Windows Storage Spaces in a little-known feature that was introduced in Windows 10 that's meant to help the average computer user safeguard their data. Not only is it meant to help protect against the repercussions of sudden or unexpected drive failure, but it can be used to help you extend your storage over the course of time by creating a virtual drive from multiple devices. As you can see, it's a comprehensive and versatile program that has a lot to offer users of Windows 10.

Creating a Windows Storage Space
The process of creating a Windows Storage Space is rather straightforward - as long as you have the right equipment. For starters, it requires at least three hard drives: your main drive with your Windows installation and two additional devices. Many use traditional, HDDs, but solid-state drives (SSDs) are acceptable, too. The drives can be internal or external - Windows Storage Spaces will work with either format.

When you want to begin using Windows Storage Space, load the program and select the option to "Create a new pool and storage space." From here, select the drives you want to include in your new storage space and click "Create pool." Lastly, you'll be prompted to enter a name for your virtual drive, a layout (two-way mirror, three-way mirror, or parity), and the maximum size. Now click "Create storage space" to finalize the process and create your Windows Storage Space.

• Two-way mirror: This option makes two identical copies of each file. The resulting system can tolerate one drive failure without suffering any loss of data.
• Three-way mirror: In this case, Windows Storage Space is capable of tolerating two drive failures before experiencing any loss of data.
• Parity: This option also creates multiple copies of each file for maximum redundancy and protection. To protect your system from data loss, three drives are required when using the parity option. A total of seven drives are required to successfully withstand two drive failures.
• Simple: You can also opt for the simple option, but it's important to note that this algorithm only maintains one copy of your data. As such, you are not protected from data loss or drive failure. Using this option still requires the presence of at least two separate hard drives in your system.

One of the primary advantages of Windows Storage Spaces is the scalability featured when defining and updating drives. Although you are required to set a maximum size when creating a new storage space, you can edit this as time goes on. If you find that you need extra space, or if you want to add another drive into the mix, you can easily do so.

Finally, Windows Storage Spaces make it easy to optimize your drives - either when adding a new drive to your existing pool or after long-term usage. To do so, simply load Windows Storage Spaces in Windows 10 and click on "Optimize drive usage." Alternatively, you can click on the checkbox labeled "Optimize to spread existing data across all drives" when adding a new drive to an existing pool.

You may read more about Windows Storage Spaces in the article on the Microsoft Support server: Storage Spaces in Windows.