Steps to Create Bootable VHD on Hyper-V

In this blog, we will show you the steps to create bootable VHD on Hyper-V which contains a windows image.

 

REQUIREMENTS

• Hyper-V Physical Host
• Windows 2016 ISO image
• DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management)

 

CREATING VIRTUAL HARD DISK

• Open the elevated command prompt window.

 

• Type the command diskpart and press Enter.

 

• Type the below command to create a VHD file with disk space. In this demo, we are creating a VHD file named winboot.vhd with 25 GB of disk space.

create vdisk file=e:\vhd\winboot.vhd maximum=25000 type=expandable

 

• Select the virtual disk.

select vdisk file=e:\vhd\winboot.vhd

 

• Attach the newly created disk.

attach vdisk

 

• Create a primary Partition in the virtual disk.

create partition primary

 

• Assign a Drive Letter. In this demo, we are assigning the driver letter as V.

assign letter=v

 

• Make the partition as ACTIVE

 

• Format the VHD.

format quick FS=NTFS Label=VHD

 

• Type exit command to quit diskpart.

 

APPLY WINDOWS IMAGE TO VHD THROUGH DISM

 

Note: We are using Windows Server 2016 image in this demo

 

• We have mounted the windows 2016 image in D:\ drive.

 

• Open the elevated command prompt window.

 

• Execute the below command to view the OS version and edition from install.wim file.

dism /Get-WimInfo /wimfile:d:\sources\install.wim

 

• We are applying Windows Server 2016 Datacenter Evaluation edition-Desktop Experience    (Index 4). Run the Apply-Image command through DISM Management.

dism /apply-image /imagefile:d:\sources\install.wim /index:4 /applydir:v:\

 

• We have already mounted the VHD in V:\ drive. It will take several minutes to complete the action.

 

 

PREPARING VHD TO BOOT AS VIRTUAL MACHINE

• Open the elevated command prompt window.

 

• To create the BCD entry for native VHD boot, type the below command.

V:\windows\system32\bcdboot V:\windows /s V:

 

• BCDboot creates boot configuration entry so that windows bootloader can boot from the VHD.

 

• Run the bcdedit command to view the system boot configuration information

 

• Type exit command to close the command prompt window.

 

• Eject the VHD through windows explorer

 

ADDING THE VHD TO A VM IN HYPER-V

 

• Open the Hyper-V Snap-in. Right Click on the server name and select New – Virtual Machine.

 

• From the new virtual machine wizard welcome screen, Click Next.

 

• Provide a name for the virtual machine and click Next.

 

• Select the Generation type and click Next.

 

• Specify the memory size and Click Next.

 

• Specify the Network adapter from the drop-down list and click Next.

 

• Select the Use an existing Virtual Hard disk option and click on browse.

 

• Select the winboot.vhd file from E:\VHD folder and click Open.

 

• Once the VHD name is shown in the location path. Click Next.

 

• Click on Finish button to complete the wizard.

 

TESTING THE VM

• Now spin up the VM through Hyper-V manager. If the VM is properly configured, it will boot and prompt for Region & Language Selection. Provide the required information and click Next.

 

• Click on Accept button to accept the Windows license agreement.

 

• Provide the password for the administrator account and click finish to complete the configuration window.

 

• You will able to view the windows login screen.

VIDEO:

Thanks for reading this blog. We hope it was useful for you to learn the steps to create bootable VHD Image for Hyper-V VM’s.