General, VHD and VHDX: What's the difference?
When using Windows ToGo to migrate Windows 10 to a USB device, you can choose from three system types: General, VHD, and VHDX.
Firstly, let's have a look at the directory structure comparison chart after using three different types (take Legacy boot mode as an example).
As can be seen from the above figure:
- General: The root directory of the C drive is presented on the partition of the USB device in a roughly similar way.
- VHD and VHDX file format: The two types of virtual hard disks (VHDs) created separately are named AmWindows.vhd and AmWindows.vhdx, each located in the root directory of the partition on the USB device.
- In Legacy mode, all types of installations will create a Boot folder, containing the bootmgr and ntdr files, in the root directory.
The three system types differ in the organization way of system files, which are stored in a way that is suitable for each type of system.
General:
The traditional method of creating a Windows installation media involves directly copying the file from the system disk (C drive) to a USB device, essentially replicating the C drive's structure on the local hard drive.
VHD type:
Microsoft's VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) is a virtual disk file format that allows users to create a virtual disk drive. To use VHD, you would create a virtual disk file, copy the necessary system files to it, and then boot the system from the virtual disk using a boot loader.
VHDX type:
Microsoft introduced VHDX, the next generation of VHD, in Windows Server 2012, which can support up to 64TB, a significant increase from VHD's 2TB limit, while maintaining the same production process.
The three types are not much different in actual experience.
The test of disk performance for these three types revealed that there is essentially no difference in speed.
You can choose one type based on your personal preferences.
Notes:
- The VHDX file format is currently only available when selecting the "Create Windows ToGo for personal computer" option.
- VHDX is only supported by Windows 8 and later, while VHD is only supported by Windows 7 and later, excluding XP.
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