How to mount a VHD on W8.1 (non-pro) using powershell?

Question

How can I mount a VHDX on an older Windows 8.1 (home?) edition where Hyper-V (et.al) is not available, using powershell?

Most sources seem to point to enabling Hyper-V, but those are apparently only available on pro-editions. But there must be an alternative way to either side load, or use something similar, to Mount-VHD.

Some related Questions:

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 12 '20 at 13:48

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This can be done with the Mount-DiskImage command.

The command is:

Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath "C:\path\to\your\file.vhdx"

You need admin rights to use this command.

You can also open disk management in an MMC console and use the "Attach VHD" command in the "More Actions" menu on the right hand side.

edited Jun 12 '20 at 13:48

Community

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answered Jan 17 '20 at 20:08

User025

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I get `Mount-DiskImage : The term 'Mount-DiskImage' is not recognized as...` error for this. – not2qubit Jan 18 '20 at 15:07
Hmm I was only able to test the command on Windows 10 Home where it worked, but since the articles said "To mount a VHD file, administrator privileges is required. Administrator privileges are not needed to mount an ISO file on Windows® 8.", I assumed that the command is available for Windows 8.1. – User025 Jan 18 '20 at 15:16
@not2qubit Can you type "$Host.Version" in powershell and check that your version is at least 4.1? (mayor 4 minor 1). Also try "Import-Module Storage" before using the "Mount-DiskImage" command just to make sure its loaded (normally PS should automatically load the module) – User025 Jan 18 '20 at 15:30
Yeah, I have both `6.1.1` (core) and `5.1.14409`. I also just noticed that 5.1 do have the `Mount-DiskImage`. So that is all good. However, the `6.1.1` *core* version fails the `Import-Module Storage` command, with: *"Import-Module : Module 'C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\Storage\Storage.psd1' does not support current PowerShell edition 'Core'."*. But I was able to overcome this by just using: **(1)** `Import-Module -SkipEditionCheck Storage` followed by **(2)** `Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath "C:\VHD\xxx.vhdx"`. Now all good! – not2qubit Jan 20 '20 at 13:52

score -1 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 17 '20 at 20:08

-1

You can try using VHD Attach or Simple VHD Manager. Either one can do what you want.

answered Jan 17 '20 at 20:08

Beige The Color

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I specifically asked for a Powershell solution. – not2qubit Jan 18 '20 at 15:07

How to mount a VHD on W8.1 (non-pro) using powershell?

2 Answers2