Virtual hard disk (VHD) files are widely used in the IT industry, as they provide a convenient way to store and manage virtual machine (VM) data. VHD files are often used by organizations to create and store multiple virtual machines on a single physical machine, as well as for various other purposes such as data backup and disaster recovery.
Unfortunately, the most popular format for virtual hard disks is the VDI (Virtual Disk Image) format, which is not compatible with the VHD format. This means that if you want to use the VHD format, you will need to convert the existing VDI file to VHD first.
Fortunately, the conversion process is relatively straightforward, and can be done using either commercial software or a few simple command line tools.
Using Commercial Software
The easiest way to convert a VDI file to VHD is to use a commercial software program such as Paragon Hard Disk Manager or Acronis True Image. Both of these programs provide a simple graphical interface that allows you to perform the conversion with just a few clicks.
Both programs also allow you to customize the output VHD file, such as setting the size of the virtual hard disk, choosing the type of virtual hard disk (fixed, dynamic, or differencing), and setting the location for the resulting VHD file.
Using Command Line Tools
If you don’t have a commercial software program, you can also use a few simple command line tools to do the conversion. The first tool you will need is VBoxManage, which is part of the free and open source VirtualBox software package.
Once you have installed VirtualBox, you can use the VBoxManage command line utility to convert the VDI file to VHD. To do this, open a command prompt and navigate to the folder containing the VDI file. Then, type in the following command:
VBoxManage.exe convertfromraw -format VHD
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Once the conversion is complete, you will have a new VHD file in the destination folder. This new VHD file can then be used with any virtual machine software that supports the VHD format, such as Hyper-V or VirtualBox.
Conclusion
Converting a VDI file to VHD is a relatively straightforward process. You can use either commercial software programs such as Paragon Hard Disk Manager or Acronis True Image, or a few simple command line tools such as VBoxManage to do the conversion. Once you have the VHD file, you can use it with any virtual machine software that supports the VHD format.
