Manually Load Shared VHDX Driver in Windows Server 2012 R2

You might someday need to know how to manually load the Shared VHDX driver in Windows Server 2012 R2, in a basic lab environment. Here's what you need to do.

John Savill

July 20, 2013

1 Min Read
Manually Load Shared VHDX Driver in Windows Server 2012 R2

Q: Is there a way to force the loading of the driver that enables Shared VHDX on a non-CSV volume?

A: In a previous FAQ, "VHDX on Local Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage," I said that Shared VHDX was supported only on a CSV volume or a SoFS (Scale-out File Server) running on Windows Server 2012 R2. That's true for supported scenarios.

It's actually possible to force the loading and attaching of the Shared VHD filter driver to a non-CSV volume. However, this loading will survive only until the disk is offlined in some way, at which point you would have to load and attach again. Note that this isn't supported or even tested by Microsoft and should only be used in basic test scenarios if a CSV isn't available.

  1. Install the Failover Clustering feature through Server Manager or through Windows PowerShell:

    Install-WindowsFeature Failover-Clustering
  2. Run the following command specifying the volume to attach the shared VHDX filter:

    FLTMC.EXE attach svhdxflt :

 

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