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VHD - Auto-mount at Startup in Windows 8
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<blockquote data-quote="DavidY" data-source="post: 193848" data-attributes="member: 16088"><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>How to Auto-mount a VHD at Startup in Windows 8</strong></span></p><p></p><p>[info]This tutorial will help show you how to have a <strong>VHD</strong> auto-mount as a drive at startup in <strong>Windows 8</strong>.</p><p></p><p>You must be signed in as an <strong>administrator</strong> to complete these steps.</p><p></p><p>[/info][tip]If you like, you could also use <strong><a href="http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/21115-bitlocker-turn-fixed-data-drives-windows-8-a.html">Bitlocker</a></strong> to encrypt the VHD drive.</p><p></p><p>[/tip]</p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #006400"><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>Here's how...</strong></span></span></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12px">1.</span></strong> To start with, <u><strong><a href="http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/9818-vhd-vhdx-file-create-attach-windows-8-a.html">create a VHD</a></strong></u> file, using the drive letter you want to use for this VHD.</p><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><strong>NOTE: </strong></span><em>For example, I've created a VHD file called 'MySecureStuff.vhd' in the 'C:\MyVHDs' folder, and I want it to be mounted as drive H</em>.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12px">2.</span></strong> Open Notepad, and copy the text below into it. <em>(Note I have struck out the third line as I believe it was incorrect and shouldn't be entered.)</em></p><p></p><p>[CODE]select vdisk file="[COLOR=#ff0000][B]C:\MyVHDs\MySecureStuff.vhd[/B][/COLOR]"</p><p>attach vdisk</p><p>[DEL]assign letter=[COLOR=#ff0000][B]H[/B][/COLOR][/DEL][/CODE][DEL]</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p>[/DEL]</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">A) Change the 'file=' part of the first line to contain the full path to the VHD you created earlier in step 1.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">B) Change the 'assign letter' to be the drive letter you wish to use.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 40px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 40px">[ATTACH]63201[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12px">3.</span></strong> In Notepad, save it as a .txt file, and close Notepad.</p><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><strong>NOTE: </strong></span><em>For example, I've called mine 'AttachVHD_H.txt' and saved it in a folder called 'C:\MyVHDs\VHDLoadScripts'</em>.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">[ATTACH]63203[/ATTACH]</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>4.</strong> </span>Open the <u><strong><a href="http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/4503-power-user-tasks-menu-open-windows-8-a.html">WIN+X Power User Tasks menu</a></strong></u>, and click/tap on <strong>Computer Management</strong>. (see screenshot below)</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">[ATTACH]16635[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12px">5.</span></strong> In Computer Management, select <strong>Task Scheduler</strong> on the left (point 1 on screenshot), then select <strong>Create Task</strong> (point 2 on screenshot).</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">[ATTACH]16636[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12px">6.</span></strong> In the <strong>General</strong> tab, enter a name and description for your task. Change the radio buttons to 'Run whether user is logged on or not', and change 'Configure for:' to say Windows 8.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">[ATTACH]16637[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12px">7.</span></strong> Select the <strong>Triggers</strong> tab, then click <strong>New</strong> to add a new Trigger. Change 'Begin the task' to say 'At Startup'. Optionally, you can also tick the 'Delay task for' checkbox and select 1 minute (see note below). Click on <strong>OK</strong>.</p><p></p><p>[note]The reason I selected a 1 minute delay is because I plan to enable BitLocker. Delaying gives the computer the chance to prompt me to enter a Bitlocker password just after I login rather than having to manually find the drive and start BitLocker. If you aren't using BitLocker, I don't think there's any advantage in selecting the delay.[/note]</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">[ATTACH]16638[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12px">8.</span></strong> Select the <strong>Actions</strong> tab, then click <strong>New</strong> to add a new Action.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">A) In the 'Program/Script' box enter <strong>diskpart</strong>.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">B) In the 'Add arguments' box enter:</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 40px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 40px"><strong>/s </strong></p> <p style="margin-left: 40px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 40px">followed by a space and then the full path and name of the script file saved in step 4. So in my example it is:</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 40px"><strong>/s C:\MyVHDs\VHDLoadScripts\AttachVHD_H.txt</strong></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">C) Click on <strong>OK</strong>.</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 40px">[ATTACH]16641[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12px">9.</span></strong> Select the <strong>Conditions</strong> tab. Clear the two checkboxes to <strong>Stop if the computer switches to battery power </strong>and <strong>Start the task only if the computer is on AC power</strong>, then click on <strong>OK</strong> to create the task.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">[ATTACH]16642[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12px">10.</span></strong> If a Task Scheduler dialog pops up, saying 'enter user account information for running this task' then enter the password for the administrator username.</p><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><strong>WARNING: </strong></span><em>You will also need to update this if you ever change the password on this account</em>.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">[ATTACH]16644[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12px">11.</span></strong> Close Computer Management.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 12px">12.</span></strong> To test this works, <strong><a href="http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2584-lock-log-off-restart-shut-down-switch-user-windows-8-a.html">restart</a></strong> your computer. When it restarts, you should find that after a minute, the new drive is mounted as drive H: (or whatever you selected).</p><p></p><p></p><p>That's it, you're done!</p><p></p><p></p><p>[rel]</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/9818-vhd-vhdx-file-create-attach-windows-8-a.html">How to Create and Attach a VHD or VHDX File in Windows 8</a></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/9811-vhd-vhdx-file-mount-attach-windows-8-a.html">How to Mount and Attach a VHD or VHDX File in Windows 8</a></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><a href="http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/9812-vhd-vhdx-file-unmount-detach-windows-8-a.html">How to Unmount and Detach a VHD or VHDX File in Windows 8</a></li> </ul><p>[/rel]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DavidY, post: 193848, member: 16088"] [CENTER][SIZE=5][B]How to Auto-mount a VHD at Startup in Windows 8[/B][/SIZE][/CENTER] [info]This tutorial will help show you how to have a [B]VHD[/B] auto-mount as a drive at startup in [B]Windows 8[/B]. You must be signed in as an [B]administrator[/B] to complete these steps. [/info][tip]If you like, you could also use [B][URL='http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/21115-bitlocker-turn-fixed-data-drives-windows-8-a.html']Bitlocker[/URL][/B] to encrypt the VHD drive. [/tip] [COLOR=#006400][SIZE=5][B]Here's how...[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR] [B][SIZE=3]1.[/SIZE][/B] To start with, [U][B][URL='http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/9818-vhd-vhdx-file-create-attach-windows-8-a.html']create a VHD[/URL][/B][/U] file, using the drive letter you want to use for this VHD. [COLOR=#ff0000][B]NOTE: [/B][/COLOR][I]For example, I've created a VHD file called 'MySecureStuff.vhd' in the 'C:\MyVHDs' folder, and I want it to be mounted as drive H[/I]. [B][SIZE=3]2.[/SIZE][/B] Open Notepad, and copy the text below into it. [I](Note I have struck out the third line as I believe it was incorrect and shouldn't be entered.)[/I] [CODE]select vdisk file="[COLOR=#ff0000][B]C:\MyVHDs\MySecureStuff.vhd[/B][/COLOR]" attach vdisk [DEL]assign letter=[COLOR=#ff0000][B]H[/B][/COLOR][/DEL][/CODE][DEL] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [/DEL] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]A) Change the 'file=' part of the first line to contain the full path to the VHD you created earlier in step 1.[/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]B) Change the 'assign letter' to be the drive letter you wish to use.[/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT=2][/INDENT] [INDENT=2][ATTACH]63201[/ATTACH][/INDENT] [B][SIZE=3]3.[/SIZE][/B] In Notepad, save it as a .txt file, and close Notepad. [COLOR=#ff0000][B]NOTE: [/B][/COLOR][I]For example, I've called mine 'AttachVHD_H.txt' and saved it in a folder called 'C:\MyVHDs\VHDLoadScripts'[/I]. [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT][ATTACH]63203[/ATTACH][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [SIZE=3][B]4.[/B] [/SIZE]Open the [U][B][URL='http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/4503-power-user-tasks-menu-open-windows-8-a.html']WIN+X Power User Tasks menu[/URL][/B][/U], and click/tap on [B]Computer Management[/B]. (see screenshot below) [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT][ATTACH]16635[/ATTACH][/INDENT] [B][SIZE=3]5.[/SIZE][/B] In Computer Management, select [B]Task Scheduler[/B] on the left (point 1 on screenshot), then select [B]Create Task[/B] (point 2 on screenshot). [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT][ATTACH]16636[/ATTACH][/INDENT] [B][SIZE=3]6.[/SIZE][/B] In the [B]General[/B] tab, enter a name and description for your task. Change the radio buttons to 'Run whether user is logged on or not', and change 'Configure for:' to say Windows 8. [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT][ATTACH]16637[/ATTACH][/INDENT] [B][SIZE=3]7.[/SIZE][/B] Select the [B]Triggers[/B] tab, then click [B]New[/B] to add a new Trigger. Change 'Begin the task' to say 'At Startup'. Optionally, you can also tick the 'Delay task for' checkbox and select 1 minute (see note below). Click on [B]OK[/B]. [note]The reason I selected a 1 minute delay is because I plan to enable BitLocker. Delaying gives the computer the chance to prompt me to enter a Bitlocker password just after I login rather than having to manually find the drive and start BitLocker. If you aren't using BitLocker, I don't think there's any advantage in selecting the delay.[/note] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT][ATTACH]16638[/ATTACH][/INDENT] [B][SIZE=3]8.[/SIZE][/B] Select the [B]Actions[/B] tab, then click [B]New[/B] to add a new Action. [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]A) In the 'Program/Script' box enter [B]diskpart[/B].[/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]B) In the 'Add arguments' box enter:[/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT=2][/INDENT] [INDENT=2][B]/s [/B][/INDENT] [INDENT=2][/INDENT] [INDENT=2]followed by a space and then the full path and name of the script file saved in step 4. So in my example it is:[/INDENT] [INDENT=2][/INDENT] [INDENT=2][B]/s C:\MyVHDs\VHDLoadScripts\AttachVHD_H.txt[/B][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]C) Click on [B]OK[/B].[/INDENT] [INDENT=2][/INDENT] [INDENT=2][ATTACH]16641[/ATTACH][/INDENT] [B][SIZE=3]9.[/SIZE][/B] Select the [B]Conditions[/B] tab. Clear the two checkboxes to [B]Stop if the computer switches to battery power [/B]and [B]Start the task only if the computer is on AC power[/B], then click on [B]OK[/B] to create the task. [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT][ATTACH]16642[/ATTACH][/INDENT] [B][SIZE=3]10.[/SIZE][/B] If a Task Scheduler dialog pops up, saying 'enter user account information for running this task' then enter the password for the administrator username. [COLOR=#ff0000][B]WARNING: [/B][/COLOR][I]You will also need to update this if you ever change the password on this account[/I]. [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT][ATTACH]16644[/ATTACH][/INDENT] [B][SIZE=3]11.[/SIZE][/B] Close Computer Management. [B][SIZE=3]12.[/SIZE][/B] To test this works, [B][URL='http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2584-lock-log-off-restart-shut-down-switch-user-windows-8-a.html']restart[/URL][/B] your computer. When it restarts, you should find that after a minute, the new drive is mounted as drive H: (or whatever you selected). That's it, you're done! [rel] [LIST] [*][URL='http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/9818-vhd-vhdx-file-create-attach-windows-8-a.html']How to Create and Attach a VHD or VHDX File in Windows 8[/URL] [*][URL='http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/9811-vhd-vhdx-file-mount-attach-windows-8-a.html']How to Mount and Attach a VHD or VHDX File in Windows 8[/URL] [*][URL='http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/9812-vhd-vhdx-file-unmount-detach-windows-8-a.html']How to Unmount and Detach a VHD or VHDX File in Windows 8[/URL] [/LIST] [/rel] [/QUOTE]
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