Windows - Format Changes?

[Guest]

So what is VHD and VXHD format? Does Windows 7 support the new format like Windows 8 does? I've seen that the server OS doesn't, but I don't understand why. I mean it's still got support life still in it yet. Why don't they make these changes in a simple Windows update? Are they not able to due to compatibility or something? 

[Blake]

VHD and VHDX are virtual disk formats for Hyper-V. Windows 7+ and Windows Server 2008 R2+ support these formats, when booting inside a virtual machine. All these systems also support native boot.

 

Look here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-au/library/hh825691.aspx and https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd979548(v=ws.10).aspx

[Guest]

VHD and VHDX are virtual disk formats for Hyper-V. Windows 7+ and Windows Server 2008 R2+ support these formats, when booting inside a virtual machine. All these systems also support native boot.

 

Look here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-au/library/hh825691.aspx and https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd979548(v=ws.10).aspx

Okay, so will Windows 7 support 4 TB drives with out splitting them up into partitions? 

[Blake]

Okay, so will Windows 7 support 4 TB drives with out splitting them up into partitions? 

Yes. and based on your reply you seem to be confusing MBR/GPT with VHD/VHDx.

[Guest]

Yes. and based on your reply you seem to be confusing MBR/GPT with VHD/VHDx.

What are all of those, where can I find those proper definitions, are there videos of that stuff? This is all very new to me and I'm kind of surprised that @LinusTech hasn't done a as fast as possible of this stuff (no offense) but it would help out a TON

[Blake]

What are all of those, where can I find those proper definitions, are there videos of that stuff? This is all very new to me and I'm kind of surprised that @LinusTech hasn't done a as fast as possible of this stuff (no offense) but it would help out a TON

VHDX is a Hyper-V virtual hard disk (VHD) format found in Windows Server 2012.

 

VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) is a file format which represents a virtual hard disk drive (HDD). It may contain what is found on a physical HDD, such as disk partitions and a file system, which in turn can contain files and folders. It is typically used as the hard disk of a virtual machine.

 

A master boot record (MBR) is a special type of boot sector at the very beginning of partitioned computer mass storage devices like fixed disks or removable drives intended for use with IBM PC-compatible systems and beyond.

 

GUID Partition Table is a new disk architecture that expands on the older Master Boot Record (MBR) partitioning scheme that has been common to Intel-based computers. A partition is a contiguous space of storage on a physical or logical disk that functions as though it were a physically separate disk.

[Guest]

-snip

okay so windows 7 has a limit of 2 tb, does windows 8 have a limit on drives as well then? what is its limit? and does xp also have a limit?

 

edit - also, does ubuntu server have a limit on drives as well? 

 

pardon for all of these questions, this is again all new to me and i appreciate the response back as well

[Blake]

okay so windows 7 has a limit of 2 tb, does windows 8 have a limit on drives as well then? what is its limit? and does xp also have a limit?

 

edit - also, does ubuntu server have a limit on drives as well? 

 

pardon for all of these questions, this is again all new to me and i appreciate the response back as well

MBR is what has the limit on drives greater then 3TB, not Windows 7. Windows 7 (heck vista sp1 off the top of my head) supports gpt. Windows XP was MBR (again from the top of my head I think it was for the primary/boot device, but supported secondary drives in GPT, sp2 or 3 it was).

 

If you have already installed windows 7 and need to convert to gpt, https://technet.microsoft.com/en-au/library/dn336946.aspx

 

Ubuntu has the same limitations, in terms of GPT and MBR suppot (read, it supports both).

 

You are not booting from a VHD, so for your purposes, completely ignore them. you disks will either be initialised as MBR or GPT. As this is 2015, unless you found your computer in the dump, go with GPT. if you are installing windows, make sure to boot from the UEFI installer (which is normally labeled UEFI: whatever) as that will automatically use GPT if the disk doesn't already have an MBR partition.