WinVHD: A Beginner’s Guide to Virtual Hard Disks on Windows

How to create and mount a WinVHD (VHD/VHDX) — step-by-step (Windows ⁄₁₁)

Requirements

• Administrator account.
• Choose format: .vhdx (recommended) or .vhd.
• Decide size and type: Dynamically expanding (saves host space) or Fixed size (slightly better performance).

Option A — Disk Management (GUI)

1. Press Win, type diskmgmt.msc, press Enter to open Disk Management (run as Admin).
2. Action → Create VHD.
   • Browse → choose folder and file name (*.vhdx or .vhd).
   • Set size (MB/GB/TB), select format (VHDX/VHD), choose type (Dynamically expanding or Fixed).
   • Click OK.
3. The new VHD appears as an uninitialized disk. Right‑click the disk label → Initialize Disk → choose MBR or GPT → OK.
4. Right‑click the unallocated space → New Simple Volume → Next → set size → Next → assign drive letter → Next.
5. Choose Format options (NTFS recommended), label, Quick Format → Next → Finish. The drive mounts and is available in File Explorer.
6. To attach an existing .vhd/.vhdx: Action →Attach V