In Windows 11/10, you can create, use, attach & manipulate Virtual Hard Disk Files (VHDs) as though they are real disks. This allows Virtual PC users to be able to mount their virtual disks within a live Windows installation without the need to boot the virtual PC environment. In this post, we will see how to create Virtual Hard Disk, Attach, and Initialize VHD, and use files as Real Hard Disks in Windows 11/10.
What are Virtual Hard Disks in Windows 11/10
In Windows OS, a Virtual Hard Disk or VHD can be used as the running operating system on designated hardware without any other parent operating system, virtual machine, or hypervisor. A Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) is a virtual hard disk file format, meaning that it can contain what is found on a physical Hard Disk Drive, such as files, folders, file system, and disk partitions.
You can use the Windows Disk management tools to create a VHD file. You can deploy a Windows image, in .wim format, to the VHD, and you can copy the VHD file to multiple systems. You can configure the Windows boot manager for a native or physical boot of the Windows image that is contained in the VHD. Furthermore, you can connect the VHD file to a virtual machine for use with the Hyper-V role in Windows Server. Native-boot VHD files are not designed or intended to replace full-image deployment on all client or server systems. Previous versions of Windows do not support a native boot from a VHD, and they require a hypervisor and virtual machine to boot from a VHD file. Enterprise environments that already manage and use VHD files for virtual machine deployment will find the most benefit from its features.
To create a VHD on Windows Server, you install the Hyper-V server role, create a VHD file, and then start the virtual machine to install Windows from the CD or DVD onto a partition in the VHD.
In Windows 11/10, native-boot Virtual Hard Disks allow you to create and modify VHD files without installing the Hyper-V server role. To get started and to create a VHD by using Disk Management, click Start, type Disk Management in the Search box, and hit Enter. Select Create VHD from the Action menu. This launches a dialog box that you can use to specify the parameters for a new VHD.
Let us see this in detail.
How to create Virtual Hard Disks in Windows 11/10
If you want to create a Virtual Hard Disk in Windows 11/10, you can do so by following the below instructions.
- Open Disk Management utility
- Click on Action, select Create VHD, and follow the on-screen methods based on your requirements
Let’s get into the details.
Right-click on Computer > Manage > Left pane > Disk Management.
Select Action tab > Create VHD.
Specify the location and its size. Once this is done, you will see a notification:
VHD HBA driver being installed
How to attach Virtual Hard Disk File
Right-click on Computer > Manage > Left pane > Disk Management.
Select Action tab > Attach VHD.
How do I start a Virtual Disk?
Right-click on Computer > Manage > Left pane > Disk Management.
Select Action tab > Attach VHD. Specify the location. The system will then mount the VHD file.
Next, right-click on the VHD and select Initialize Disk.
Select the Partition style > OK. The system will now initialize the disk.
Next, right-click the unallocated space in the VHD & select New Simple Volume. Follow the instructions.
That’s it. Open your Explorer, and you will see your new VHD.
Also Read: Prevent Hard Disk from going to Sleep in Windows
Is a virtual hard disk good?
Even if you create a Virtual Hard Disk on your Windows 11/10 PC, the data is stored on the actual hard disk. The advantages that come with virtual hard disks are they can be moved around like files and migrate them. They come with a lot of flexibility. There are no other benefits with Virtual Hard Disks other than isolating and flexibility purposes.
Related read: Hard Drive keeps filling up by itself automatically for no reason on Windows.
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