Windows7How

Creating Virtual Hard Disks, Part I

August 13, 2011

Now that Windows 7 is released to the world and you may even have it on your PC now – or, at least you are planning to install it, right? – you may want to install it and test many different installation scenarios. One way to look at it is from the point of view of being able to have several operating system (OS) installs on the same PC at the same time. Another perspective is to use this to test Windows 7 with several different settings, applications and connections. Or, you may really need to have two completely different configurations of your OS – each with a specific purpose – and switch between them. One of the best ways to do this is to go with a virtual hard disk (VHD) installation. So, it does not matter what your reasoning is in wishing to create a VHD setup; it only matters that you want to do it quickly and easily and you need to know how. This is what you will find here.

Microsoft spent some time with Virtual PC, improving on some speed issues and adding some new features, but it is not perfect. Or, you could install a dual-boot system and reboot back and forth between your OS installs. Of course, the best way would be to combine the best of both of those methods. And, you would think, it would be nice not to have to repartition your hard drive to make this possible. Additionally, not using something like Microsoft Windows Virtual PC to handle the operation would remove one more area where things can go wrong. It does sound too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, then you won’t believe that you will also be able to use all of your hardware with this VHD install…but, it is true.

How you create this will depend on what you have already and what you currently have installed on your PC. It is possible to do this in three ways – convert a Windows 7 Windows Image Format (.WIM file) to a VHD, take an existing Windows 7 VHD and SysPrep (Windows System Preparation Tool) it, or create a Windows 7 VHD using the Windows 7 DVD and the wonderfully fun DiskPart tool. Logically, if you have the mentioned .WIM file or the already ready Windows 7 VHD, then one of the first two methods will work for you. However, it is likely that you will not just have an extra Windows 7 .WIM or VHD file lying around your Desktop – at least, if you are just a humble user of the system. Like most users, the third option will likely be your choice for this process. However, it is not a problem to go through any of them because they are all relatively simple and easy to complete. Since it is unlikely you will have access to any of the large files mentioned above, the method of creating the VHD with the Windows 7 DVD will be written here. After you master it, you will be the envy of all your friends…OK, maybe not.

Before we even start to take on this project, though, it is smart to look into any limitations or conditions which may get in the way of accomplishing the goal here. First of all, this document assumes that you will be creating the VHD within/on top of an existing Windows 7 system. It will not compensate for you if you are using Windows Vista or Windows XP, so be sure to have a Windows 7 installation to use for this. Also, the Hibernation feature will not function with or in the VHD you create here, so do not try to use it – problems could occur. BitLocker is, unfortunately, also not compatible with the VHD setup which is used here. You cannot even use BitLocker on the VHD, but you should already have seen that coming. And, the final limitation for the VHD is the version of Windows 7 you are using; only Professional and Ultimate will allow this setup to be possible.

Now we have the introduction and the caveats of creating a VHD setup with your Windows 7 OS. It may still appear to be daunting to you when you think about it too much, but it is much easier than even this document makes it appear (you should see the Microsoft step-by-step document!). Any relatively competent Windows 7 user will be able to walk through the operations contained in here and succeed at producing a Windows 7 VHD. So, stay tuned and wait until we come across Part II where we will start the real work!

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