How to Use BitRecover VHD Recovery Wizard — Step-by-Step Tutorial

How to Use BitRecover VHD Recovery Wizard — Step-by-Step TutorialVHD (Virtual Hard Disk) files are widely used by virtualization platforms such as Microsoft Hyper‑V and other virtual machine tools. Corruption, accidental deletion, or logical errors in a VHD/VHDX file can cause data loss or make virtual machines inoperable. BitRecover VHD Recovery Wizard is a tool designed to scan, recover, and export data from damaged or inaccessible VHD and VHDX images. This step‑by‑step tutorial walks you through preparing, scanning, recovering, and verifying your data using BitRecover VHD Recovery Wizard, plus practical tips to improve success and avoid common pitfalls.

Before you begin: preparation and precautions

• Back up the original VHD/VHDX file (make a copy) before any recovery attempts. Working on a copy prevents further damage to the original image.
• Ensure you have enough disk space on the destination drive to store recovered files.
• Run the recovery on a reliable system with stable power; avoid interrupting the process.
• If the VHD is attached to a running virtual machine, shut down the VM and detach the VHD to avoid write conflicts.
• Gather information about the VHD: file size, whether it’s fixed or dynamically expanding, whether it contains multiple partitions, and the guest filesystem (NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, ext, etc.).

Step 1 — Install and launch BitRecover VHD Recovery Wizard

1. Download the BitRecover VHD Recovery Wizard installer from the official BitRecover site or your licensed source.
2. Run the installer and follow the on‑screen instructions. Accept the license terms and choose an installation folder.
3. After installation completes, launch the application. If prompted by Windows, permit the app to run with administrative privileges (this ensures access to physical and virtual disk files).

Step 2 — Select the VHD/VHDX file to recover

1. On the main screen, click the “Select VHD File” (or similar) button.
2. Browse to the location of the corrupted or inaccessible VHD/VHDX image and select it.
3. If you have multiple files to scan, the tool may allow batch selection — you can add more than one file for sequential processing.
4. Confirm the chosen file(s) and click “Next” or “Scan” to proceed.

Tip: If your VHD is split into multiple parts (e.g., .vhdx with differencing disks), ensure you select the correct parent/primary image or assemble the chain before scanning.

Step 3 — Choose scan mode and settings

BitRecover typically offers multiple scan modes:

• Quick Scan: Faster; useful for minor corruption or when directory structure is intact.
• Deep/Advanced Scan: Thorough; recommended for severe corruption, deleted files, or complicated filesystem damage.

1. Choose Quick Scan for first attempts if you expect minor issues; otherwise select Deep/Advanced Scan.
2. Configure additional options if available:
   • File type filters (e.g., only recover documents, images, or emails).
   • Date range filters to narrow results.
   • Destination folder selection for recovered files.
3. Click “Start” or “Scan” to begin the selected scan.

Note: Deep scans take longer but are more likely to find lost or fragmented data.

Step 4 — Monitor the scanning process

• The interface will show progress, estimated time remaining, number of files found, and a preview pane for many file types.
• Do not interrupt the scan unless necessary. If interrupted, the software may offer to resume or restart the scan.
• If scanning takes an unusually long time or the program freezes, check system resources (CPU, RAM, disk I/O) and ensure you have sufficient free disk space on the working drive.

Step 5 — Preview and select recoverable files

1. After the scan completes, BitRecover will list discovered folders and files in a tree view resembling the original filesystem.
2. Use the preview pane to inspect recoverable file contents (the tool often supports previews for PDFs, images, text files, and some email formats).
3. Select individual files or entire folders you want to recover. Use checkboxes or select-all options for bulk recovery.
4. If the list is extensive, apply filters (file type, size, date) to narrow selections.

Tip: Previewing helps ensure you recover intact, relevant files and avoid restoring corrupted or unwanted items.

Step 6 — Choose export/recovery options

1. Click “Recover” or “Save” after making selections.
2. Choose the destination: local folder, external drive, or network location. Never recover files to the same VHD/VHDX source drive to avoid overwriting.
3. Choose output formats if the tool supports conversion (e.g., saving recovered mailbox items as PST or EML).
4. Confirm and start the recovery/export operation.

Step 7 — Verify recovered data

• After recovery finishes, open several recovered files to confirm integrity (open documents, view images, mount recovered virtual disk images if applicable).
• Check folder structure and file counts against expectations.
• For critical data, run file integrity checks (antivirus scan, checksums if available).

Troubleshooting common issues

• No files found: try a Deep/Advanced Scan, ensure you selected the correct parent VHD, verify the VHD file isn’t a zero-byte placeholder, and check for encryption or proprietary formats.
• Program hangs or crashes: restart the app and system; run as administrator; ensure newest version of BitRecover is installed; try scanning on a different machine.
• Partial or corrupted recoveries: run the deep scan, increase memory/timeout settings if available, and avoid recovering to the same physical disk.
• Large VHDs: recovery can be slow; monitor disk space, and consider splitting the recovery into smaller batches by selecting folders or file types.

Best practices and extra tips

• Always work on a copy of the VHD image.
• Keep multiple backups of important virtual machines.
• If the VHD belonged to a running VM, check snapshot/differencing disk chains and include parent disks in recovery.
• If the VHD was encrypted (BitLocker, third‑party), decrypt or provide keys before recovery if supported.
• For forensic or legal cases, preserve chain of custody and use read‑only mounts when possible.

Conclusion

BitRecover VHD Recovery Wizard provides a focused workflow for scanning and restoring data from corrupted VHD/VHDX images: install, select the image, pick the scan mode, preview results, recover to a safe destination, and verify integrity. Using deep scans, working on copies, and avoiding writing back to source disks significantly increases chances of successful recovery.

If you want, I can: provide a shorter checklist version of these steps, or create suggested UI walkthrough captions for screenshots of each step.