Now that your VHD contains the Windows 10 operating system files, you must configure your computer's bootloader to recognize it as a bootable option. Method A: Native Boot (Dual-Boot on Physical Hardware)
You can boot directly into the VHD while keeping your host OS untouched using:
Upon restarting, Windows Boot Manager will launch. You should see two options: your original Windows installation and your new VHDX installation.
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To back up your entire OS environment, simply copy the single .vhd file to an external drive. To help tailor this setup, let me know:
Now, we will create the virtual disk. For this example, we will create a 50 GB dynamically expanding VHDX file named Win10.vhdx on the D: drive. The VHDX format is recommended for modern Windows 10 systems due to its larger capacity and resilience to power failures.
Run the following deployment command, replacing E: with your specific VHD drive letter: bcdboot E:\Windows Use code with caution. Now that your VHD contains the Windows 10
This step takes 5-15 minutes. It copies all Windows files to V:\ .
Once you identify the Index number (e.g., Index: 1 for Windows 10 Pro), apply the image to your VHD drive (e.g., V: ) using this command:
Then attach (mount) the VHDX:
With Windows 10 now deployed to the VHD, we need to make it bootable. This is done using the tool.
Create a new simple volume and assign it a temporary drive letter (e.g., V: ).
Click , then right-click your new VM and select Connect . Click Start to boot into Windows 10. Method 2: Configuring Native Boot VHD (Advanced) Here’s a helpful, practical review of – covering