volmgrx) Service Defaults in Windows 8

Extension of the volume manager driver that manages software RAID volumes (spanned, striped, mirrored, RAID-5) on dynamic disks.

Default Settings

Startup type: Boot
Display name:Dynamic Volume Manager
Service name:volmgrx
Service type:kernel
Error control:critical
Group:System Bus Extender
Path:%SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\volmgrx.sys
Registry key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\volmgrx

Default Behavior

The Dynamic Volume Manager service is a kernel device driver. In Windows 8 it is being loaded by Boot Loader before Kernel initialization. If Dynamic Volume Manager fails to load or initialize, the error details should be automatically logged. Then Windows 8 is restarting the PC and attempting to use the Last Known Good configuration. If the Last Known Good configuration isn't working properly, Windows 8 startup ends with a Stop error. If you disable the volmgrx service, Windows 8 will fail to start.

Restore Default Startup Configuration of Dynamic Volume Manager

1. Run the Command Prompt as an administrator.

2. Copy the commands below, paste them into the command window and press ENTER:

sc config volmgrx start= boot
sc start volmgrx

3. Close the command window and restart the computer.

The volmgrx service is using the volmgrx.sys file that is located in the C:\Windows\System32\drivers directory. If the file is removed or corrupted, read this article to restore its original version from Windows 8 installation media.