in this guide Working with VHDs and VHDXs (Virtual Hard Disk) is a must-have capability of system administrators, IT experts, and technically advanced users who operate in Windows Server and Windows desktop milieus. We deliver an all-encompassing, elaborately, and expertly arranged manual that navigates through creating, connecting, disconnecting, and upgrading VHD and VHDX files by means of Disk Management as well as the most effective manners.
What are Virtual Hard Disks (VHD & VHDX) in Windows?
Virtual Hard Disks (VHDs) are kind of files that mimic the usage of real disks and are generally taken to be the storage devices of the virtualized world like Hyper-V. Windows recognizes two major formats:
- VHD – A format of the past, maximum capacity of 2 TB
- VHDX – New, fault-tolerant format which can cater up to 64 TB, is the source of choice in all cases
Upon connection, a VHD is a regular disk inside Disk Management missing only the physical hardware. Therefore, it is possible to carry out are partitioning, formatting, and volume management.
Great Features of VHD & VHDX
✔ VHDs Enable More Versatile Storage Management
Virtual disk images are a perfect solution for isolating the storage space needed for different tasks such as testing, backups, development, or virtualization without interfering with the single physical hard drive.
✔ Handy and Ready for Use Anywhere
One can move, distribute, attach a VHD, or even use it for OS boot.
✔ VHDX is more Reliable
One of the ways that VHDX brings reliability is through it can protect its metadata and always keep the sector sizes in 4 KB.
Required Conditions to Work with VHDs in Windows
For VHD operation, user account should be a member of:
- Administrators
- Backup Operators
It is necessary to have administrative rights for performing disk-related tasks.
Create a Virtual Hard Disk (VHD/VHDX) in Windows
You can make a new virtual disk by following the instructions below in Disk Management.
How to Create a VHD or VHDX: Detailed Guide
- Open Disk Management
Press Win + X → Disk Management
Or type “Disk Management” in the search box and run it as Administrator. - Create VHD
Select Action → Create VHD - Specify VHD Location
Select Browse
Choose a fully qualified path (make sure it is not within the Windows directory)
Type the file name
Select VHDX (best choice) - Decide the Size of the Virtual Disk Minimum:
3 MB Maximum: depending on the file format (VHD → 2 TB, VHDX → 64 TB) - Pick the Disk Type
Dynamically Expanding – takes up space as data increases
Fixed Size – sets the full storage right away, a bit faster performance - Confirm
Creating and attaching the VHD is done by clicking OK.
Most Appropriate VHDX Settings for the Majority of Cases
| Use Case | Type | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Testing environments | Dynamic | VHDX |
| Production workloads | Fixed | VHDX |
| Legacy systems | Fixed | VHD |
| Bootable images | Fixed preferred | VHDX |
Attach a Virtual Hard Disk (Mount a VHD/VHDX)
Three different ways are available for mounting a VHD, depending on what Windows edition you use. They are:
Method 1. Attach a virtual disk via the Disk Management UI
- Launch Disk Management using an Administrator account.
- Go to Action → Attach VHD.
- Locate and select the .vhd or .vhdx file.
- Confirm mounting with the OK button.
Once the operation is complete, you will see a blue disk icon that designates the attached drive.
Detach a Virtual Hard Disk (Unmount a VHD)
Detaching a VHD means just that, it is not deleting the file or the data inside, instead, it simply unmounts the drive.
Steps to Detach a VHD
- Open Disk Management.
- Identify the VHD that is displayed as a virtual disk.
- Right-click on the disk label (e.g., Disk 2).
- Click on Detach VHD.
- In the next dialog, click OK.
When you finish detaching, the disk listing changes to gray, and your file is still there at the location physically.
Additional VHD Handling Techniques
Initialize, Partition & Format a New VHD
The step that follows VHD creation is to:
- Set up the VHD as either MBR or GPT
- Make partitions
- Format them with NTFS, ReFS, or exFAT
- Insert a drive letter
It is worth mentioning that they are the exact same operations as with a conventional drive and can be achieved through PowerShell scripting.
PowerShell Commands for VHD Operations
Create and Mount a VHDX
New-VHD -Path "D:\Storage\TestDisk.vhdx" -SizeBytes 50GB -Dynamic
Mount-VHD -Path "D:\Storage\TestDisk.vhdx"
Detach a VHD
Dismount-VHD -Path "D:\Storage\TestDisk.vhdx"
Initialize Disk and Create Primary Partition
Initialize-Disk -Number 3
New-Partition -DiskNumber 3 -UseMaximumSize -AssignDriveLetter | Format-Volume -FileSystem NTFS -Confirm:$false
Best Practices for Managing VHD and VHDX Files
✔ Keep Using VHDX for Stability and Performance
It is more stable and efficient as it comes with power failure protection and supports larger disk sizes.
✔ Do Not Put VHDs in System Folders
It is best not to place VHDs within the Windows directory or any critical system folders.
✔ Employ Fixed Disks in Production
A fixed-size VHDX is better as it gives a more consistent performance.
✔ Make Copies of VHD Files Frequently
If the VHD gets corrupted, it could lead to a very big data loss.
✔ Do Not Mount VHD on Systems that Have Low Storage
Because of the rapid expansion, it is easy to lose track of how much space a dynamic disk will take up.
Common Issues and Troubleshooting
Unable to Attach VHD
- Check whether there is enough free space on the physical disk.
- Ensure that you have the necessary file permissions.
- Make sure that the file is not being used by Hyper-V.
After Mounting the Disk Is Not Available
- Go to Disk Management and check if the disk needs to be initialized.
- Clear up the drive letter mappings if there are any that are old or that point to unmounted drives.
VHDX File Gets Damaged
- If you have the Repair-VHD PowerShell cmdlet, then use it to fix the corruption.
- If the corruption is major, then you should restore a backup.
Conclusion
Virtual Hard Disks offer unparalleled versatility to system administrators in Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server (2016–2025). As a result, knowing how to create, mount, unmount, and manage VHDs on an ongoing basis allows us to quickly fabricate testing scenarios, roll out virtual machines, generate handy storage devices, and simplify cutting-edge IT workflows.
Such is the content of this manual, which acts as a detailed plan for expert-level handling of VHD/VHDX, thus being the guarantee of stability, performance, and capacity expansion in all the Windows versions that have been or will be released.