Why is it not recommended to copy a VHD to a different machine and then continue using it as a Dev Drive?

[nlwillia]

Type of issue

Missing information

Feedback

In a couple places, the docs warn against moving a vhd and continuing to use it as a dev drive, but it's never explained why that is.

Is there a risk of corruption? Is there some physical layout optimization that is disrupted by copying? Is it a security or ownership issue?

A seeming benefit of a vhd would be compartmentalizing hundreds of thousands of tiny files making them easier to collectively move in the event of storage replacement, but if the moved volume shouldn't be remounted then it's harder to see what advantage the abstraction has over a fixed partition.

A previous issue asked for more clarity, but it still doesn't explain what the reason or risk is which would help in understanding the tradeoff.

Page URL

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dev-drive/

Content source URL

https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/windows-dev-docs/blob/docs/hub/dev-drive/index.md

Author

@mattwojo

Document Id

bfda7965-bc34-ab88-fdc9-efef4a5d8a9e

Platform Id

257dc8b2-8840-c2f3-ba68-b145439413a6