How to create a virtual drive (Virtual Hard Disk) on Windows 10 without installing any additional software

Virtual drives or Virtual Hard Disks (abbreviated as VHDs) are essentially a type of directory file structured exactly like a hard drive. It can act as a physical hard drive, containing files and folders, and can be located anywhere on the hard drive partition. In fact, VHD is often used to make hard drives for virtual machines. With Windows 10, you can create a VHD without installing any other software from the outside.

Instructions to create a virtual drive (Virtual Hard Disk) on Windows 10:

Step 1: Open Disk Management.

- Press the Windows + R key combination , type 'diskmgmt.msc' and press Enter .

Step 2: Create a VHD file and a virtual partition.

- On the Disk Management window , click Action > Create VHD .

- On the Create and Attach Virtual Hard Disk dialog box , specify the location of the VHD file on the computer and its size. Under Virtual hard disk type , select Dynamically expanding .

After customizing, click OK to start creating VHD.

After this step, you will see a new partition ( Disk 1 ).

Step 3: Optimize the newly created VHD.

- Right-click on the newly created Disk 1 , select Initialize Disk to optimize it. A message box appears, click OK .

Step 4: Create a Volume from the virtual partition.

- Right-click on the virtual partition, select New Simple Volume… .

- New Simple Volume Wizard window appears. Click Next to continue.

- Choose the size (MB) for the virtual Volume and then click Next .

- Select the symbol letter for the virtual Volume and then click Next .

- In the Volume label box , name the virtual Volume and then click Next .

- Click Finish to complete the process of creating a virtual Volume.

You should now see a new virtual hard drive appear in parallel with the physical hard drives currently available in the machine.

Instructions to turn off and reopen the virtual drive (Virtual Hard Disk)

Later, if you want to 'disable' this virtual hard drive to regain memory space, simply right-click on it and select Eject .

Don't be afraid that disabling it will erase the virtual drive completely. If you want to use it again after turning it off, just open Disk Management , click Action > Attach VHD , navigate to the previously created VHD file and click OK . The virtual drive will reappear on your computer, and any data you ever stored inside will remain intact.

You can also turn off the virtual drive in the Disk Management interface by right-clicking on Disk 1 and selecting Detach VHD . In this way, the data in the virtual drive will not be lost.

Above is the whole guide to create a virtual drive (Virtual Hard Disk) on Windows 10 without installing any additional software that TipsMake.com would recommend for you. Good luck!