VHD is a file that contains virtual image hard disk used by Microsoft Windows Virtual PC. One VHD file can contain all the data stored on a physical hard disk stored in one structure - partitions, system files, regular files and folders.
VHD files are commonly used as virtual machine disks, allowing multiple installations and running operating systems without the need to have multiple physical disks or separate computers. This provides many possibilities, for example: supporting programs and applications in different environments. VHD files also allow you to recover only selected directories or the entire hard drive.
The VHD format was created by Connectix, purchased in 2003 by Microsoft Corporation, which created Mircosoft Virtual PC. Since 2005, Microsoft has deployed a free license for the VHD format. In 2012, certain updates were presented that were rolled out in a new format -.
VHD files can be identified in several types, making them easier to manage. This:
Are you unsure what to do in a situation where your VHD file does not want to open? There may be several reasons for this situation, and thus several solutions to the problems with VHD files. By far the most plausible reason is the lack of a program on your device that can correctly interpret the data contained in the VHD file. You will solve this problem by going through the following 3 steps:
There can be at least several reasons for the inability to open a VHD file on a computer. The easiest way is to find a suitable application, installed on your computer, which will open the VHD file. If there is still something wrong, it is worth checking:
After eliminating the above defects, is the VHD file still incompatible with your software? Therefore, the problem is more complex and requires the help of a specialist.
In 2005, Microsoft developers introduced a new format - VHD. It allows you to create virtual hard disk images that can be used to host programs, additional operating systems, and other files as images. This makes it possible to open and test old programs and applications on another virtual OS without any additional computer equipment. The contents of the virtual machine are determined by these files and are located on the host operating system. You can open the VHD file using special virtualization software. Let's consider a basic set of operations performed with such elements.
Working with VHD expansion.
The VHD (Virtual Hard Disc) format is an extension that has the structure of a hard drive: file system, partitions, folders, and so on. As mentioned above, the components are launched using renderers.
Such elements can be created, attached and detached, compressed, deleted, converted and much more. Next, let's take a closer look at how to use the VHD extension.
There are several options for opening files. Microsoft developers actively support this format and release specialized applications to work with it. The VirtualBox and Microsoft Virtual PC utilities make it possible to run the OS directly from the host. Thus, you can have both Windows and Linux on your computer at the same time.
Method 1. To open the image and make the content available for viewing, do the following:
Everything is now available to you file system... You can disable it using the "Extract" tab by right-clicking the mouse button.
Method 2. You can work with the VHD extension through basic management.
ADVICE. You can check the "Read Only" checkbox if you do not want to make any changes.
Disable it using the "Disconnect" item.
Method 3. Open using the VirtualBox application.
ADVICE. With VirtualBox, you can perform a huge number of operations and adjust the operation of the virtual machine.
Method 4. We use 7-Zip. As you know, this is one of the most popular free archivers that allows you to work with images as well.
Method 5. We mount using Daemon Tools. This utility is not as popular as it was before, but it is still actively used to open and work not only with VHD-extension, but also with VDI, VMDK.
Method 6. Mount in Microsoft Virtual PC. The utility makes it possible to create virtual machines in which you can open the documents and folders we need. The algorithm of actions is similar to that described in working with VirtualBox:
Like any other element, virtual images can be removed or detached. It is quite simple to do this:
A detached hard drive retains its functionality and all existing data. To resume work, simply plug it back in. If you completely delete it, then all the information stored there is erased irrevocably along with it.
As we can see, Virtual Hard Disc is a very useful and easy-to-use thing. Creating additional regions on your computer can help you solve many problems. The use of several operating systems allows you to test all kinds of programs, including the study of malicious programs, without harming the main OS. If you still have any questions, ask them in the comments.
If you have a computer installed antivirus software can scan all files on the computer, as well as each file separately... You can scan any file by right-clicking on the file and selecting the appropriate option to scan the file for viruses.
For example, in this figure, file my-file.vhd, then you need to right-click on this file, and select the option from the file menu "Scan with AVG"... Selecting this option will open AVG Antivirus, which will scan this file for viruses.
Sometimes an error can result from incorrect software installation, which may be due to a problem encountered during the installation process. It may interfere with your operating system link your VHD file to the correct application software influencing the so-called "File extension associations".
Sometimes simple reinstalling Microsoft Notepad might fix your problem by linking VHD with Microsoft Notepad correctly. In other cases, problems with file associations can result from poor software programming developer and you may need to contact the developer for further assistance.
Advice: Try updating Microsoft Notepad to the latest version to make sure the latest patches and updates are installed.
It may seem too obvious, but often the VHD file itself may be causing the problem... If you received the file as an attachment Email or downloaded it from a website and the download process was interrupted (e.g. power outage or other reason), the file may be damaged... If possible, try getting a fresh copy of the VHD file and try opening it again.
Carefully: A damaged file may result in collateral damage to a previous or existing one. malware on your PC, so it is very important that you have an updated antivirus running on your PC at all times.
If your VHD file related to the hardware on your computer to open the file you may need update device drivers related to this equipment.
This problem usually associated with types of media files that depend on the successful opening of the hardware inside the computer, for example, sound card or video card... For example, if you are trying to open an audio file but cannot open it, you may need to update sound card drivers.
Advice: If when you try to open a VHD file you get SYS file related error message, the problem could probably be related to damaged or outdated device drivers that need to be updated. This process can be facilitated by using a driver update software such as DriverDoc.
If the steps did not solve the problem and you're still having problems opening VHD files, it could be due to lack of available system resources... Some versions of VHD files may require a significant amount of resources (e.g. memory / RAM, processing power) to open properly on your computer. This problem occurs quite often if you are using fairly old computer hardware and at the same time a much newer operating system.
This issue can occur when the computer has a hard time completing a task, as the operating system (and other services running in the background) can consume too many resources to open the VHD file... Try closing all applications on your PC before opening VHDL Source File. By freeing up all the available resources on your computer, you will provide a better environment for trying to open the VHD file.
If you completed all the steps above and your VHD file still won't open, you might need to do equipment upgrade... In most cases, even with older hardware versions, the processing power may still be more than adequate for most custom applications (unless you're doing a lot of CPU-intensive work like 3D rendering, financial / scientific modeling, or heavy multimedia work) ... In this way, it is likely that your computer does not have enough memory(more commonly called "RAM", or RAM) to perform the task of opening a file.
05.09.2009 05:09
In Windows 7, you can easily create, connect and disconnect virtual hard disks.
Virtual hard disk(English Virtual Hard Disk (VHD)) is a file format that has a structure and content similar to a hard disk.
A virtual hard disk is used to store data and even operating systems in a single image file that can be opened by virtualization programs or virtual machines. Windows 7 contains everything you need software to create, mount and boot from VHD files.
Creating, connecting and disconnecting virtual hard disks in Windows 7 is done through the interface Disk management Microsoft Management Console.
A virtual hard disk can be created anywhere on your computer's hard drive except Windows folders and its subfolders.
The minimum size of a virtual hard disk is 3 megabytes. The maximum size is limited only by the amount of free space on the physical hard disk.
1. Open Start, type in the search bar and press Enter.
2. In the menu Action choose .
3. Click Overview.
4. Select the location where the virtual hard disk will be stored, give the created disk a name and click Save.
5. If you want the capacity of the virtual hard disk to grow as data is stored on it, select Dynamic expansion... If you want the capacity of the virtual hard disk to remain fixed, select Fixed size and specify the size of the hard disk to be created in megabytes, gigabytes, or terabytes.
6. Click OK and wait while Windows 7 creates the virtual hard disk and installs the driver for it.
After creating the virtual disk described here Windows way 7 automatically attaches (mounts) it, so immediately after creating the disk, we can see it in the disk management interface of the Windows 7 Management Console in the list of all disks installed in the system.
7. To start using the created disc,.
1. Right-click on the virtual hard disk and select .
2. Confirm your decision.
Once disconnected, the virtual hard disk will be inaccessible until you reconnect it.
