Disk2vhd is a free, lightweight Windows utility that converts physical hard drives into VHD or VHDX virtual disk images for use with Microsoft Hyper-V, Azure, and other virtualization platforms. Designed for IT administrators, system engineers, and infrastructure teams performing P2V (Physical-to-Virtual) migrations, Disk2vhd creates bootable virtual machine images without requiring a complex migration framework. It is part of the Microsoft Sysinternals suite and runs as a portable, no-install tool.

All releases are available on the Releases page. Each release includes SHA-256 checksums for verification.

• Physical-to-Virtual conversion — convert entire physical disks or individual volumes into VHD/VHDX files ready for Hyper-V and Azure
• Live conversion with VSS — create consistent disk images while Windows is running using Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)
• Bootable VHD output — generated images can be attached directly to Hyper-V and booted as virtual machines
• VHD and VHDX support — choose between legacy VHD format or modern VHDX with larger capacity and improved performance
• Selective volume capture — convert only the volumes you need instead of cloning the entire physical disk
• Network destination support — save VHD files directly to a network share for centralized storage and deployment
• Command-line automation — script conversions for batch P2V migrations across multiple machines
• Portable mode — run from a USB drive, network share, or any directory without installation
• Azure-ready output — VHD images created by Disk2vhd are compatible with Azure VM upload workflows
• No agent required — standalone executable with no background services or dependencies

Disk2vhd uses the Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to create a point-in-time snapshot of the selected physical disk or volumes. It then reads the snapshot data and writes it into a VHD or VHDX file. The resulting virtual disk preserves the partition structure, boot sector, and file system, making it immediately usable in Hyper-V or uploadable to Azure.

1. Download Disk2vhd.msi from the latest release
2. Run the MSI installer or launch Disk2vhd.exe after installation
3. Select the volumes you want to convert (typically the system volume and any data volumes)
4. Choose the output path and format (VHD or VHDX)
5. Click Create — Disk2vhd captures the volumes and writes the virtual disk image
6. Attach the resulting VHD/VHDX to a Hyper-V VM and boot

msiexec /i Disk2vhd.msi /qn /norestart

disk2vhd.exe C:\output\server01.vhdx C: D:

This converts volumes C: and D: into a single VHDX file at the specified path.

1. Deploy Disk2vhd.msi via Group Policy, SCCM, or Intune to target machines
2. Run Disk2vhd on each physical server with the desired volumes and output path
3. Store generated VHD/VHDX files on a centralized storage share or SAN
4. Create Hyper-V virtual machines and attach the converted disk images
5. Boot the VMs, install Hyper-V Integration Services, and verify functionality
6. Decommission physical hardware after successful migration validation

• Physical-to-Virtual migration — convert aging physical servers into Hyper-V VMs without expensive migration suites
• Azure cloud migration — create VHD images from on-premises machines and upload them to Azure for cloud-based VMs
• Server consolidation — reduce datacenter footprint by virtualizing multiple physical servers onto a single Hyper-V host
• Disaster recovery testing — capture production disk images and boot them in an isolated Hyper-V environment for DR validation
• Development and staging — clone production servers into virtual sandboxes for testing patches, updates, and application deployments
• Hardware refresh — migrate workloads from old hardware to new Hyper-V infrastructure without reinstalling Windows
• Forensic analysis — create bit-for-bit disk images of running systems for offline investigation without shutting down the machine

If you are looking for similar physical-to-virtual conversion tools, consider these alternatives:

• Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter (MVMC) — enterprise P2V/V2V migration tool for Hyper-V and Azure
• StarWind V2V Converter — free converter supporting multiple virtual disk formats and cloud platforms
• VMware vCenter Converter — P2V and V2V converter for VMware vSphere environments
• Clonezilla — open-source disk cloning and imaging tool supporting multiple file systems
• dd / dd for Windows — raw block-level disk copy utility for creating exact disk images
• Hyper-V Export — native Hyper-V feature for exporting existing VMs to portable VHD files
• Azure Migrate — Microsoft's cloud-based assessment and migration service for Azure workloads

Download Disk2vhd.msi directly from the latest release or visit the Releases page for all versions.

Yes. Disk2vhd uses Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to create a consistent snapshot of the disk while Windows is running. No downtime is required for the conversion process.

VHD is the legacy format with a maximum size of 2 TB. VHDX is the modern format supporting disks up to 64 TB with improved performance, corruption resilience, and larger block sizes. Use VHDX for new deployments.

Yes. Disk2vhd preserves the boot sector and partition structure, so the resulting VHD/VHDX can be attached to a Hyper-V VM and booted directly. After booting, install Hyper-V Integration Services for optimal performance.

Yes. VHD files created by Disk2vhd are compatible with Azure VM creation. Use Azure CLI, PowerShell, or the Azure portal to upload the VHD to a storage account and create a virtual machine from it.

Run msiexec /i Disk2vhd.msi /qn /norestart from an elevated command prompt or deploy the MSI package through Group Policy, SCCM, or Intune.

By default, Disk2vhd copies all allocated blocks. Use the -c switch to create a sparse VHD containing only used blocks, significantly reducing file size for disks with large amounts of free space.

Yes. Specify multiple drive letters on the command line (e.g., disk2vhd C:\output\vm.vhdx C: D: E:) to include all volumes in a single virtual disk image with the original partition layout preserved.

Disk2vhd is the go-to tool for converting physical Windows machines into virtual disk images. Whether you are migrating a single workstation to Hyper-V or planning a large-scale P2V project for Azure, Disk2vhd provides a simple, reliable, and free solution for creating bootable VHD/VHDX files from live systems. Its VSS-based live capture, command-line automation, and direct Hyper-V/Azure compatibility make it an essential utility for virtualization and infrastructure professionals.

⬇ Download Disk2vhd.msi