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Backup Error using a Virtual Hard Disk with File History

Article ID: 2790565 - View products that this article applies to.

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This article is provided by MVP Jay Pilarta. Microsoft is so thankful that MVPs who proactively share their professional experience with other users. The article would be posted on Jay Pilarta's website or the Crimson Spectrum

(http://aiscer.wordpress.com/)

blog later.

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Symptoms

After every restart a Virtual Hard Disk used for File History asks to reconnect your drive.

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Cause

A Virtual Hard Disk starts offline during every machine restart and will be unavailable for use of File History.

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Resolution

METHOD 1

Method 1 will assume that you already have a VHD file. You may also follow this link for Creating a VHD file
(http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg318052(WS.10).aspx)
.
Your Profile must be an Administrator or logged on as the Administrator before continuing with the Steps below.
We need to use a Text file and Command script to Auto-Mount a VHD file.
We need to use Notepad for the scripts as seen through Steps 1 to 4.

Create a text file to execute auto-mount of a VHD file using Notepad and use the following lines below.
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- Replace <Path of File> with the exact location and filename of the Virtual Hard Disk either from a Network or Local path.
- Do not include the <>, e.g. C:\Users\Home\Desktop\Disk.vhd
ave the text file with the name "Mount" to your Local drive where Windows was installed, usually this should be the C: drive. You can use any other filename as long as you remember the name of the text file you created.

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Next is we need to create a Command-Line script. Open Notepad and provide the line below.

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- If you used a different filename from Step #2, replace the Mount.txt with the filename you used.
Save the file as "Mount.cmd" using the "Save As" function in Notepad through File then select Save As on your Desktop. This will open a window allowing us to save the file as a Command Line Script.

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- Remember to use " " at the beginning and end of the filename, else this will save the file as a .txt instead of .cmd which we need.
Open File Explorer by pressing the Windows Key+E or by simply clicking the File Explorer icon pinned on the Taskbar. Type the entire path seen below in the Address Bar then hit Enter.

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Move the Mount.cmd file we saved on the Desktop into the Startup dragging and dropping it into the folder.

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- Confirm any Administrator action for the moving the file by selecting Continue.
  
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Reboot your machine. Confirm any prompt from DiskPart after the restart.

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METHOD 2

Method 1 will assume that you already have a VHD file. You may also follow this link for Creating a VHD file
(http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg318052(WS.10).aspx)
.
Your Profile must be an Administrator or logged on as the Administrator before continuing with the Steps below.
We will use Task Scheduler to execute an Auto-Mount for a VHD file.
We need to use Notepad for the script that will run in Task Scheduler.

Create a text file to execute auto-mount of a VHD file using Notepad and use the following lines below.

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- Replace <Path of File> with the exact location and filename of the Virtual Hard Disk either from a Network or Local path.
- Do not include the <>, e.g. C:\Users\Home\Desktop\Disk.vhd
Save the text file with the name "Mount" to your Local drive where Windows was installed, usually this should be the C: drive. You can use any other filename as long as you remember the name of the text file you created.

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Open Task Scheduler by using the Advanced Menu option by pressing the Windows Key+X then select Computer Management. Choose Create Task from the right pane under Actions.

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Name the Task then select the following options within the General Tab for "Run whether the user is logged on or not", "Hidden", "Run with the Highest Privileges", and Configure for Windows 8.

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Move to the Triggers tab. Here select the option for "New...". In the New Trigger window use the dropdown beside "Begin the task" set to "At Startup", once done hit OK.

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Move on to the Actions tab. Here select the option for "New...". In the New Action window specify the Program/Script we will use by browsing to where DiskPart is.

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- You may choose to manually type the path for diskpart.exe or just use "Browse..." to locate diskpart.exe.
- In case you installed Windows in a different drive, replace C: with the drive letter where Windows was installed.
- Inside the "Add arguments" field, replace the Mount.txt with the filename you used from Step #2.
Once all settings for the task is done, hit OK. Restart your system.

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Idea

You may also want to use BitLocker Drive Encryption on a VHD file for added security and protection. For more information about enabling BitLocker (BDE) to lock up your data follow this link

(http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/bitlocker#1TC=t1)

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