Windows 7: How to Attach VHD (Virtual Hard Disk)

I use Virtual PC quite a bit for checking out various operating systems. sometimes I have files on a virtual OS that I need to use on my real system. This usually means that I have to fire up Virtual PC and run the desired operating system. Windows 7 allows you to attach VHD files so that you can access the disks from your virtual OS without having to run Virtual PC.

Open your start menu and right click on computer and then open manage.

In computer management click on disk management on the left side.

Open the action menu and select attach VHD.

Note: It looks like you need Windows Vista Enterprise or Ultimate to have this option available. Check out the link below to mount a VHD in Vista Home or Business. If the attach VHD option is greyed out, click in the blank space where your volumes are listed and it should become selectable.

Browse to the VHD file inside the backup folder that was created earlier. If you have two VHD files look at the file size because the smaller one will be your boot partition, and the larger one will be your system (C:) drive.

A new drive should show up in disk management using the next available drive letter

Recovery Files

The autoplay prompt will pop up if you have it turned on because we just plugged in a virtual hard drive.

Browse the files and copy any files you need to recover to your C: drive.

Disconnect VHD

When you have the files you need, go back to disk management and right click on the lower window where it says your disk number. Then select detach VHD to unmount your backup file.

Make sure you don’t check the box that asks if you want to delete the VHD when you detach it.