VHD stand for virtual hard disk, which is a common disk image (also called a virtual machine) format used as part of the Hyper-V feature of Windows Server 2008 (R2). It can store files, folders, file system, and disk partitions and encapsulate these data in a single file.
"I made a backup of a virtual machine running on Hyper-V. It's Windows Server 2008. The backup is a VHD. How do I do a full system restore on this? I've tried booting to a windows installation disc and doing a restore from a share, but that's resulting in an error message: The selected system image cannot be restored in this recovery environment. Any ideas?"
Sometimes, users choose to backup files to network drive via VHD, but some of them cannot find the backup image from VHD file when they try to restore the computer using installation disc. Below are some possible reasons for this problem:
After learning all the possible causes, you may think about some of solutions, for example, restore VHD file in Windows Server 2008 (R2) using installation disc. It definitely works and you still can try other solutions in the following.
In fact, to restore VHD to physical disk correctly in Windows Server 2008 (R2), You have two methods, one is to restore VHD file in Windows Server 2008 (R2) using installation disc, the other one is to create a new virtual machine and attach this VHD file on it.
Before starting, you need to be sure the following 2 things:
Then, select a method and follow the corresponding steps to restore VHD file.
Step 1. Insert the installation disc into your computer, set boot priority to this disc and press any key to boot from it when prompted. In the first screen, set up language and other preference and click Next.
Step 2. Click Repair your computer > Troubleshoot > System Recovery Options > Windows Complete PC Restore in order.
Step 3. Select Windows Server 2008 (R2).
Step 4. Click Cancel if it does not find a backup image and then Next > Advanced > Search for a system image on the network.
Step 5. Click Yes to confirm you want to connect to network. Then, it will ask you to specify the location of your backup image, you need to click Cancel twice > Troubleshoot > Command Prompt and then type the following commands, because it cannot find the VHD file.
Step 6. Type exit twice to exit Diskpart and Command Prompt window. Then, go to the Windows Complete PC Restore window, and you are able to find the latest backup image. Just tick Select a system image and follow the prompt to finish the rest of the steps.
Step 1. Launch Hyper-V Manager, connect to your server, right-click the server name and select New > Virtual Machine… Click Next on the pop-up wizard.
Step 2. Specify a name for hyper-V VM and uncheck the Store the virtual machine in a different location option.
Step 3. Select the generation your VM was. Click Next.
Step 4. Specify the amount of memory to allocate to this virtual machine. Click Next.
Step 5. Configure the network adapter to use a virtual switch, or remain disconnected. Click Next.
Step 6. Tick Use an existing virtual hard disk and click Browse… to find the .vhd file. Click Next and Finish to restore VHD files in Windows 2008 Server.
The process of restoring VHD file in Windows Server 2008 (R2) is hard, and many users report the Windows does not find a backup image on network share. And you cannot receive any security update from Microsoft from January 14, 2020 and your server computer has a high risk of data loss.
Anyway, the built-in backup software is not a good choice. I strongly recommend you using best server backup software - Qiling Disk Master Server. It's very easy-to-use, even for a beginner, and has many useful features:
Download, install and open Qiling Disk Master Server, click Backup and select System Backup, then select destination path and click Proceed.
Tips:
Once you have a backup, you can restore your system backup at any time. To restore system image, you can click Restore and Select Task, then select a system image backup and tick Restore this system backup, finally choose a destination path and click Proceed to move on.
Tips:
If you want to restore VHD file on Windows 2008(R2) Server but encounter the problem Microsoft does not find backup image on network share, read this article and learn 2 helpful methods above. Considering system and data security, it's suggested to use third-party server backup software - Qiling Disk Master Server as instead.
Thanks to its clear interface and user-friendly design, most users can finish the entire process effortlessly with a step by step guide and keep all the changes you made later with its schedule backup (eg: USB plug in) while using least space. In a disaster, you can easily restore system to new hard drive or computer, even with different hardware.