Creating a Bootable VHDX with Windows

This guide walks you through creating a Virtual Hard Disk (VHDX) with a Windows installation that can be booted directly. This is useful for setting up test environments, backups, or portable Windows installations.

Prerequisites

1. A Windows installation file in .wim format (such as install.wim from Windows installation media).
2. Administrator privileges on your machine.

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Steps to Create a Bootable VHDX

1. Create the VHDX Using Diskpart

Open Diskpart and follow these commands to create a fixed-size VHDX, attach it, and prepare it with a primary partition.

# Open Diskpart
diskpart

# Create a VHDX with a size of 25 GB
create vdisk file=C:\windows.vhdx maximum=25600 type=fixed

# Attach the VHDX
attach vdisk

# Create a partition for the Windows files, format it, and assign it a drive letter
create partition primary
format quick label=vhdx
assign letter=v

# Exit Diskpart
exit

2. Apply the Windows Image to the VHDX

Use the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool to apply the Windows image to your newly created VHDX.

# Get the index of the Windows installation that you want to deploy
dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:install.wim

# Apply the WIM file with the correct index (replace `index` as needed)
dism /Apply-Image /ImageFile:install.wim /index:1 /ApplyDir:V:\

3. Add a Boot Entry

To boot from the VHDX, add a new boot entry using the bcdboot command.

# Add boot entry for the new VHD
bcdboot V:\Windows /d

4. Verify the Boot Configuration

Finally, confirm that the boot entry was successfully added and is properly configured by using the bcdedit command.

# List all boot entries to verify the new entry
bcdedit /enum all

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Additional Information

• BIOS/UEFI Configuration: Ensure your system’s BIOS or UEFI settings support booting from virtual hard disks if necessary.
• Troubleshooting: If the boot entry does not work as expected, try reviewing the output from the bcdedit command to confirm the entry is correct.