VHD vs VHDX: Difference between VHD vs VHDX

Do you know what are the things that make VHD vs VHDX? If not, then this article is for you. For knowing more about these files, read this article till the end. So, let’s start the article by knowing the term Virtual Disk Image file stands for?

So, VDI is the image of a virtual hard disk or the logical disk that is related to a virtual machine. These files were developed to include the structure hierarchy and content of the drive or HHD, USB, or any storage device. It perfectly copies the storage device and not leaves a single sector of the source. Once the process of replication of the storage is completed, users can use it separately. 

Now, let’s proceed further and learn more about the two major virtual file formats- VHD vs VHDX.

Virtual Hard Disk (VHD)

The Virtual Hard Disk file is somewhat like a clone or a replica that mainly includes data of the actual physical hard disk. It is a basic format that has no data protection. The company named Connectix built the VHD and was later acquired by Microsoft in 2003. It has some important functions that make it unique. It is supported by Windows, Citrix, Oracle. These are- 

Functions of VHD File:

1. The most underrated feature is that it can generate multiple operating systems on one computer.
2. Affordable and approachable. It can’t detect metadata.
3. Virtual machines directly are modified by the host servers. It mainly consists of file recovery, a full backup of the machine, transfer of VHD files, image disk conversion, etc.
4. Does not need a separate partition or the HHD to install.
5. Utilized to develop a good environment for software. It also offers testing of utility by offering multiple OS on one system.

Benefits of the VHD Files:

There are several benefits of the VHD files. These are- 

• Users use VHD so that they can recover all the unnecessary alterations done to the VHD file. Users also can recover corrupted VHF files that get either damaged by virus infection or get deleted. By using the VHD, users can recover corrupted or unreadable VHD/VHDX files.
• This utility also permits its user to generate multiple users for one operating system. Every user has their database which can’t be changed by another user. This can be done by generating VHD while installing on the OS.
• Users require different OS for inspecting different software or utilities. But, by using this tool users can configure VHD to install the different OS on one system instead of using multiple systems.

Disadvantages of the VHD File

• It is only stored in NTFS file system storage.
• There is no option for resizing after it is installed. It does not support custom meta data.
• Users can’t use the file size 512 bytes because it gets blocked by the VHD file.
• It has less storage capacity. Users can store maximum storage of 2 TB in their VHD files.

Virtual Hard Disk (VHDX)

The VHDX file gets used by VMware Workstation and VirtualBox. It is what we can call a disk image file that was invented for virtual products by VMware. These files can be accessed with ease and also their size increases when they run with VMware Virtual Disk Manager. So, let’s discuss the function of this file. These are given below- 

Functions of VHDX File:

1. The replication guides to recover off-site VM systems that efficiently are secured. It will encrypt RAID from inside SAN storage.
2. It can quickly clone the hard disk in comparison to VHD files.

Benefits of VHDX File

• Users can opt for live migration of the files. So that they can easily shift or migrate to the server.
• It is operated easily and is very convenient to make the best VHDX.
• To protect the VHDX or VMDK files, utilize Snapshots.
• It is way more effective and also keeps the integrity of the VM files on the SAN storage.

Disadvantages of VHDX File

• Users can use the Maximum storage of VHDX is up to 2 TB. And, if the users update this through VMware vSphere then, it can store up to 62TB of data.
• recovering the deleted MS documents is an impossible task. It also asks for more effort into other files.

So, these were the main differences between VHD vs VHDX. Now, suppose if these (VHD and VHDX) files get corrupted somehow. Then what will one do? 

To fix this issue, users can use automated solutions that will be quicker and easier. 

If you have no idea which tool should be used while dealing with this issue. Then, try VHD Recovery to recover maximum data from corrupt VHD files. This tool support all popular file systems, like FAT, FAT16, FAT32, FAT64, NTFS, HFS+ and EXTX

And VHDX Recovery to recover maximum data from corrupt VHDX files. It is highly compatible with all popular Windows operating systems including Win 10.

Last Remark

Users now understand the main difference between VHD vs VHDX. If they have any corrupt VHD or VHDX files then fix them by using automated tools. These tools are easy to use and are built up with advanced algorithms.