System Image - Extract Files Using Disk Management

How to Extract Windows 7 System Image Files Using Disk Management​

   Information

When you create a system image, Windows 7 creates a Virtual Hard Disk VHD file that contains all of your files. This will show you how to attach (mount) this VHD file using Disk Management to manually extract and restore specific files of your choice from the system image instead of doing the default full system image recovery.

   Note

System images are saved in this format:

(selected backup location's drive letter)\WindowsImageBackup\(your computer name)\Backup (year-month-day) (time-hhmmss)

For example, if your computer name is Windows7-PC, your backup image location is on hard disk or partition (network or local) D: , and you backed up on September 14th 2008 at 4:39:45 AM (it uses 24 hour time), then that system image VHD file will be located in the D:\WindowsImageBackup\Windows7-PC\Backup 2009-09-14 043945 folder.

OPTION ONE

To Attach the VHD to Extract Files from System Image

1. Open the Control Panel (icons View).
A) Click on the Administrative Tools icon, and click on Computer Management.

B) Go to step 3.
OR

2. Open the Start Menu.
A) In the Search box, type compmgmt.msc and press Enter.
3. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.

4. In the left pane, right click on Disk Management, and click on Attach VHD. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: You can also click on Disk Management, Action on the menu bar, and Attach VHD.

5. Click on the Browse button. (See screenshot below)

6. Navigate to the drive or partition that you selected to save the created system image to, then select a listed VHD file for the disk that you want to extract files from. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: See the NOTE box at the top of the tutorial to see where to find your system image VHD file at.

   Note

There will be a VHD file for each hard disk that was included in the system image backup when it was created.

You will not be able to open the VHD for the 100 MB System Reserved partition if you had one created during the installation of your Windows 7.

7. Click on OK. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: Be sure to leave the Read only box unchecked if you wish to have more than read-only access.

8. You will now notice that the VHD file has been attached (mounted) as a separate virtual disk with it's own drive letter (ex: F: ) in Disk Management. Close Disk Management.(See screenshot below)

9. You may also get a AutoPlay pop-up window. Double click on the Open folder to view files option. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If you did not get a AutoPlay pop-up, then you can open the new attached VHD virtual disk (ex: F) from the Computer window like any other hard drive or partition.

10. You can now copy any files that you want from the attached system image VHD disk (ex: F: ) to restore back to your Windows 7 C: drive. (See screenshot below)

OPTION TWO

To Detach the VHD in Disk Management

NOTE: This will show you to detach the VHD file in Disk Management from OPTION ONE above without affecting the system image.
1. Open the Control Panel (icons View).
A) Click on the Administrative Tools icon, and click on Computer Management.

B) Go to step 3.
OR

2. Open the Start Menu.
A) In the Search box, type compmgmt.msc and press Enter.
3. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.

4. In the middle pane, right click on the Disk # of the attached VHD (ex: F: ), and click on Detach VHD. (See screenshot below)

5. Click on OK. (See sreenshot below)
WARNING: DO NOT CHECK the Delete the virtual hard disk file after removing the disk box. If you do, you will destroy the created system image. Leaving this box unchecked will leave your created system image intact an unharmed so you can still be able to use it to do a full system image recovery.

6. You will now notice that the VHD (ex: F: ) has been detached in Disk Management. (See screenshot below)

7. Close Disk Management.
That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Extract Files from Windows 7 System Image using Virtual PC
• How to Manually Extract Files from a Backup in Vista and Windows 7
• How to Extract Files from the Windows 7 Installation DVD
• How to Restore your System with a Broken Windows 7 System Image
• How to Create a System Image Backup in Windows 7
• How to Backup User and System Files in Windows 7
• How to Do a System Image Recovery in Windows 7
• How to Enable or Disable the Ability to Create a System Image in Windows 7
• How to Unattach and Delete a Virtual Hard Disk in Windows 7
• How to Create and Attach a Virtual Hard Disk in Windows 7
• How to Restore Files and Folders in Windows 7 with Previous Versions
• How to Delete Windows 7 User Data and System Image Backup Files
• How to Extract Files and Folders from System Restore Points in Windows 7 and Vista

 

[Brink]

Hello Peter,

It would only change the read-only attribute of the file.

 

[Peter Pan]

Hello Brink,

thanks for your input but your suggestion is not what I can see on my system. It does not explain why the first time the image would be mounted as a not initialized drive if the R/O attribute has been set. Furthermore I checked that the R/O attribute is not set by default for these files after creation. So it has not to be cleared before the first mounting.

Anytime I mount an VHD image this way, its file date stamp is updated if the R/O attribute is not set. And after a first mounting with writing capability then the image can be mounted in a R/O mode.

Maybe something is actually changed in the VHD file but I too lazy to compare an image that has just been mounted then unmounted with its original copy.

Other suggestions ?

 

[Brink]

The time stamp has been updated since it has been accessed by mounting it.

I'm not sure why it's not initialized with a drive letter when you mount the VHD. Are you mounting the largest VHD for the system image?

 

[Peter Pan]

AFAIK, the "modified" time stamp should not be updated any time a image is mounted. I do not know anything about the mounting process but it would sound weird to me in case such a process would change anything in the mounted image. As far as the image is just read for some navigation or file copy through Explorer.

Several people reported here the same behavior for a not initialized drive when read-only mode is checked.

Brink, I am not sure to understand your question: I have only one VHD file in any Backup* folder under WindowsImageBackup. Size is always around 25 GB.

 

[Brink]

There will be a VHD file for each hard disk that was included in the system image backup when it was created. If you only have the Windows C: drive, then that would be why you only have the one VHD file.

If changes are made with the files from the mounted VHD, then that would change the time stamp.

 

[ToniCipriani]

There will be a VHD file for each hard disk that was included in the system image backup when it was created. If you only have the Windows C: drive, then that would be why you only have the one VHD file.

If changes are made with the files from the mounted VHD, then that would change the time stamp.

Bumping an old Tutorial here... so if we are to mount a drive to extract files, but the best practice is to not touch the ownership and permissions on the image, how can we access the files, in particular the Users folders where everything is situated?

Right now the only workaround I see is run Notepad as admin, then use the Open File dialog like Explorer. Is there a better way? Running Windows Explorer as admin doesn't work. Also for Windows 10, the "Exit Explorer" then relaunch as admin doesn't work either.

 

[Brink]

Hello Toni,

It's not going to hurt the image if you are only using one of the options in the tutorial to extract files from it.

 

[betaupsilon]

Inserting files into a VHD?

This tutorial is quite informative in obtaining information from previous images. Contemplate the REVERSE? It is possible to insert files into a VHD after the VHD has been mounted. If the VHD is from a previous system image will the inserted file become part of that older image even though the GlobalCatalog may not even have the info on the new file?

I ask this as a hypothetical because I can imagine that some system or program file has become corrupt, but you do not know when. So the possibility that previous images have the same corrupt file exists. Can I avoid restoring the old image, correcting the file (saving it as filename2), and then remaking the image? If I can simply insert the correct file to the VHD, I have circumvented some time loss in restoring & remaking the old image.

My guess as being an engineer/physicist the above would violate some conservation law & that it cannot be done. But I thought I would ask since there resides some experience & knowledge that supersedes mine on these topics at this site.

 

[Brink]

Hello betaupsilon,

What you propose is interesting. If you try it, be sure to have another full system image to restore back to in case it causes issues.