Use Virtual Hard Disk Files

[Veedaz]

This is a very cool aspect of Windows 7 you can create and manage virtual hard disks files in Windows 7 as if they were real disks. This can allow you to use a live Windows installation on the virtual disk without the need to boot the virtual Computer.

To create a virtual disk you have to press the Windows Key, right-click on Computer, then go to Manage > Disk Management > Action > Create VHD, there you can specify the location and size of your virtual hard disk file.

To attach the virtual disk file, press the Windows Key, right-click Computer, then go to Manage > Disk Management > Action > Attach VHD and you have to specify the location and if it’s read only or not.

To initialise a virtual hard disk, press the Windows Key, right-click on Computer, go to Manage > Disk Management > Action > Attach VHD, specify the location, click OK, then right click on the virtual disk and click on Initialise Disk. Select the partition style you want to use and then right-click on the unallocated space and click "New Simple Volume" and follow the instructions wizard. Now, a new Hard Drive appears in Windows Explorer and you can use it as a real partition.

 

[kitesurfa]

Interesting...

Does the drive stay active when you shutdown the PC and reboot or do you loose all the data saved to it ?

Also can it be formatted to say FAT32 and then made bootable to DOS ?
This could be handy as I use DOS software at work and have to set it up via USB stick or FDD as none of it will run on XP or later.

 

[Veedaz]

I'm not sure about formating in FAT 32 (try it) but

It’ll work exactly like any other drive – you can install programs there, store data, whatever you like – but it’s really just a VHD file. Detach it and the drive will disappear, leaving no evidence that it was ever there. Best of all, in Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate you’ll even be able to boot from a VHD file, letting you install and try out another operating system without partitioning your hard drive