Working with Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) files in Windows 7

Windows 7 can now mount Microsoft’s Virtual PC VHD files (virtual machine hard drives) directly so you can access them in the host operating system.

Click Start, type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter

In the Disk Management windows click Action > Attach VHD and choose the file you’d like to mount. It will then appear as a virtual drive in Explorer. This VHD file can now be accessed, copied or written just like any other disk drive.

If you would like to create a new virtual drive, click Action > Create VHD. Of course, you will have to initialise the new disk before you can use it. To do this right-click it, select Initialise Disk, and after it’s initialised right-click the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume. This process will give you a virtual drive that is just like any other drive. You can drag and drop files, install programs, test partitioning software or do whatever you like. But it’s actually just this VHD file on your real hard disk which you can easily back up or share with others. Right-click the disk and select Detach VHD to remove it.

Don’t try this unless you know what you’re doing.

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