Greetings, dear readers!
Today we will talk about what is virtual Windows disk and how to create it with Daemon Tools. Why did I decide to write this guide? The fact is that for several years now the network has been actively distributed and downloaded by my free course on configuring routers, and during this time a lot of different letters came from readers - both grateful and containing some wishes for explaining its use. And one of the common snags was the .ISO file in which this course is made.
What is a virtual hard disk?
The technology lies in the fact that first with the help of special program a course developer or someone who posts a copy online DVD disc, for example, with recording your solo concert (just our own, since we are against the distribution of non-licensed products), a virtual disk image is created - a file with the extension .ISO, which, as it were, is a digital substitute for a real hard drive.
And then you need to create a virtual disk in Windows using a special program, on which you can then write this image. That is, the file is on the hard drive, and the program deceives Windows in such a way that it seems to the system that there is another drive on the computer - I hope I explained it clearly enough.
How to create a Windows virtual disk?
The program for creating a virtual disk is called Daemon Tools. The Lite version is fine for us - it's free for home non-commercial use. Download it and install it. I will be showing you how to make a Windows 7 virtual disk, but this will work for all versions of windows.
- So, we launch the program, and a lightning icon appears in the lower right corner on the status bar.
- Now click on it once with the right mouse button. A quick menu will appear - in it we will select the section "Virtual drives > Add new"
- In my screenshot, there are already two virtual disks, or rather, virtual drives, because the program creates additional CD / DVD drives. Click on the item "Add virtual SCSI drive" and set it to the desired letter. After that, go to "Start> Computer" and observe two new drives on your computer.
- Now we need to associate this disk with our ISO disk image, for example, with the "WordPress Express" video course.
We go in the same way to the program menu and move the mouse over one of the disks. Then select "Mount Image".
Another way is to double-click on the Daemon Tools icon to open another menu. In it you will see a list of all ever mounted files, a list of virtual drives and a menu bar. Click on the item where the disk with a plus is drawn and add a video course here.
- After that, you need to select the drive and mount the disk image by clicking on the Play button.
- After that, we return to the "Computer" section in Windows and observe that a video course is now located in our newly created virtual disk.
As I said, the computer perceives it as a DVD inserted into the drive, that is, now you can open it and use it like any ordinary laser disc.
This is how easy it is to create Windows virtual disk on a virtual drive using a special Daemon Tools program, which can be downloaded for free on the net.
Thank you! Did not help
Users who made the early "zero" probably remember those times when films, computer games, programs and music were delivered to our computers only with the help of CD / DVD discs common at that time. No one knew about the free download of data on the Internet, torrents and youtube. The situation was saved by optical drives, with the help of which information was transmitted to HDD computer.
The rapid development of Internet technologies has called into question the need to have such a component as a "disk drive". In current stationary systems and laptops, you rarely see the presence of a drive. All because of the virtual disks, which replaced the "blanks" and became commonplace. However, not everyone succeeded in a comfortable transition to new technology. In this article, we will try to correct this situation and explain in detail the essence of the creation process, the nuances of use and other questions that have repeatedly arisen for everyone who does not know how to use a virtual CD ROM.
When it might be needed
Many may doubt the idea of using the innovation that has taken root for some and simply continue to use the optical drive, overwriting images and information with it on physical media. However, the archaic version loses in some cases, the most common of which are:
- Disk drive missing or defective. Any part does not have an eternal life. Sooner or later, a problem may arise, and it’s good if it doesn’t happen at the most necessary moment (which happens often according to the “law of meanness”). In addition, the “system unit” that receives a disk with information from you may simply not have an optical drive. But virtual CD-ROM is on any modern PC (if you devote some time to its creation).
- Multichannel. I rarely come across computers that have multiple drives at once. Users who often work with writing and reading discs had to constantly rearrange CD / DVD. There are no such problems with virtual disks, which means you can work with several at once.
- Ease of data transfer. To exchange information recorded on a disc, you need to personally transfer the media to the receiving party. In the case of virtually recorded images, the transfer is carried out online, over the Internet.
Creating a virtual CD-ROM
To read virtual images ( iso files; mdf, bwi, mds and others), you need to create a virtual CD-ROM, which, like an optical drive, plays (emulates) data from the drive. You can make a virtual disk using special software, such as Daemon Tools, Virtual Drive. Their principle of operation is identical, and the functionality is largely similar. For example, we took the last of those listed, since it is very easy to cope with its capabilities and tools even for a user far from such processes.
- First, download the installer for the Alcohol 120% program from the link from the Yandex disk, or on the official website of the developer. Install on your computer.
- We start the program. First of all, we need to create virtual CD drive. To do this, in the "Settings" section, select the option "Virtual Disk".
- In the menu that opens, manually select the number of virtual disks to create. Confirm the result by pressing the OK button.
The drive has been successfully created, which we can observe in the "Device" panel or in the "My Computer" folder.
- Now let's open the finished image. To do this, select the tab "File", and in the menu that opens, click on "Open ..." (or just use the combination Ctrl keys+ O ).
- We find the image file we need, select it with LMB and click on the button "Open".
The image has been added to the library for processing.
- Now you need to read the file added earlier. To do this, select the RMB image, and in the drop-down menu, select the option "Mount to device".
Work is done. We can observe the result in the folder "Computer", where among the reading devices there will be an installer located in a virtual drive.
After the performed operations with the image, it is necessary to extract it from the virtual drive. To do this, using the Alcohol 120% program, in the menu of available drives, select our BD-ROM with the right mouse button and select the function in the list "Dismantle Image". The disk will be empty again.
If you want to remove the virtual drive altogether, you need to repeat the same steps as when creating it:
- In the available devices, click on the DVD / CD drive RMB. In the list that appears, click "Properties".
- Set the value back to "0", in the section for selecting the number of virtual disks and click "OK".
Adding a virtual hard disk
The above opportunities have been available to many for a decade now. Popularity of use virtual device reading information has led to the emergence of a similar phenomenon called a virtual hard disk. This technology allows you to create a file (having the extension VHD), which in Explorer appears as a standard partition on your hard drive. Everyone decides for themselves the rationality of using a virtual drive: some reorganize the free space on volumes in this way, others even install the OS. Do not forget about the possibility of creating a secure file container, thus limiting information from encroachment by other users.
We will create a virtual hard disk using standard means Windows (This feature is available in Windows systems 7, 8.1, 10). However, with the help of special software, you can achieve a similar result. Daemon Tools Ultra and Disk2vhd handle this task most effectively. These programs have separate sections devoted to creating virtual disks (both drives and drives like HDDs).
- Open the "Run" service by simultaneously clicking on Win keys+R. In an empty line, enter the command diskmgmt.msc and click "OK".
- Service will open "Disk Management". In the control menu, activate the tab "Action", and in it select "Create Virtual Hard Disk".
- In the window that appears, you need to specify the location created file, select the format (VHD/VHDX ), and determine whether the file extension is possible.
- The file has been created, but the disk has not yet been initialized. By clicking on the RMB disk, select the option "Initialize Disk".
- In the next window, you need to specify the partition style (we recommend GUID if you intend to limit yourself to the standard options for working with allocated space).
Connecting a drive after restarting the PC
Unfortunately, working with virtual hard drive requires reconnect VHD/VHDX file after each session ends. Lucky to create new disk, we do not have to initialize the partition and create a volume. To return the virtual disk to work (emulate data), you must perform the following steps:
We hope that with the help of our article you learned how to create a virtual disk, and also determined the benefits of using it for yourself.
And also watch the video
A virtual hard disk is a file that stores various information: from simple text documents to full working operating system. They are used for various purposes. For example, a new OS is installed and fully customized to the user's requirements. It makes a virtual copy of the partition and saves it to portable media. In the event of a crash or unrecoverable errors of the current system, the user can easily restore it from the image.
Disk virtualization possible different ways. Let's take a closer look at each of them.
Create a virtual disk using the system
The first option is to use standard Windows tools. To do this, right-click on the menu " Start” and select “”.
Select the menu " Action", Further " Create virtual disk». 
Click on the button " Review” to set the location of the created file, and give it a name. 
The next parameter is the size. Set the required value and specify the unit of measurement: Megabytes (MB), Gigabytes (GB) or Terabytes (TB). 
Next, select disk space format. The first option is a standard format that was created in 2005 by Microsoft called vhd. But it has limitations: it supports virtualization files up to 2040 GB in size.
If the user needs to create a large file, then useVHDX. It supports up to 64 TB and 4K sector size, which allows you to work with larger hard drives (over 2 TB). VHDX is also more fault tolerant than the previous solution. The standard was developed by Microsoft in 2014.
And the last parameter that needs to be specified is type of virtual disk space. If "Fixed size" is selected, the file will take up the full size specified by the user.
In the second option, only the data that is indicated on the this moment. In the future, when adding new information, the size will gradually increase, depending on the data stored, until it reaches its limit. It is calculated depending on the requirements that the user specified in the "Virtual hard disk size" line.
Once all the information has been entered, click the " OK».
For further work, it is necessary to perform initialization procedure. Right-click on the left column and select the option " Initialize disk". In a new window, the user will be required to specify the format of the partition to be initialized. 
MasterBootrecord is an obsolete format, but it is supported by all Windows versions. At the moment, it is almost never used in modern operating systems.
GUIDPartitiontable was introduced in new versions of operating systems by Microsoft in 2010. Works with versions of Windows starting with Vista.
After initialization, you need to allocate space for the desired file system. Default better useNTFS- it allows you to work with files larger than 4 GB. To do this, right-click on the unallocated area and select the item " Create a simple volume». 
Using the prompts of the setup wizard, we perform the necessary actions. By default, the program suggests using all free space as a single logical partition. If there is no need to create additional volumes, then leave it as is. 
The next step is letter assignment logical partition. Here you can also use a function like " Mount volume as emptyNTFS folder". This action means that the volume of the virtual volume will be added to the specified partition in the OS. This method is often used in large organizations, since workstations have small hard drives, and purchasing new ones takes a long time.
The third option Do not prescribe” means you can do it later.
It is recommended to choose letters coming at the end of the Latin alphabet. It will be convenient for further work with them. 
The next window offers format volume and select file system. Considering that the partition has just been created and there is nothing on it yet, we leave everything as it is. 
At the end, the setup wizard will give you all the basic information about upcoming operations and ask you to confirm. 
Connecting a drive manually
Consider a situation where a user already has a virtual volume and wants to mount it. To do this, open "" as indicated in the previous paragraph. Select the menu " Action", Further " Join». 
You will need to specify the path where the file is located. Given that in the future it will be necessary to work with it and make changes, set the parameter " Only for reading" It does not follow. 
Confirm the mount operation by pressing the "OK" button
Disconnecting a drive
If the virtual partition is no longer required by the user, then it can be disabled. To do this, you need to open Control” and select the virtual volume by right-clicking on it. 
Will open context menu. Then select the option " Disconnect». 
The system will ask for confirmation. Press the button " OK».
Creating Volumes and Partitions
In order to split a virtual volume into logical partitions, in the " Control»Select the newly created virtual volume and run the setup wizard. 
Here we indicate the size that the user needs, for example, 3 GB and click "OK" 
A 3 GB logical partition was created, and another 2 GB remained free.
VHD management with DISKPART
All of the above operations can be done using diskpart utilities. First you need to right-click on the Start menu and select the option " WindowsPowerShell (administrator)", in the seven, just press Win + R, and enter in the window" Powershell». 
In the opened command line recruiting diskpart.
Now the user is in the console utility for working with disk space. DiskPart supports the following commands:
- Creation.
create vdisk file=e:\VHD\test1.vhd maximum 3000 type=expandable
Createvdisk– command to create a virtual disk.
file= e:\ vhd\ test1. vhd- the path where the created file will be stored and an indication of its name.
maximum 3000– size of the created file in megabytes.
type=expandable– format of the created file. AT this example choose dynamic. For fixed, you need to specify the command: type=fixed
- Volume selection for further work with it.
select vdisk file=c:\vhd\vhd1.vhd
- Mount chapter.
attach vdisk
- Unmount volume.
detach vdisk
- Appoint letter.
assign letter=G
- Format section for user requirements
format fs=ntfs label=vhd1
FS= NTFS– format file system
Label=vhd1- the label of the disk being formatted
- DiskPart Command Assistant
- Exiting the program
How to install the system on a virtual disk
To install an operating system on a virtual partition, you will need distribution kitWindows. Starting the process Windows installation according to the usual scenario. When an inscription appears on the user's screen about choosing a disk for installing the OS, we call the command line with a keyboard shortcut «
Shift" + "F10". We enter the DiskPart utility. 
As a result, after all operations with the DiskPart utility, a virtual disk will be added to the selection window. To display it, press the button Refresh» 
The virtual hard disk (VHD) of Windows 7 OS refers to the space on physical media (aka disk, hard drive, HDD) created by the operating system (OS) for everyday tasks user. This concept also includes an image, or cast, of the file structure, content, taken from a physical medium: flash drive, DVD, HDD. The difference between virtual media and physical media is that the former can be turned off at will, thus turning it into an encrypted storage of information.
Benefits of using virtual disks on Windows 7
Answering the question why you need a virtual disk in Windows 7, let's talk about its use and benefits. The first advantage is the expansion of storage space. Since the virtual disk is perceived by the OS on the same level as the physical one, it operates with it as a "real" hard drive.
The second positive quality is that the installation of a drive is often accompanied by the transfer of an operating system image to it. Users note the acceleration of the boot procedure (boot), although this is not confirmed by the official tests of the developer.
A useful feature for those users who have a lot of multimedia flexible media is the creation of an image on the VZD, that is, an exact "cast" of the media. When working with it, you do not need an external DVD-ROM, flash drive, etc.
With frequent reinstallation of Windows, they create and store a system image with related drivers, utilities and programs on the VZD. After the drive is started, the procedures are carried out in automatic mode. To create such a drive, you do not need special knowledge, it is available even to an inexperienced user. Since the drive is no different from a hard drive, the same operations are performed with it, information is stored, including encrypted.
How to create a virtual disk on Windows 7? Using the built-in tools (tool) of Windows and third-party emulator applications. In this article, we will consider the first method in detail.
How to create a VZD using Windows 7?
The easiest way for a person who is not familiar with the depths of administration is to use the diskmgmt.msc command. Open the Start menu, type this command in the command line, press Enter.
The "Management Manager" section will open. Here we select the "Disk Management" tab.
Click the "Action" item, go to the option, as shown in the figure below.
A window will open in which the user specifies the location, that is, the area on one of the logical partitions of the physical hard drive.
Important! A virtual disk is created not in some ephemeral space, but on one of the HDD logical partitions. It takes away from it the amount of memory that the user determines.
Then we select the type of information storage: with dynamic expansion or fixed. The second type is recommended by default and is characterized by a fixed virtual drive size that cannot be changed. In contrast, VZhD with a dynamic format changes the volume as it is filled with information. However, if the user deletes the data, the freed up space will not be automatically compressed.
When choosing fixed format specify the size in Mb, Gb or Tb in the dialog box without leaving this menu. We press "Next".
If done correctly, a virtual drive will be created with the drive letter assigned. But for now it is in the "Undefined" state. To run, you need an initialization procedure.
Start initialization
Right click click on the letter to open the context menu. The first tab from the top is "Initialize Disk". We press.
The following window opens, where nothing needs to be changed. We check that the mark is on the line "Basic boot record”, then click OK.
Creating sectors
We click anywhere in the field of the created drive. Go to the top tab "Create a simple volume". This type of partition (volume) is suitable for most users.
The Creation Wizard starts. The next window prompts you to specify the capacity of the volume. A range of figures is given: from the maximum capacity of the VZhD to the minimum. After specifying the volume size, click on the "Next" button. The window for assigning an alphabetic letter to the new drive will open. It's simple here: select a letter from the drop-down menu, click "Next".
File system selection (FAT)
Among the two options to choose from, NTFS suits modern drives and a 64-bit operating system. FAT 32, as the name implies, is used on low-capacity HDDs and on 32-bit Windows 7. Leave the cluster size at the default. Here we specify the volume label (optional).
Then we move on to formatting the volume. The default is quick formatting. Then click "Next". The procedure takes a fraction of a second, and then the final window of the wizard appears. Click "Finish" to finish its work.
Now the virtual disk has taken its rightful place in menus such as My Computer, Explorer. When you right-click on the VZD field, a menu opens that lists operations, for example, you can make the volume bootable (active), change the designation letter, etc.
Removing the VZD
The removal procedure is useful when you need to clean up your computer. Consider step by step instructions. Recommended reliable way deleting a virtual disk from Windows OS. The steps are the same as for creation. Our task is to get to the virtual disk menu.
- Open the "Start" menu, "Computer" and right-click on "Management".
- We go down, we need the penultimate tab.
- Click on the drive field, in the drop-down menu, select "Delete volume". We read the warning label and click "Yes". The selected volume has been deleted.
Note! The method of deleting VHD via cmd by entering the subst [X]: /D command, where X is the letter of the virtual partition to be deleted, cannot be recommended ordinary users. Windows 7 "swears" at such an operation, often blocks it. Therefore, you need to go into the registry, look for a line with an entry about a virtual disk and manually delete it. But this can only do experienced user, which clearly controls the actions. Wrong actions in system registry can crash the OS!
Virtual optical drive, applications, third-party programs
Here is given general characteristics. The programs used to create a virtual disk are called emulators for their ability to display virtual copies of the media. These programs (Alcohol, Daemon, 120, Ultraiso, etc.) run virtual optical drives, the scope of which is identical to the virtual ones created in the OS environment. The difference is that the existence of a virtual optical drive is possible only during a session with the emulator. That is, until the emulator program is running on the computer, the virtual disk will not be activated. When you disable the emulator, the created virtual drive disappears.
Emulators are popular for their ability to handle an unlimited number of virtual drives. This function is used to emulate images of programs, games, applications and, of course, a snapshot of virtual or hard media. Archives with the *.iso extension, etc. are used as processed files.
conclusions
We have examined in detail step by step process how to create a virtual hard disk in Windows 7. The built-in tools of the Seven allow you to create virtual disks with which they perform the same operations as with regular hard disks. In case of uselessness, VZD is easily removed from the OS. Emulators perform the same functions, that is, they operate with virtual drives in the Windows environment.
However, the specifics of their work is that the created images exist only when the program is running. When you disable the emulator, the virtual optical drive disappears. Because of this, it is hardly acceptable to use it as information storage, as is the case with a virtual drive under Windows control 7. Therefore, emulators are used, as a rule, to activate ready-made casts from a carrier that are suitable for one session of working with them.
Sometimes PC users are faced with the acute question of how to create a virtual hard disk or CD-ROM. Let's learn how to perform these tasks in Windows 7.
Methods for creating a virtual disk, first of all, depend on which option you want to end up with: hard image media or CD/DVD. Usually, hard files drives have a VHD extension, and ISO images are used to mount a CD or DVD. In order to carry out these operations, you can use the built-in tools of Windows or turn to the help of third-party programs.
Method 1: DAEMON Tools Ultra
First of all, consider the option of creating a virtual hard disk using third party program to work with drives - DAEMON Tools Ultra.
- Run the application with administrator rights. Go to tab "Tools".
- A window opens with a list of available program tools. Choose an item "Add VHD".
- The window for adding a VHD opens, that is, creating a conditional hard drive. First of all, you need to specify the directory where this object will be placed. To do this, click on the button to the right of the field "Save as".
- The save window opens. Enter it in the directory where you want to place the virtual drive. In field "File name" you can change the name of the object. The default is "New VHD". Next click "Save".
- As you can see, the selected path is now displayed in the field "Save as" in the program shell DAEMON Tools Ultra. Now you need to specify the size of the object. To do this, by toggling the radio button, set one of the two types:
- fixed size;
- Dynamic expansion.
In the first case, the volume of the disk will be exactly specified by you, and if you select the second item, the object will expand as it fills up. Its actual limit will be the size of the empty space in the HDD partition where the VHD file will be placed. But even when choosing this option, it is still in the field "The size" you need to set the initial volume. Just a number is entered, and the unit of measurement is selected to the right of the field in the drop-down list. The following units are available:
- megabytes(default);
- gigabytes;
- terabytes.
Be careful when choosing the right item, because in case of an error, the difference in size compared to the desired volume will be an order of magnitude larger or smaller. Then, if necessary, you can change the name of the disk in the field "Mark". But this is not a prerequisite. After performing the described actions, to start the formation of the VHD file, click "Start".
- The process of generating the VHD file is in progress. Its dynamics is displayed using an indicator.
- After the procedure is completed, the following inscription will be displayed in the DAEMON Tools Ultra shell: "VHD creation process completed successfully!". Click "Ready".
- Thus, a virtual hard drive has been created using the DAEMON Tools Ultra program.
Method 2: Disk2vhd
If DAEMON Tools Ultra is a universal tool for working with media, then Disk2vhd is a highly specialized utility designed only for creating VHD and VHDX files, that is, virtual hard drives. Unlike the previous method, using this option actions, you cannot make an empty virtual media, but only create a snapshot of an existing disk.
Method 3: Windows Tools
A conditional hard drive can also be created using standard system tools.
- Click "Start". Right click ( PKM) click on the name "A computer". A list opens where you can choose "Control".
- The system management window appears. In its left menu in the block "Memory Devices" go by position "Disk Management".
- The drive management tool shell starts. Click on a position "Action" and select an option "Create Virtual Hard Disk".
- The creation window opens, where you should specify in which directory the disk will be located. Click "Review".
- The object browser window opens. Move to the directory where you plan to place the drive file in VHD format. It is desirable that this directory is not located on the HDD partition on which the system is installed. A prerequisite is that the partition is not compressed, otherwise the operation will fail. In field "File name" be sure to indicate the name by which you will identify this element. Then press "Save".
- You are returned to the virtual disk creation window. In field "Location" we see the path to the directory selected in the previous step. Next, you need to assign the size of the object. This is done in almost the same way as in the DAEMON Tools Ultra program. First of all, choose one of the formats:
- fixed size(set by default);
- Dynamic expansion.
The values of these formats correspond to the values of the types of disks that we previously considered in DAEMON Tools.
- megabytes(default);
- gigabytes;
- terabytes.
After performing the above manipulations, press OK.
- Returning to the main partition management window, in its lower area you can see that an unallocated drive has now appeared. Click PKM by its name. Typical template for this item "Disk #". From the menu that appears, select an option "Initialize Disk".
- The disk initialization window opens. Here you just need to click OK.
- After that, the status of our element will be displayed in the list "Online". click PKM by empty space in the block "Unallocated". choose "Create a simple volume...".
- Welcome window launches "Volume Wizard". Click "Further".
- The next box shows the size of the volume. It is automatically calculated from the data that we put in when creating the virtual disk. So you don't need to change anything here, just click "Further".
- But in the next window, you need to select the letter of the volume name from the drop-down list. It is important that there is no volume with the same designation on the computer. Once the letter is selected, press "Further".
- You don't have to make any changes in the next window. But in the field "Volume Label" you can replace the default name "New Volume" to any other, for example "Virtual Disk". After that in "Explorer" this element will be called "Virtual Disk K" or with another letter that you chose in the previous step. Click "Further".
- Then a window will open with the total data that you entered in the fields "Masters". If you want to change something, then click "Back" and make changes. If everything suits you, then click "Ready".
- After that, the created virtual drive will be displayed in the computer management window.
- You can access it using "Explorer" In chapter "A computer", which lists all drives connected to the PC.
- But on some computer devices, after rebooting, this virtual disk may not be displayed in the specified partition. Then run the tool "Computer Management" and go back to the department "Disk Management". Click on the menu "Action" and choose a position .
- The drive attachment window will open. click "Review…".
- The file browser tool appears. Change to the directory where you previously saved the VHD object. Select it and click "Open".
- The path to the selected object will be displayed in the field "Location" window "attach virtual hard disk". click OK.
- The selected drive will be available again. Unfortunately, on some computers, you have to do this operation after each restart.
Method 4: UltraISO
Sometimes you need to create not a hard virtual disk, but a virtual CD drive and run a file in it ISO image. Unlike the previous one, this task cannot be performed solely with the help of operating system tools. To solve it, you need to use third-party software, for example, UltraISO.
We figured out that virtual disks can be of two types: hard disks (VHD) and CD / DVD images (ISO). If the first category of objects can be created both using third-party software and using internal Windows tools, then with the task ISO mount can only be handled by using third-party software products.