Disk2vhd

Disk2VHD is a free Windows utility from Microsoft Sysinternals that creates virtual hard disk files (VHD) from physical disks for use with virtualization platforms such as Microsoft Hyper-V and Virtual PC. The tool is distributed as a standalone executable; no installation is required. It is designed to simplify physical-to-virtual migrations by converting selected volumes into a single VHD file.

During use, the user selects which volumes to include (for example, the operating system volume and other data partitions). Disk2VHD leverages the Volume Shadow Copy Service to obtain a consistent snapshot and copies the content to the VHD file, which is saved on a local drive or network location. The resulting VHD can be attached to a virtual machine and booted.

Disk2VHD is commonly used for P2V migrations to Hyper-V. The size of the produced VHD is proportional to the amount of data on the included volumes, not the total physical disk capacity. The tool focuses on ease of use and speed rather than comprehensive drive management, and users should verify compatibility with their virtualization environment before proceeding.

Disk2VHD is freely available from the Sysinternals website, and by extension from Microsoft download channels. It remains a lightweight, no-install option for creating Virtual Hard Disk images from physical machines.