Creating virtual disks has long ceased to be something of the realm of fantasy, and today in any operating system, regardless of its developer, such actions can be performed quite simply, using either the OS tools themselves or resorting to third-party software developments. From how to create a virtual disk on Windows 7 and in systems of a rank higher, further it is offered to familiarize. But first you need to decide which particular drive you need. The methodology used and the choice of preferred software will depend on this.
How to create a virtual disk on Windows 7 and above: options
As for the concept of a virtual disk, for some reason many users immediately have an erroneous association that it is a software emulation of an optical CD / DVD-ROM drive. Most people completely forget that logical partitions created by partitioning a regular hard drive or solid state drive are also related to virtual disks. That is why both options should be considered, and the system tools or third-party programs used for this can vary quite a lot, and not only in capabilities, but in general in purpose.
Partitioning a drive during installation
And for a start we will dwell on logical partitions. You can create a virtual disk in the form of such a partition at the stage of installing the operating system.
At one of the stages, the installer will prompt you to select the system partition into which Windows will be installed. If you wish, if the disk is not initially partitioned, you should use the partition button and specify the necessary parameters for each of them. There is nothing complicated.
Disk management utility
Similar actions can be performed using a special Windows tool in the form of a disk management program, which can be accessed through the Run menu by setting the diskmgmt.msc command.
But! There are two options here. You can divide the hard disk into partitions, or you can create a virtual disk in the form of an analogue of a conventional HDD. But what, in fact, is the difference? And the fact that the logical partition in the system will be present constantly, and you can get rid of it only by deleting. It goes without saying that the information present there will also be destroyed.
Another thing is a virtual hard disk. All information is stored in a special VHD file, which is physically located on the hard drive. However, if necessary, such a disk can be disconnected (disconnected), and the files and folders stored on it will not go anywhere.
In order to create a virtual disk, you need to select the appropriate item in the action menu, and then set the initial parameters for the format of the saved file, which directly depends on the size of the created disk (up to 2 TB or 2 TB or more), select the location to save the file and indicate its type . It is recommended that you select a fixed size, because when you install a dynamically expanding virtual disk when the disk becomes full, the place will "bite" from the main partition. In the case of the system partition, this can lead to disastrous consequences, since for the smooth functioning of the operating system at least ten percent of the total volume must remain free. After confirming the settings by pressing the “OK” button, the disk will appear in the list.
After that, it must be initialized by selecting the appropriate item in the RMB menu, and then specifying the style. For drives smaller than 2 TB, MBR is installed, for volumes above - GPT.
In conclusion, you should specify the creation of a simple volume, specify the desired character, and also set the desired size or leave the system installed unchanged. At the end of all procedures, it will be possible to work with the new disk as with a regular hard drive, and if necessary, disable it by selecting the appropriate command.
Command console
You can create a virtual disk through the command line. This will take almost the same time as in the case with the main tool of the system, but in this case the advantage is that the appearance of any errors and failures is almost completely eliminated.
To perform the required operations, it is enough to execute the commands presented in the screenshot above, and the result will be exactly the same as in the first case.
Disk2vhd Utility
Before us is perhaps the simplest and best program for creating virtual disks, which will be similar to hard drives or logical partitions. Everything is simple here.
It is enough to select the desired format of the saved file (VHD or VHDX), mark the convertible sections, set the name and letter, and then click the Create button. The application will perform all other actions without user intervention. By the way, the created disk can be transferred to removable media or attached to a virtual machine (for example, for testing tools for eliminating errors and failures).
How to create a virtual disk on a computer in the form of a drive emulator?
Finally, consider the creation of analogues of optical drives. Especially immediately worth noting the tenth version of the system. The fact is that in Windows 10 the program for creating a virtual disk in the form of an optical drive emulator is built-in and when it tries to open an image file of any format, it works automatically. It is enough to double-click on the file, after which the virtual drive will immediately appear in the system.
As for third-party software, popular utilities for working with images (UltraISO, Nero, Daemon Tools, Alcohol 120%, etc.) are perfect for such purposes. The principle of operation is the same for them, and the difference can only consist in the names of the main menus and commands.
Roughly speaking, you just need to open the desired image file and use the mount point of the virtual drive. Of course, in comparison with the automated tool Windows 10, these applications lose somewhat, but in modifications of the OS, where their own means of this direction are not provided, they can be used.
Brief Summary
To summarize, it can be noted that to create virtual disks it is absolutely not necessary to install additional utilities, since in most cases you can get by using the operating systems. However, it is for virtual hard disks that the easiest way is to use the Disk2vhd utility. In terms of drive emulation, all of the applications listed are good and, in general, no matter which one will be used. But in Windows 10 they are not absolutely needed.