What is a .VHD file?
VHD is a Microsoft virtual hard disk used by virtual machines. Created by Hyper-V and Virtual PC.
- Did you know
- VHD came from Connectix Virtual PC, which Microsoft acquired in 2003.
- VHD was created by Connectix for Virtual PC, technology Microsoft acquired in 2003 and later folded into Hyper-V.
- Microsoft published the VHD specification under its Open Specification Promise in 2005, letting third-party tools read and write the format.
- What Analyser reads
- Identify disk and virtual-machine images: ISO, VHD/VHDX (Hyper-V), VMDK (VMware), QCOW2 (QEMU), and VDI (VirtualBox). For raw IMG images it decodes the partition table (MBR/GPT) and the first volume's filesystem - FAT16/32, NTFS, exFAT - with label, cluster size, and volume size.
- Depth of analysis
- .VHD is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .VHD file
- Drag a .VHD file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.