How to mount external hard drive on virtual machine Hyper-V

You can’t keep your data to yourself and need to share it with the world. And what better way to do that than to mount an external hard drive on a virtual machine? Here’s how to mount an external hard drive on a virtual machine Hyper-V.

Before using an external hard drive on a virtual machine running on Hyper-V, you must first mount the drive to the virtual machine.

How to mount external hard drive on virtual machine Hyper-V: 2 Ways

Method 1: Using the Hyper-V Manager

• Open the Hyper-V Manager console.
• In the Navigation pane, expand your host server, and then click on the libraries folder.
• In the Action pane, click on the new library option.
• When prompted, enter a name for your new library (e.g., “VMware Shared Drives”).
• Click Browse, and select your external hard drive from the list of available drives.
• Click OK to close the Add VMware Datastore window, and then click Finish to close the New Library Wizard window.
• Your new library should now appear in the list of libraries under your host server in the Navigation pane of the Hyper-V Manager console.

Method 2: Using PowerShell Commands

1. Launch PowerShell as an administrator (e.g., right-click on PowerShell in the Start menu and then select Run as Administrator).

What You’ll Need

-A Windows computer with an available USB port

-An external hard drive

-A compatible virtual machine running on Hyper-V

Steps to mount the external hard drive on VM

• Open up the “My PC” -> Find your external hard drive in the list of available drives.
• Right-click on the drive and select “Create VHD.”
• In the “Select Virtual Hard Disk Type” window, choose “Fixed Size” and click “Next.”
• In the “Specify Name and Location” window, give your new VHD a name and choose a location for it on your external hard drive. Make sure the “Store Virtual Disk as a single file” option is selected and click “Next.”
• In the “Specify Storage Capacity” window, choose how large you want your virtual hard drive to be. It’s important to leave some free space on your external hard drive, so don’t use all of its capacity. Once you’ve decided on a size, click “Next.”
• In the final window, review your choices and click “Finish” to create the virtual hard drive.
• To mount the new VHD, open up Hyper-V Manager on your Windows computer.
• In the left sidebar, select the server where you want to mount the VHD (this will be localhost if you’re working on your machine).
• Click on it to select it -> “Action,” followed by “Attach Virtual Hard Disk.”
• Choose your newly created VHD from the list, click “Open,” -> “Finish.” The VHD will now be accessible from within your virtual machine

Configuring Hyper-V

• Launch the Hyper-V Manager. This is located under Administrative Tools or the Start Menu.
• Select your Hyper-V server from the left side, and then click on “Virtual Switch Manager” from the right side.
• Create a new virtual switch of type “External” -> assign name “ext.”
• Connect the new virtual switch to your physical network adapter. If you’re using a laptop, you may need to disconnect from wired networks first.
• Close the Virtual Switch Manager -> Right-click on your Hyper-V server and select “New” -> “Virtual Machine”.
• Assign VM a name “ext-vm” and location. Choose whatever settings you like for the rest of the options. On the “Networking” page, select the “ext” virtual switch you created earlier. Complete the wizard

How to mount external hard drive on virtual machine Hyper-V

Now that you have your external hard drive, you need to mount it on your virtual machine so that you can access the files stored on it. To do this, follow these steps:

• Connect the external hard drive to your computer using a USB cable.
• On your computer, open the Hyper-V Manager.
• In the left pane, select the virtual machine on which you want to mount the external hard drive.
• In the right pane, click the Settings button.
• In the Settings window, click on the “Storage” section.
• In the “Storage” section, click on the “Add Device” button.
• In the “Add Hardware” window, select “External Hard Disk” from the list of hardware devices and click on the “Next” button.
• In the “Select External Hard Disk” window, select the external hard drive you want to mount and click on the “Add” button.
• In the “Storage” section, you should now see your external hard drive listed with an assigned drive letter (for example, E:).
• You can now close the Settings window and start using your external hard drive with your virtual machine

Accessing Files on the External Hard Drive

• In the Hyper-V Manager, select the server with the external hard drive you want to access, and then click Edit Disk in the Actions pane.
• In the Locate Virtual Disk dialogue box, browse and select the external hard drive and click Open.
• In the Mount Virtual Disk dialogue box, click Browse.
• In the Select Folder dialogue box, browse to and select the folder where you want to mount the virtual disk, and then click OK twice.
• The external hard drive appears in File Explorer with the assigned drive letter under This PC.

Disconnecting the External Hard Drive

If you have an external hard drive that you want to use with a virtual machine on your Hyper-V server, there are a few things you need to do before you can get started.

First, you must ensure that the external hard drive is formatted with the NTFS file system. You also need to give the virtual machine’s user account permissions to access the drive.

Once that’s done, you can connect the external hard drive to the Hyper-V server and mount it on the virtual machine.

But first, you need to disconnect the drive from the computer it’s currently connected to. To do this, open This PC and click on “External hard drives” in the sidebar. Right-click on the drive you want to use and select “Eject.”

How to mount external hard drive on virtual machine Hyper-V: Advanced Configuration

This advanced configuration will show you how to install and mount an external hard drive onto your virtual machine using Hyper-V. This great way to add extra storage space or move files between virtual machines.

• First, open up Hyper-V and select your virtual machine. Right-click on it and choose “Settings”.
• Select “Storage” and “Add IDE Controller” in the settings menu. This will add a new storage controller to your virtual machine.
• Next, select the newly added storage controller and click “Add Hard Disk”. This will open a window where you can select an existing hard disk or create a new one. Choose “Create a new virtual hard disk” and click “Next”.
• Now, give your new hard disk a name and location. Make sure to choose an external hard drive that you’ve already connected to your computer. Click “Next” when you’re done.
• Finally, choose the size of your new hard disk. We recommend choosing at least 200GB to have plenty of space for all your files. Click “Create” to finish creating your new virtual hard disk.

How to mount external hard drive on virtual machine Hyper-V:  Advanced Troubleshooting Steps

If you’re having trouble mounting an external hard drive on your virtual machine in Hyper-V, you can try a few things.

• First, ensure the external hard drive is plugged in and powered on. Then, open the Hyper-V Manager and select the virtual machine to which you want to mount the drive. Under “Actions,” click “Settings.”
• In the “Settings” window, select “Storage” and then click the “+ Add” button. In the “Add Hardware” window, select “Hard Disk” and then click “Add.”
• In the” Add Virtual Hard Disk” window, select “Attach a virtual hard disk later” and then click “Next.” Select the external hard drive from the drop-down menu and click “Finish.”
• Now, open the virtual machine’s settings again. Under “Storage,” select the external hard drive and click the “Drive letter & Paths” button. In the new window, select “+ Add.”
• Assign a drive letter to the external hard drive and then check the box next to “Mount in read-only mode.”
• Click “OK” to save your changes.

If you still have trouble mounting the external hard drive, try restarting your computer and the virtual machine.

Conclusion:

This article covers an important part of mounting a device on a VM, and we hope after following the steps mentioned in the post, you should be able to resolve all issues on How to mount external hard drive on virtual machine Hyper-V. Please let us know if you have any concerns or questions in the comment section below.