Virtual disk devices have become indispensable in the conditions of stress testing new features of the latest operating systems, special encryption (for example, using the BitLocker algorithm) and studying new features and features of operating systems. It is important to understand that all of the above must function in an isolated environment in order to avoid damage to the OS settings, malfunctions in the registry settings, and violation of the integrity of the OS. All this is made possible thanks to virtual drives created in the operating room. Windows environment 10.
What is a virtual HDD? This is an isolated disk device, which in its external structure is no different from a standard drive, on which you can install additional operating systems, software, DBMS and other files. This is a standard VHD file, which, thanks to the mounting procedure (that is, installation or attachment to the file structure of disk drives - this operation is carried out without the help of any additional software) looks like a regular auxiliary disk partition in the explorer.
In essence, the algorithm for mounting a virtual device can be similar to the method of connecting an ISO image to the system. But the main difference here is the ability to record and use other methods of operation. Keep in mind that the virtual hard HDD- this is just a regular external file stored on a disk drive, you can easily move it to another PC and use it there.
How to Create a Virtual Hard Disk
The principle of creating a virtual disk drive has not changed a bit since Windows 7 and 8. The only difference is that in the G8 you have the ability to install a VHD file in the system by simply double-clicking on it: after clicking it, it will instantly be connected as an HDD and it will be associated with a certain letter. To launch the disk drive manager in the system, as always, we will use the key combination Win+R and team diskmgmt.msc.
An alternative option is to right-click on the Start button (or the Win + X sequence) and select the Disk Management option from the context menu.
The snap-in for managing disk drives is launched. It is here that all actions are performed to create and manage virtual devices, as well as to mount and install them.
To create a virtual partition, select the logical device on the basis of which the virtual disk drive will be created. Next, turn to Top Menu by selecting the option "Action" -> "Create virtual HDD"(Please note, here, very close, is the option "Connect virtual disk drive"; it will come in handy if you want to move the VHD from one PC to another).
As a result of such simple manipulations, the main form of the wizard for creating virtual disk drives will appear on the screen. Here you need to specify the location of the VHD file, its size (for this parameter, its value must be at least 3 MB) and one of the formats provided to choose from: fixed size or dynamically expanding. To make it clearer, here are a few words about the differences between the formats: with a fixed size, the storage capacity is always static, that is, unchanged; even if the partition itself is empty, on the hard drive it will strictly occupy a clearly specified volume. A dynamic device, in turn, is more flexible, and will occupy the volume on the drive that corresponds to the size of the files written to it.
When all the preliminary settings are set, and you click OK to confirm your choice, a new device will appear in the disk space structure. If necessary, the Microsoft Virtual Disk Drive HBA driver will also be installed.
As a next step, we need to initialize the HDD we created by right-clicking on the new virtual disk and selecting "Initialize Disk".
During the initialization of the disk device, we will actually have to specify the partition style used when marking the disk space: MBR or GPT. In operating systems of the Windows family, it would be more appropriate to specify the MBR style, since it is it that is used in all environments above the designated generation.
The final step towards creating a virtual disk in Windows 10 is to generate a simple disk volume that will be attached to the virtual device. To create a volume, a special step-by-step wizard is used, which will complete the entire procedure for creating a virtual disk. First, we will be prompted to specify the volume size, which is based on the value we set earlier at the stage of allocating disk space to the virtual device. It is logical to specify the same size as the first time, since otherwise not all of the disk space you allocated will be used for its immediate tasks.
One of the most important actions in the wizard is the association of a virtual drive with a logical device, that is, in fact, a letter that will act as a drive name.
The next iteration is formatting the disk partition. If you do not want to format right now, you can do it later, already in the explorer. Nevertheless, it is quite advisable to prepare the entire disk for work, so we choose file system and volume label.
This brings the whole process to an end. The work of the wizard is also over, and now we can work with the virtual disk, as with a regular disk drive: write files to it, store information, install operating systems, form a RAID array, and everything else that comes into your head.
How to delete a virtual disk in Windows 10?
If you have already finished testing the new utility, you may want to remove the device from the environment. How to do it? First of all, let's delete the volume corresponding to the new virtual device. Before performing this operation, make sure that all the necessary information is copied to a safe place, so that when you delete the volume, you will not lose any valuable data.
Right-click on the virtual volume and select the "Delete Volume" option.
Now we see that the disk layout is missing, and we can detach the disk device. We perform a right click on the designation of the disk itself and select the item "Disconnect virtual HDD" from the menu.
We confirm the operation on the next dialog mini-form and disconnect the virtual drive from the hard drive structure.
Now the virtual device is detached, but it is still stored at the address you specified when creating the disk. We go in the file explorer to the folder we need, find our virtual disk there, and delete the corresponding VHD file completely manually - everything is as usual.
How to install Windows 10 on a virtual drive?
After the virtual hard disk is created, you have the right to do whatever you want with it: install any programs, test services, set audit and local policy, and, of course, install a new operating system (even Windows 10). How to do it, you ask? Yes, just like installing an OS on a regular hard drive. When installing the distribution from a disk or flash drive before copying system files you will be prompted to select the logical partition to which this copying will be carried out. Among all other devices on the hard drive, our newly created disk will also be available, and you can install the OS directly on it without changing anything else in the parameters and settings of the virtual HDD. If desired, its volume can also be expanded by resorting to the services of the same Disk Management snap-in.
If you prefer to use third-party software for such operations, we recommend using emulators such as Oracle VM VirtualBox or Microsoft's Virtual PC to create virtual disks. All these software products have an expanded arsenal for working with virtual disks, and working with them here is as easy as in the standard Windows shell.
Good afternoon friends, today we will talk about how to make a virtual disk. All PC users know what an optical disc is and how to use it. And what is a virtual disk, not everyone knows. An optical disc is a very handy thing. Even some 10 years ago, computer users stored the information they received on floppy disks. The capacity of such media is small - about 1.4 MB. At the moment, some people do not really have a clue what it is, because. modern computers are produced without the so-called "Flopik" - a floppy disk drive.
Now users store information on optical discs. Unfortunately, in some cases this is inconvenient or not entirely appropriate compared to a virtual disk. Optical discs scratch, break, and generally take up free space in your computer desk drawers. In addition, discs are often lost, and their search takes a lot of free time. If the disk is lost or has become unusable, this leads to the loss of your information, which is unacceptable. Most of us add a new larger hard drive to increase our information.
This a good option, although information may be lost from there as well. You can store information on Blu-ray discs. This is also not a bad option, although they can also be lost or broken, like optical discs.
But remember for a moment, you launch your favorite game or, and it completely refuses to work without the original disc in the drive. This is due to the fact that the makers of optical or Blu-ray discs intentionally build this feature into their discs in order to increase the sales of their product.
In this case, you will have to copy the disc as accurately as possible onto a disc and insert such a disc into the drive. Although, by the way, not every such recorded disc will launch a program or game.
How to make a virtual disk through explorer
In the beginning, let's try to make VZD, working directly through the computer system. This is done quite simply. Right-click on the "Computer" label and select the "Management" item.
We will open a new window. In this window, select "Disk Management".
At the top of the main menu, click "Action" and select the item "Create a virtual hard disk."
In a new window, we indicate the location of the VZhD by clicking the "Browse" button for these purposes.
We will see that we already have a disk selected. I have it D. Your case may be different. Enter a name for this disk. For example, I will enter Virtual HDD, click on save.
At the bottom of the VZhD management window, we will see another disk that is not allocated (Disk 1). Right-click on it and click "Initialize Disk".
We will open a window in which you leave everything by default and click OK.
We will see the "Create a Simple Volume Wizard". Click next,
We will open the "Volume Size" window, where we also need to click "Next". We do not need to change the drive letter, click "Next". Let's move on to partition formatting, where we will leave everything as default. Click "Next". It remains for us to complete our action by clicking "Finish". Our virtual disk has been created!
How to make a virtual disk using DAEMON Tools Lite
You can also make a virtual disk with a virtual disk drive using third-party software. The most famous of these programs is Nero. This handy program to create a virtual disk. But the problem is that the modern version of Nero is paid.
Therefore, we will talk about a free analogue of this program, which is called DAEMON Tools Lite. In my opinion, this program is no worse than the paid Nero will help you make a virtual disk. This program can also be paid, but we are now talking about the free version with the word Lite at the end.
We launch the program and start creating an image, insert the disk into the drive. Click "Create Disk Image". Next, we specify the drive from which we will save the image and indicate the path where we will create this image.
After that, we move on to motivating the created image. To do this, we need to select the image we have chosen, located at the bottom of the catalog window, there we select the virtual disk (the program creates automatically) into which we are going to mount it. If necessary, you can create an additional drive, click on the "Add virtual drive DT" button.
I hope you are now aware, “How to make a virtual disk? It's actually pretty easy. All the best to you!
Another anecdote:
Starting with Windows 7, users of the operating Windows systems, it became possible to create virtual hard drives(VHD). VHD (Virtual Hard Drive) is a single file with a ".vhd" extension that has the same structure and content as a regular hard drive installed on a computer.
When using this file format, it will be possible to install and run several operating systems on one computer. If the user wants to try to work in another Windows operating system, then he usually installs the system on another logical drive of his computer, or installs Windows on virtual machine.
Since I have my own website dedicated to computer topics, I often have to answer questions from visitors. I currently have Windows 7 installed on my work computer, but I often have to answer questions about Windows 8.1, and soon I will have to answer about Windows 10.
That's why I use virtual VMware machine Workstation with operating systems installed: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Mac OS X, Android. I also have a Windows XP Mode virtual machine on my computer. If necessary, I launch the desired operating system in the program window while working in the main operating system.
With all the convenience of this method, it has a big drawback: when actively working on the main system, the operating system on the virtual machine will slow down its work. This is due to the fact that the resources of one computer are simultaneously consumed for the operation of two operating systems.
Using virtual hard drive will solve this problem. The other Windows will be installed on the VHD without the need to start a virtual machine. Operating systems will be loaded on the computer of the user's choice. At Windows installed on a virtual hard disk, all the resources of the computer will be used, so there will be no slowdown.
At the same time, the main system will not be affected in any way, and the system installed on the VHD disk can be easily removed from your computer at any time.
In this article, I will show you how to create a virtual hard disk for Windows installation, as a second, third, etc. system to your computer. You can read about the process of installing Windows on a virtual hard disk in a separate article.
I draw your attention to the fact that creating virtual hard drives possible in any Windows versions 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, but the ability to download another operating system will only be available to users of Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise, and Windows 8.1 Pro and Enterprise editions.
How to create a virtual hard disk
There are many ways to create a virtual hard disk: using the Diskpart utility, or using the Disk Management tool. In this article, we will consider the second option, as it is easier for the average user.
You can enter the Disk Management snap-in through the Control Panel by going through several steps. A shorter way: right-click on "Computer" or "This Computer", and select "Manage" from the context menu.
After that, the "Computer Management" window will open, in which, in the "Storage Devices" section, you will need to click on the "Disk Management" item. The utility window will display all drives currently connected to your computer.
In this image, you can see that my computer has a single hard drive divided into two logical partitions ("C" and "D").
You can more quickly enter the Disk Management snap-in. To do this, you will first need to press the "Win" + "R" buttons on the keyboard, and then enter the following command in the "Run" field:
Diskmgmt.msc
This will open the Disk Management window.
Next, you will need to select the disk on which the virtual hard disk will be created. Since on my computer hard If the disk is divided into two partitions, then I chose the logical disk "D", based on the following: in the event of a system reinstallation, all data on disk "C" will be destroyed, and the data on disk "D" will be saved, therefore, the virtual VHD disk will not will be lost. If your computer has only one disk partition "C", then in this case, the choice of disk will be obvious.
Select the desired disk, then click on the "Action" menu item, in the context menu, click on the "Create virtual hard disk" item.
In the File Explorer window, enter a file name, and then click the Save button.
The file name must consist of Latin letters and numbers. I named the created VHD disk "win10" (Windows does not recommend naming the file name). Attentive readers will notice that on the "D" drive of my computer, there is already a "win8" virtual hard disk created earlier, on which I installed the Windows 8.1 operating system.
You can manually add the path to the virtual disk in the "Location" field, as shown in this picture.
You will then need to select the size of the virtual hard disk. You can select the desired size in MB or immediately in GB. For normal system operation, I chose a size of 32 GB.
After that, you will need to select the format of the virtual hard disk:
- dynamic expansion;
- fixed size (recommended).
With dynamic expansion, the size of the virtual VHD disk will expand as data is stored on it until it reaches a fixed size.
With a fixed size, the virtual hard disk occupies all the allocated space, regardless of how much space the data on the disk takes up.
After completing the settings, click on the "OK" button.
After that, the process of creating a virtual hard disk on your computer will begin, which will take some time.
After the creation of the virtual disk is complete, a new disk with unallocated space will appear in the Disk Management window.
There is no need to install the created virtual disk as a new volume. After that, you can exit Disk Management.
If you open the Explorer window, then on the "D" drive you will see the created virtual hard disk "win10" with the extension ".vhd". VHD disk appears in the system as a regular file, but in fact it is a virtual hard disk.
Now you can install the Windows operating system on this disk.
Next steps to install Windows
Now I will briefly talk about the next steps to install the system. First you need to write down Windows image to optical DVD disc, or create a bootable flash drive, for example, in the Rufus program.
Next, you will need to boot from the DVD drive, or bootable flash drive, and then install the operating system on the virtual VHD disk. You can read a detailed article on installing Windows on a VHD disk.
How to delete a virtual hard disk (VHD)
If you need to delete a virtual VHD disk that was created in the corresponding section of your computer, then you can easily do this operation. The reasons for deleting a virtual hard disk can be very different: there is not enough free space on the logical disk, this operating system is no longer needed, etc.
At the very easy way deletion, you will need to open in Explorer the logical drive where this VHD is located. Then, you will need to select a virtual hard disk, and then select the "Delete" item in the context menu. In other ways, you can delete the VHD using the Disk Management snap-in, or using the Diskpart utility.
After that, the virtual hard disk will be removed from your computer.
Article Conclusions
You can create a virtual hard disk (VHD) on your computer to install on this disk operating system Windows, which you can use as a second operating system on your computer.
Please note that this option is available only to users of Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise, and Windows 8.1 Pro and Enterprise editions.
Last week we asked you to share your favorite disk image tools, then we rounded up the five most popular responses for a vote. Now we're back to highlight your favorite. DAEMON Tools led the pack by a comfortable margin with 40% of the vote.
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Each user can create a virtual drive if desired. But what if you no longer need it? It is about how to correctly remove such a drive in Windows 10 that we will describe further.
In total, it is worth highlighting two methods that will allow you to correctly remove the drive. You need to select the one that corresponds to the preliminary process of creating a virtual hard disk. In practice, everything does not look as difficult as it seems at first glance.
Method 1: "Disk Management"
This method is suitable for you if the virtual drive was created through the specified tool.
Remember that before performing the steps described below, you should copy all the necessary information from the disk being deleted, because after the final uninstallation you will not be able to restore it.
To remove a disk, do the following:
This completes this method.
Method 2: "Command line"
If you created a virtual drive through « command line» , then you should use the method described below. You need to perform the following operations:
By resorting to one of the methods described above, you can remove the virtual hard disk without much effort. Remember that these steps do not allow you to delete the physical partitions of the hard drive. To do this, it is better to use other methods that we talked about earlier in a separate lesson.
