Virtual Technologies: How to Mount VHD's on Windows XP

How to Mount VHD's on Windows XP

Using VHDMount with Windows XP

Still running Windows XP?

VHDMount, is a utility used to mount virtual hard disk (VHD) files without having to start a VM. This is basically a command-line tool that can be automatically installed when installing Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Service Pack 1 beta 2. However, if you look at the readme, you can also extract and install just this tool. There are two configuration issues with using VHDMount on Windows XP:

For Windows XP it is not possible to use '/m' (Mount), you must use '/p' (Plug in).
You’ll have to first “plug-in” the virtual hard drive and then mount it via the Windows Disk Management tools.

1. From the command prompt of your host computer you will need to change to the vhdmount directory of your virtual server program. For a list of options simply type “vhdmount”. To “plug-in” the virtual hard drive, see the following example.

Examle: vhdmount /p c:\test\win.vhd

VHDMount uses VDS (Virtual Disk Service) to assign a disk letter to the virtual hard disk after it mounts. However, VDS is only included in Windows Server 2003 and later. But unlike Windows Server 2003, Windows XP will automatically mount the virtual hard disk when it is plugged in. The only functionality lost on Windows XP is the ability to specify the exact drive letter to be used.

Windows XP claims there is a problem initializing the device.

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Service Pack 1 beta 2 uses an unsigned driver for the virtual hard disk mounting tool. To get around this you need to plug in the virtual hard disk (as shown above) using VHDMount and open the Windows Device Manager by right clicking on 'My Computer', selecting 'Manage', and clicking 'Device Manager'. You should see a 'Microsoft Virtual Server Storage Device' icon with an exclamation mark.

Right click on the icon and select 'Update Driver'. In the update wizard, select 'Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)' and then select 'Don't search. I will choose the driver to install. Finally select the 'Microsoft Virtual Server Storage Devices' driver and finish the wizard. The virtual hard disk should now be mounted.

Unfortunately you must repeat this process each time you plug in a virtual hard disk, even if it has been mounted before. The issue will be resolved in the final release of Virtual Server 2005 R2 Service Pack 1 beta 2 when the driver will be officially signed.

To successfully un-mount your VHD you will use the /u switch.

Example: vhdmount /u c:\test\win.vhd