One of the most anticipated features of Windows 7 is its native Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) features, the format that is used in Virtual PC and similar virtualization platforms.

Windows 7’s VHD support will give users the ability to install any operating system that supports booting from a VHD into a VHD. For example, a user could have Vista installed on a single partition, and then have three files (VHDs) anywhere on that disk (or for that matter, on any partition that is readable by Windows) and be able to boot different versions of Windows 7. Assuming that SP1 and SP2 were released (which they are not yet available), a user could hypothetically have four operating systems on a single partition (the number is only limited by the bootloader, four is actually just a random number selected), like so:

• Vista installed on a primary partition (such as “C:\”).
• Windows 7 RTM installed within a VHD (such as “C:\Windows7.vhd”).
• Windows 7 SP1 installed within another VHD (such as “C:\Windows7SP1.vhd”).
• Windows 7 SP2 installed within yet another VHD (such as “C:\Windows7SP2.vhd”).

Of course, the number of VHDs is virtually unlimited, but it’s quite easy to see the hype associated with VHDs in Windows 7. Now, as for creating a VHD in Windows 7:

How to Create and Manage a VHD in Windows 7

1. Go to the Start Menu (or Desktop) and right click “My Computer” and click “Manage.” This is the easiest way to access Computer Management, but it can also be accessed via the Administrative Tools as “Computer Management.”

Viewing Disk Management