How to Repair Corrupted and Unreadable VHD Files – Easily
Summary: VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) are files used in the virtual environment to store images and other data on the OS. These files are replicas of the physical hard disk drive. As we know, data is vulnerable, it can easily get corrupted. If this happens, VHD files make data inaccessible and thus cannot be used for any purposes. Therefore, it is necessary to repair VHD files with the right methods. Find the best solutions along with a VHD Recovery Tool to minimize the data loss and retrieve data successfully.
What Causes VHD File Corruption?
The prominent reasons for corruption that brings the need to repair corrupt VHD files are:
- Hard Drive failure to cluttered or disconnected storage.
- Data transfer over a faulty or unstable network.
- Issues with installed Antivirus and security programs.
- Virus or threat attacks on the VHD file compromise data.
- Abrupt or sudden system shutdowns or power failure.
- Human errors or Virtual Machine is in Pause Mode.
What are the Effective Techniques to Repair VHD File?
When a VHD file becomes unreadable or inaccessible due to corruption, it disrupts the virtual environment workflow. However, we have different manual methods and one of the best professional tool to fix VHD files and recover data. Explore the detailed procedure and its specific limitations and advantages in the following part of this section.
Fix Corrupted and Unreadable VHD File Manually
There are four manual ways to recover corrupted VHD files for free. Follow the methods below.
Method 1: Repair VHD via Powershell
- Firstly, run the Windows Powershell application and enter Get-VHD.
- Run the command to select VHD to Mount: Mount-VHD-path “VHD File Path” –Readonly. Press Enter.
- Now, run the command Get-VHD -Path “VHD File Path” -Modefull. It checks if your VHD file is mounted and optimized or not.
- Hit Enter and further, run the CHKDSK command to check corruption in the mounted VHD file.
- Run the Get-Volume command to retrieve the mounted VHD volumes and search for your VHD drive letter.
- Later, run the command chkdsk “drive letter”: /f to fix the errors in the mounted VHD file.
- If it’s still not fixed try to change the (.vhd) to (.vhdx) with the command:
Convert-VHD -Path “Source VHD File Path” -DestinationPath “Destination VHDX File Path”
- Finally, detach the mounted VHD file by running the command: Dismount-VHD -Path “VHD File Path”. Click Enter.
- Lastly, if it still doesn’t help, try remounting it again or changing the file location.
Method 2: Repair the VHD File by Formatting
- Go to This PC on your Windows desktop and find the VHD disk file.
- Right-click it and select Format. Choose the NTFS file system for VHD.
- At last, press the OK button to initiate VHD drive formatting.
Method 3: Repair Corrupt VHD File through Virtual Machine
- Foremost, generate a new Virtual Machine on the system.
- Next, from the VM Settings tab, attach a corrupt VHD file.
- Afterward, click Virtual Disk Wizard >> Compact.
- Checkbox Fixed-size Virtual Hard Disk and finally, click Save.
- Provide the destination of your choice and press OK.
Method 4: Create a New Partition for Corrupt VHD File Recovery
- Open the Disk Management window on your PC.
- Right-click the corrupted VHD and press Delete Volume. Tap Yes.
- After that, right-click unallocated VHD space and choose New Simple Volume.
- Provide a new letter for the drive, file system type (probably NTFS), and size.
- Lastly, continue with the on-screen instructions to get a new VHD.
Drawbacks of the Manual Method:
- The process is lengthy and takes a lot of time, especially when the file is large.
- Not suitable to repair multiple VHDs at once and requires technical expertise.
- No guarantee to repair and restore corrupted VHD without data alterations.
Which Professional Tool Repair VHD File Instantly?
To overcome the limitations of the manual procedures and fix VHD with ease, use the VHD Recovery Tool. It is an efficient solution to scan and repair corrupt VHD MBR and GPT file formats. Additionally, it provides two advanced scanning modes and three recovery modes to eliminate VHD corruption. Moreover, with this excellent tool, you can repair any VHD file system on all Windows OS. If you desire, also, create and save disk images without any file size limits.
Steps for Corrupt VHD File Recovery
- Launch VHD Recovery Software and choose Dynamic or Fixed VHD.
- Provide File Path to add VHD, check its information, and click Next.
- Further, choose Standard or Advance Scan and click the Next button.
- Select VHD volume to recover and apply Custom Settings. Tap Next.
- Afterward, pick a Standard/Advanced/Deep Recovery Mode and hit Next.
- At last, select the recovered VHD folders and hit the Save button.
Final Words
Whenever you encounter unreadable VHD file or cannot access the directories, the file is corrupted. All you need to do is repair VHD file by any of the above-mentioned methods. You can mount VHD, create a new partition, or even use a VM, still, some limitations can’t be avoided. Therefore, for a secure and trouble-free solution to repair corrupted VHD files, use the expert-recommended tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do I run chkdsk command on VHD?
Ans: To run the chkdsk command for repairing corrupt VHD, follow these steps:
- Open the Command Prompt window and type diskpart.
- In the diskpart window, run chkdsk “VHD Drive Letter”: /f/r/x to fix.
Q. Is it possible to restore a corrupt and unreadable VHD file?
Ans: Yes, you can do that using any of the manual methods, but it will be troublesome. Therefore, follow these steps:
- Run the VHD File Recovery Tool and add a corrupt dynamic/fixed VHD file.
- Choose a scanning mode and click Next to select volumes to fix.
- Subsequently, apply the Custom Settings and press Next.
- Choose the desired recovery mode and click Next.
- Select folders to save after the repair and hit Save.
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