Recently, we posted an article, Attach a VHD File in Windows XP, describing the use of a component in Microsoft Virtual Server to attach a VHD file in Windows XP that was created in Windows 7. Thanks to a tip from a Help Desk Geek reader, we found another free tool, called Gizmo Central, or just Gizmo for short, that allows you to do easily attach VHD files in Windows 2000 and later systems. You can even create virtual drives (.gdrive files) in Gizmo. There are other tools within Gizmo such as a utility to mount ISO, BIN, CUE, NRG, CCD, MDS, MDF images, a Hex editor and a Syntax Text editor, and mouse and keyboard automation.
One of the benefits of using Gizmo over using Microsoft Virtual Server, is that Gizmo runs in Windows 2000 and Microsoft Virtual Server does not. If you need to access a VHD file on a computer running Windows 2000, Gizmo is the tool to use.
Gizmo works with Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP and Windows 2000.
Download Gizmo from
http://arainia.com/software/gizmo/.
Install Gizmo
To install Gizmo, double click on the executable (.exe) file you downloaded. The Welcome screen of the Gizmo Director displays the License Agreement. Read through the agreement and then click Next.
Select which parts of Gizmo you want to install. All the features are selected by default and we left them that way. You can run the setup program over your existing installation at a later time and deselect any features you don’t want. There are some useful tools in Gizmo you can explore. Click Next.
NOTE: This post discusses how to use Gizmo Drive to mount VHD files.
Select where you want to create shortcuts to Gizmo by selecting the desired check boxes on the Shortcuts screen. Click Next.
A default location for Gizmo is entered in the edit box on the Location screen. Accept the default and click Install to begin the installation.
The progress of Gizmo’s installation displays.
Once the installation is done, the Finished screen displays. Click the Close button.
The Gizmo Toolbar and Icon
The Gizmo – Toolbar displays in the bottom right corner of the screen with an introductory balloon.
The Gizmo – Toolbar contains one button initially, and that is a button to access the Gizmo Manager.
Gizmo places an icon in the system tray. Left-click on the icon to access the Gizmo – Toolbar.
Right-click on the icon to access the Gizmo menu. Select Gizmo Manager from the menu.
NOTE: Selecting Gizmo Manager from the menu is the same as clicking the Gizmo Manager button on the Gizmo – Toolbar.
Set Mount Options
Once you click the Gizmo Manager button on the toolbar or select Gizmo Manager from the Gizmo menu, the Gizmo Manager opens and displays the Start Page. Click the Mount ISO, BIN, VHD to virtual drive link under the What would you like to do? heading.
Right-click on Device 1 in the list on the Virtual Drives tab and select Options from the pop-up menu.
You can also access the mounting options by clicking the Mount Options button.
On the Mount Options dialog box, select the order in which drive letters are assigned by selecting a radio button in the Letter Assignment box. You may choose to assign drive letters working forward as you mount multiple drives or working backward. Select the a drive letter with which you want to start from the drop-down list next to the option you selected.
Specify how many virtual devices you want to allow to be mounted on the computer in the Devices edit box. If you change this value, you will have to restart Gizmo.
Click OK to return to the Virtual Drives tab in the Gizmo Manager.
Mount a VHD File
To mount your VHD file, click the Mount Image button on the Virtual Drives tab.
You may also mount an image from outside the Gizmo Manager by right-clicking on the Gizmo icon in the system tray and selecting Virtual Drives and one of the numbered Devices from the submenu. Then, select Mount Image from the Device submenu to mount the image to that numbered Device.
On the Mount Image dialog box, click the Browse button next to the Image edit box to select your VHD file.
Navigate to the location of your VHD file, select the file, and click Mount.
Specify what to do automatically, if anything, after mounting the VHD file, by selecting an option from the Afterwards drop-down list.
If you want to mount the selected VHD file every time you start Windows, select the Remount image when Windows starts up check box. If you only want to view the contents of the VHD file and not write to it, select the Mount image as read-only check box. Click OK to mount the VHD file.
A Windows Explorer window automatically opens displaying the contents of the VHD file.
The VHD file is available as a regular hard drive in your list of hard drives.
When the VHD file is mounted, it displays as Mounted with the drive letter and the file name in the list of devices in the Gizmo Manager.
Unmount a VHD File
To unmount the VHD file, select the VHD from the list of devices on the Virtual Drives tab and click Unmount.
Mount and Unmount Images in Windows Explorer
You can make it even easier to use Gizmo to mount your VHD files and ISO files. Gizmo has the ability to add commands to the context menu in Windows Explorer. This allows you to right-click on a VHD file or an ISO file and access the Mount Image dialog box mentioned above directly from within Windows Explorer.
In the Gizmo Manager, select Shell Integration from the Tools menu.
The Shell Integration dialog box displays. For this example, we will set up context menu commands for mounting and unmounting VHD files. Scroll down on the left side under Gizmo Document Types until you find VHD Files and select it. The Document Settings for the selected document type display on the right side of the dialog box. Under Options, select the Add “Mount” to file pop-up radio button and select the Add “Unmount” to file pop-up check box. Click OK.
Now, you can right-click on a VHD file and select Mount Image from the pop-up menu.
The Mount Image dialog box displays just as if you were mounting the VHD file in the Gizmo Manager. Mount the image file in the same manner as mentioned earlier in this post. If you want to accept the defaults when mounting your VHD file, you can hold the Ctrl key down while right-clicking on the VHD file and selecting Mount Image. The VHD file will be mounted immediately without having to go through the Mount Image dialog box.
There are two ways to unmount the mounted VHD file. First, you can right-click on the original VHD file and select the Unmount Image from option from the pop-up menu. The option indicates which drive letter is the mounted drive associated with the selected VHD file.
Second, you can right-click on the drive itself in the list of hard drives in Windows Explorer and select the Unmount option from the pop-up menu. The option indicates which VHD file is associated with the mounted image.
Set a Default Path for the Location of Image Files
If you have a location where you commonly store your VHD files, ISO files, etc., you can specify that location in the options in the Gizmo Manager. This allows Gizmo to use that path by default when you browse for your files to mount.
To set this path, select Options from the Tools menu in the Gizmo Manager.
The Options tab displays. Under the section called Gizmo Drive, click in the edit box to the right of Image Path and then click the … button that displays.
On the Image Path dialog box, navigate to the directory in which you store your VHD files, ISO files, etc., select the directory, and click OK.
Click the Save button on the toolbar in the Gizmo Manager to save your change.
Obtain Help with Gizmo
If you need help with using Gizmo Drive or any other parts of Gizmo, select Documentation from the Help menu.
The Help tab displays. There are links under the Feature Documentation heading that provide help on the different features available in Gizmo.
If you want to go directly to help about a particular feature within Gizmo, you can select that feature directly by selecting Topics from the Help menu and then selecting the feature from the submenu that displays.
Close Gizmo Manager and Gizmo Central
To close the Gizmo Manager, select Exit from the File menu. The Gizmo icon is still available in the system tray.
To completely close Gizmo, right-click on the Gizmo icon in the system tray and select Close Gizmo from the pop-up menu.
Gizmo is easy to install and use. It is full of useful features that make your daily computing simpler and more enjoyable. The help available in the Gizmo Manager covers all the features available in Gizmo. Explore the help to learn about the other useful features of Gizmo.
by Lori Kaufman
glad i could help :)