VHDX (Hyper-V) file format
.vhdx · disk image · introduced 2012 by Microsoft
What is a VHDX (Hyper-V) file?
VHDX is the successor to Microsoft's VHD virtual disk format, introduced with Hyper-V on Windows Server 2012. It supports up to 64 TB volumes, larger logical sectors, and a log structure that protects against power-loss corruption. Windows can natively mount a VHDX as a drive letter through Disk Management.
Most readers reach this page after double-clicking a .vhdx file and finding their operating system unsure what to do with it. The good news: VHDX (Hyper-V) is a well-understood format with mature tooling on every major platform. It is supported in one click by mainstream archivers on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
How to extract a VHDX (Hyper-V) file
Opening a .vhdx file is straightforward on every modern operating system. The exact steps depend on which platform you are on:
On Windows
- Locate the
.vhdxfile in File Explorer. - Right-click the file. If you have 7-Zip installed, choose 7-Zip → Extract Here. On Windows 11 the built-in extractor handles ZIP, 7z, RAR and several other formats directly through Extract All…
- If prompted, pick a destination folder and click Extract.
- The extracted files appear in a folder next to the original archive.
On macOS
- Find the
.vhdxfile in Finder. - Install The Unarchiver from the Mac App Store, or Keka for both creating and extracting.
- Right-click the file → Open With → The Unarchiver (or just double-click after Unarchiver is set as the default).
- The extracted folder appears next to the archive.
On Linux
- Use your file manager: right-click the archive → Extract Here (file-roller on GNOME, Ark on KDE).
- On the command line, run one of:
7z x archive.vhdx # works for almost any format
- The files appear in the current directory.
How to create a VHDX (Hyper-V) file
To pack files into a .vhdx archive, you typically need an archiver that supports writing this format. Not every tool can create every format — for example, only WinRAR can create real RAR files. The sidebar lists the software known to read and write VHDX (Hyper-V).
On the command line, the canonical create command is:
# Use 7-Zip, PeaZip, or the format's reference tool to create .vhdx files.
If you regularly create archives at scale, a dedicated archive automation suite can wrap this command in scheduled jobs, integrity checks, and offsite replication.
Strengths
- Native Windows mount
- Resilient log structure
- 64 TB capacity
Weaknesses and limitations
- Microsoft-leaning ecosystem
- Less convenient on Linux than qcow2
Typical use cases
- Hyper-V virtual machines
- Native Windows VHDX boot
- Backups
Technical details
VHDX (Hyper-V) uses the None / sparse / log-structured algorithm and is identified on disk by the magic byte sequence 76 68 64 78 66 69 6C 65. The standard MIME type is application/x-hyperv-vhdx. The format is an open specification and is free for any use.
Frequently asked questions
Is VHDX (Hyper-V) safe to open?
Archive files are containers — they are only as safe as what they contain. A .vhdx from a trusted source is fine; one received from a stranger can hold malicious executables, scripts, or files engineered to exploit bugs in your archiver. Always keep your archiver updated, and never run unknown executables that come out of an archive. A safe workflow is to extract into a sandbox and scan the contents before opening anything.
What is the maximum file size?
Modern implementations support archives in the multi-terabyte range. The practical limit is your filesystem (FAT32 caps at 4 GB; ext4, NTFS, APFS, and exFAT all comfortably handle multi-TB files).
Can I password-protect a VHDX (Hyper-V)?
Some archivers can wrap VHDX (Hyper-V) files in an encrypted container, but the format itself does not always include built-in encryption. Check your archiver's documentation.
How does VHDX (Hyper-V) compare to other formats?
See our format comparison pages such as ZIP vs 7z, ZIP vs RAR, and tar.gz vs tar.xz for side-by-side feature tables.