Virtual Hard Disk - Create and Attach VHD

How to Create and Attach a Virtual Hard Disk in Windows 7​

   Information

A Virtual Hard Disk is a created VHD file on your hard drive that acts as a separate hard drive disk in Computer. This will show you how to create and attach (mount), or only attach (mount) an existing, a VHD in Windows 7.

Special thanks to Steven (dmex) for pointing out this new feature in Windows 7.

   Tip

You can also use a VHD file created from such programs as Windows Virtual PC.

   Warning

The VHD is only attached for the current session. When you restart the computer, any attached VHD files you have will no longer be attached and appear in Computer. You will have to reattach any VHD file to have it display back in the Computer window again until the next restart.

If you disable the Disk Defragmenter service, then you will get the error below when you try to do anything in Disk Management. If you get this error, then make sure that the Disk Defragmenter service is set to only Manual.

EXAMPLE: New Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) in Computer

Here's How:
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, click on Yes, then do either step 4 or 5 below.

4. To Attach an Existing VHD File
NOTE: This is for a detached VHD file that you had already created in step 5 below, or from an existing VHD file.
A) 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.

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

C) Navigate to the VHD file location and select it, then click on the Open button. (See screenshot below)

D) If you want the VHD to be read-only, then check the box, otherwise leave it unchecked. Click on OK. (See screenshot below)

E) If the existing VHD file is unallocated, go to step 6. (See screenshot below step 6A)
WARNING: Be sure to create a backup copy of the VHD file first to be safe in case of data loss.

F) If the existing VHD file is allocated, go to step 8. (See screenshot below step 8)
5. To Create and Attach a New Virtual Hard Disk (VHD file)
A) In the left pane, right click on Disk Management, and click on Create VHD. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: You can also click on Disk Management, Action on the menu bar, and Create VHD.

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

C) Navigate to the location you would like to store the new VHD file, type in a name for the VHD file, and click on Save. (See screenshot below)

D) Type in the maximum size you want the Virtual Hard Disk to be, and select the size to be MB, GB, or TB (1024 MB = 1 GB, 1024 GB = 1 TB). (See screenshot below)

E) Select (dot) if you want the new VHD size to be Dynamic or Fixed, and click on OK. (See screenshot below)


F) Continue to step 6.
6. To Initialize the Virtual Hard Disk
A) Right click on the new unallocated VHD Disk # and click on Initialize Disk. (See screenshot below)

B) Select (check) the Disk # from above for the new VHD. Select (dot) if you want the new VHD to have a MBR (Master Boot Record) or GPT (GUID Partition Table) partition, and click on OK. (See screenshot below)

C) Continue to step 7.
7. To Create a New Simple Volume in the VHD
A) Right click on the new unallocated VHD and click on New Simple Volume. (See screenshot below)

B) Click on the Next button. (See screenshot below)

C) Type in how much of the maximum disk space (step 5D) you want for the size of this VHD partition, and click on Next. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If you do not use the maximum space, then you will have a second unallocated VHD partition left with the remaining available disk space.

D) Select the file system (NTFS or FAT32) you want the VHD partition to be. (See screenshot below)

E) Type in a name for the VHD to be displayed in Computer. (See screenshot below)

F) Check the Perform a quick format box, and click on Next. (See screenshot below)

G) Click on the Finish button. (See screenshot below)

8. The VHD is now attached and ready to access like a HDD. (see screenshot below)

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Create a Windows 7 VHD at Boot to Start with from Boot
• How to Unattach and Delete a Virtual Hard Disk in Windows 7
• How to Setup Windows 7 to Boot from a VHD (Virtual Hard Disk)
• How to Shrink a Partition or Volume in Windows 7
• How to Extend a Partition or Volume in Windows 7
• How to Delete a Partition or Volume in Windows 7
• How to Create a New Partition or Volume in Windows 7
• How to Burn a "ISO" or "IMG" Disc Image file to a CD/DVD in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Mount a Hard Drive or Partition as a Folder in Windows 7
• How to Convert a VHD File to a ISO File
• How to Extract Windows 7 System Image Files Using Disk Management
• How to Create a VHD of a Physical Hard Disk in Windows 7

 

[Kari]

If you are unsure about if your system can handle virtualization, download and install Microsoft® Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool and SecureAble. These two small apps help you to determine if your system is able to run Virtual PC.

When you install Virtual PC and XP mode, the virtual machines are always there until you delete them. You don't have to re-install or re-mount them. You just start the virtual machine you want from their default location C:\Users\Your_Username\Virtual Machines (this folder will be created when you install Virtual PC).

Here you can see my virtual machines. As you see, some of them are hibernated which allows a faster boot. To boot any of these machines, anytime, I just double click it:



A virtual machine is a file, a vhd or virtual hard disk file acting like a real HD. Virtual PC puts XP Mode vhd and any vhd's belonging to other virtual machines you create to a folder, so there's no need to create a separate partition for your virtual machines. By default the location of Virtual PC vhd's is C:\Users\Your_Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines. Notice that because AppData is a hidden folder, you have to enable Show hidden files and folders (Control Panel > Folder Options) to see it.

Kari

EDIT: This tutorial is about attaching (mounting) a vhd as an additional HD to your system. Doing it with an XP vhd does not allow you to run the applications from that vhd as in XP because the vhd is only a HD in a Windows 7 system.

To be able to run applications in XP, you need to install and setup Virtual PC and XP Mode. That said, I think you should read another of Brink's excellent tutorials: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/8247-windows-xp-mode-install-setup.html

 

[Ivan05]

If you are unsure about if your system can handle virtualization, download and install Microsoft® Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool and SecureAble. These two small apps help you to determine if your system is able to run Virtual PC.

When you install Virtual PC and XP mode, the virtual machines are always there until you delete them. You don't have to re-install or re-mount them. You just start the virtual machine you want from their default location C:\Users\Your_Username\Virtual Machines (this folder will be created when you install Virtual PC).

Here you can see my virtual machines. As you see, some of them are hibernated which allows a faster boot. To boot any of these machines, anytime, I just double click it:

A virtual machine is a file, a vhd or virtual hard disk file acting like a real HD. Virtual PC puts XP Mode vhd and any vhd's belonging to other virtual machines you create to a folder, so there's no need to create a separate partition for your virtual machines. By default the location of Virtual PC vhd's is C:\Users\Your_Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines. Notice that because AppData is a hidden folder, you have to enable Show hidden files and folders (Control Panel > Folder Options) to see it.

Kari

EDIT: This tutorial is about attaching (mounting) a vhd as an additional HD to your system. Doing it with an XP vhd does not allow you to run the applications from that vhd as in XP because the vhd is only a HD in a Windows 7 system.

To be able to run applications in XP, you need to install and setup Virtual PC and XP Mode. That said, I think you should read another of Brink's excellent tutorials: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/8247-windows-xp-mode-install-setup.html

Thanks for clearing that up Kari. So, just install Win 7 normally, with no need to create a separate partition for the VHD, do the VHD thing as mentioned in the tutorial (which made it sound pretty simple!), install my scanner software in the XP Mode machine and I should be off and running. Sounds better than dealing with the dual boot setup.

Thanks again for your help. I'm going to give this a whirl over the next few days and will report back if I have any questions or problems.

Now, it's off to build the new computer!

 

[churin]

Thanks Kari and churin for the additional information. How do you know if it will support XP mode? Parts just arrived for my new build and now I'm even more confused. My old system is on it's last leg and I'm upgrading to a Core i7-860 and assumed it would handle the task with no issues.

I7-860 does support XP mode. If there is + mark on VT column in this table then the cpu supports Virtualization Technology(VT).

 

[Ivan05]

I7-860 does support XP mode. If there is + mark on VT column in this table then the cpu supports Virtualization Technology(VT).

churin, thanks! Even though the i7-860 will support VT, are you still required to run the Microsoft® Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool? Does it modify the registry to tell Win 7 that the machine will support VT/VHD?

 

[churin]

I7-860 does support XP mode. If there is + mark on VT column in this table then the cpu supports Virtualization Technology(VT).

churin, thanks! Even though the i7-860 will support VT, are you still required to run the Microsoft® Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool? Does it modify the registry to tell Win 7 that the machine will support VT/VHD?

There may be one more hurdle: The virtualization feature may be disabled by default in the BIOS. The tool available at the link will tell you about it for your BIOS. Or just check the BIOS setting to see if the virtualization is enabled or not. It's not too hard to find it out. The word to look for is "Virtualization" or something like that.

 

[Ivan05]

I7-860 does support XP mode. If there is + mark on VT column in this table then the cpu supports Virtualization Technology(VT).

churin, thanks! Even though the i7-860 will support VT, are you still required to run the Microsoft® Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool? Does it modify the registry to tell Win 7 that the machine will support VT/VHD?

There may be one more hurdle: The virtualization feature may be disabled by default in the BIOS. The tool available at the link will tell you about it for your BIOS. Or just check the BIOS setting to see if the virtualization is enabled or not. It's not too hard to find it out. The word to look for is "Virtualization" or something like that.

Will do. That's usually the first thing I do when I power up a new build for the is first time. Thanks.

 

[karlsnooks]

Brink,
Would there be anything to gain from assimilating some of the info in this series into your excellent tutorial?
http://blogs.msdn.com/cmayo/archive/2010/03/10/adding-a-native-boot-vhd-to-windows-7-part-3.aspx

 

[kepin]

Does this virtual hardisk behave like partition? So, if there's something wrong with my OS I can format the C: (OS) only, and back up all my data to E: (created virtual HD)?

 

[Kari]

Hello Kepin, welcome to the Seven Forums.

I see no reason why not, as long as you remember the vhd is a file, a virtual hard disk and not a physical HD and you don't keep it on the OS partition. If your vhd is located on the partition you format, you lose everything saved on that partition including your vhd.

You can backup and even use Windows Easy transfer to copy your files to vhd.

Kari

 

[karlsnooks]

As Kari pointed out, a VHD is a file. If you format the drive containing this VHD file, then the VHD file is gone.

You can copy the VHD file to anywhere you desire. You can then use DiskMgmt.msc to "mount" the VHD whenever you need it.

 

[Brink]

Brink,
Would there be anything to gain from assimilating some of the info in this series into your excellent tutorial?

Hello Karl,

We already have separate tutorials here for these.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/625-boot-vhd-using-windows-7-a.html

and

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2953-virtual-hard-drive-vhd-file-create-start-boot.html

 

[kepin]

Hello Kepin, welcome to the Seven Forums.

I see no reason why not, as long as you remember the vhd is a file, a virtual hard disk and not a physical HD and you don't keep it on the OS partition. If your vhd is located on the partition you format, you lose everything saved on that partition including your vhd.

You can backup and even use Windows Easy transfer to copy your files to vhd.

Kari

As Kari pointed out, a VHD is a file. If you format the drive containing this VHD file, then the VHD file is gone.

You can copy the VHD file to anywhere you desire. You can then use DiskMgmt.msc to "mount" the VHD whenever you need it.

Thanks a lot for your information. In my case, I only have 1 drive for OS (C: 250GB) so i need to create a Virtual HD (assign 150 GB become D, initialize it first that I copy the vhd file from C: to my new virtual D: (any directory). So, when I re-format the c: drive I will still have my virtual D: (along with data stored in it) am I right?

 

[Kari]

You are right. Personally, I would not do that. If the second partition is used to store a vhd which in its turn is your main backup storage, I would apply one of my main principles regarding backups: to be sure your backup is as safely stored as possible always use a separate disk, not a partition on the same disk.

Everything can happen, HD's get broken. If your one and only HD no longer works, you' might lose not only your system but also the partition containing the backup vhd. That's why I sincerely recommend you to get a second HD. Both internal and external HD's cost today so little it is in my opinion the best thing you could do.

Of course, with a second partition or HD, whatever you choose, you no longer need to setup a vhd to store your backups so this is a bit like a Catch-22 situation

Please notice the above mentioned is my personal opinion. Other members may think differently.

Kari

 

[Ivan05]

Well, looks like I'm going to have to go the dual boot route. No 64-bit drivers for the SCSI card. Thanks everyone for the help.

 

[Kari]

Well, looks like I'm going to have to go the dual boot route. No 64-bit drivers for the SCSI card. Thanks everyone for the help.

Ivan, as I told you here XP Mode is always 32-bit, even if you run it on a 64-bit Windows 7. So if you are installing new hardware like that SCSI device you've mentioned to be used in XP Mode, you must use 32-bit drivers.

Kari

 

[glassjaw]

hello, i tried the following steps on how to create a VHD, on the first trial i succesfully created a .vhd file, but then i heard a beep. when i watch on the folder where i made the .vhd file, it disappeared i dont know why. after then i get this errors


Im sorry if im too far away or you dont seem to understand but, Im not that good when it comes to these things, about tweaks.

I really need to know this Virtual Drive. And btw if i had created a VHD, how can I make it not to disappear after i reboot?

 

[Brink]

Hello Glassjaw, and welcome to Seven Forums.

This is normal as per the red WARNING box at the top of the tutorial. Attached VHDs like this are only temporary.

If you have a qualifying edition of Windows 7, then you might consider using Windows Virtual PC and create a VHD for a virtual machine with it to use instead.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/8254-windows-virtual-pc-create-virtual-machine.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[glassjaw]

Windows Virtual PC? is it an Application?
And if i had successfully created one virtual drive how can i make it stay still? To make it not to disappear after i reboot?

 

[Brink]

Glassjaw,

Yes, Windows Virtual PC is a free virtualization program by Microsoft used to create VHD files to use with virtual machines instead that now go away after a restart.

 

[glassjaw]

hehe , thanks , but my windows 7 is not genuine my uncle installed this OS when i got my second hand PC, what other programs does the program to create VHD's? do i need to run the XP mode to make the VHD? and make it stay still even after reboot?