Cannot Import existing .VHD

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Mike Sr
Posts: 1
Joined: 16. May 2022, 18:04

Cannot Import existing .VHD

Post by Mike Sr »

Some time ago I had several .VHD files. Somehow they were separated from their .vbox files and I really don't want to have to recreate them from scratch.

The existing import function in 6.1 does not support .vhd files.

Nor, have I found a way to create a virtual box and use an existing .VHD file.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Cannot Import existing .VHD

Post by mpack »

Mike Sr wrote: The existing import function in 6.1 does not support .vhd files.
Naturally. A VHD is a disk image, not a VM.

The only way to use a pre-existing VHD is to create a VM then mount the VHD in the virtual disk controller. If the disk is bootable, and stand alone, and you get the PC specification close enough, and the disk was not encrypted, then the VM should boot.

You'll have to guess at the specs of the PC which the VHD needs. Failure will prevent booting, even success may involve loss of activation of any software on the disk because certain hardware serial numbers changed. It would have been better to properly export (or simply copy, if VirtualBox) the original VM instead of copying bare disk images around.
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