Virtual Hard Disk - Create and Attach VHD

Kari said:

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: Windows XP Mode - Install and Setup

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!

Ivan05 said:

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).

churin said:

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?

Ivan05 said:

churin said:

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.

churin said:

Ivan05 said:

churin said:

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.

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)?

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.