Working with Windows Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) files on macOS presents unique technical hurdles. Unlike Windows, macOS doesn't natively support VHD mounting, requiring alternative solutions that leverage virtualization technologies.

Before proceeding, ensure you have:

• VirtualBox installed (latest version recommended)
• Xcode command line tools
• Basic familiarity with terminal commands

The most reliable method involves compiling vdfuse, a FUSE-based solution that utilizes VirtualBox libraries. Here's the detailed process:

# Save this as build_vdfuse.sh
#!/bin/bash

infile=vdfuse.c
outfile=vdfuse
incdir="/Applications/VirtualBox.app/Contents/MacOS/include"
INSTALL_DIR="/Applications/VirtualBox.app/Contents/MacOS"
CFLAGS="-pipe"

gcc -arch i386 "${infile}" \
         "${INSTALL_DIR}"/VBoxDD.dylib \
         "${INSTALL_DIR}"/VBoxDDU.dylib \
         "${INSTALL_DIR}"/VBoxVMM.dylib \
         "${INSTALL_DIR}"/VBoxRT.dylib \
         "${INSTALL_DIR}"/VBoxDD2.dylib \
         "${INSTALL_DIR}"/VBoxREM.dylib \
        -o "${outfile}" \
        -I"${incdir}" -I"/usr/local/include/fuse" \
        -Wl,-rpath,"${INSTALL_DIR}"  \
        -lfuse_ino64  \
        -Wall ${CFLAGS}

After successful compilation, follow these steps:

# Create mount point
mkdir ~/vhd_mount

# Mount VHD file
./vdfuse -f ~/path/to/disk.vhd ~/vhd_mount

# List available partitions
ls -l ~/vhd_mount

You'll see block devices (Partition1, Partition2, etc.) which need additional handling:

# For NTFS partitions (requires ntfs-3g)
sudo mkdir /Volumes/NTFS
sudo ntfs-3g ~/vhd_mount/Partition1 /Volumes/NTFS

# For FAT32 partitions
sudo mkdir /Volumes/FAT32
sudo mount -t msdos ~/vhd_mount/Partition1 /Volumes/FAT32

For those preferring GUI solutions:

• QEMU's qemu-img can convert VHD to other formats
• Parallels Desktop offers native VHD support
• Commercial tools like Paragon VHD for Mac provide complete solutions

Common issues and solutions:

• Permission errors: Prepend commands with 'sudo'
• Missing fuse_ino64: Install latest MacFUSE version
• Architecture mismatch: Ensure consistent 32/64-bit compilation

For frequent VHD access:

• Consider creating a dedicated VM for conversion tasks
• SSD storage significantly improves access speeds
• Batch processing scripts can automate repetitive tasks

Working with Windows Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) files on macOS has always been tricky due to platform incompatibilities. While Linux users have access to tools like vdfuse, macOS requires additional steps to achieve similar functionality.

Before proceeding, ensure you have:

• VirtualBox installed (latest version recommended)
• Xcode command line tools
• MacFUSE (now known as OSXFUSE) installed

Here's the complete build script I successfully used to compile vdfuse on macOS:

#!/bin/bash
infile=vdfuse.c
outfile=vdfuse
incdir="/Applications/VirtualBox.app/Contents/MacOS/include"
INSTALL_DIR="/Applications/VirtualBox.app/Contents/MacOS"
CFLAGS="-pipe"

gcc -arch x86_64 "${infile}" \
         "${INSTALL_DIR}"/VBoxDD.dylib \
         "${INSTALL_DIR}"/VBoxDDU.dylib \
         "${INSTALL_DIR}"/VBoxVMM.dylib \
         "${INSTALL_DIR}"/VBoxRT.dylib \
         "${INSTALL_DIR}"/VBoxDD2.dylib \
         "${INSTALL_DIR}"/VBoxREM.dylib \
        -o "${outfile}" \
        -I"${incdir}" -I"/usr/local/include/osxfuse" \
        -Wl,-rpath,"${INSTALL_DIR}"  \
        -losxfuse \
        -Wall ${CFLAGS}

After successful compilation, use these commands:

# Create mount point
mkdir ~/vhd_mount

# Mount VHD using vdfuse
./vdfuse -f ~/path/to/your.vhd ~/vhd_mount

# List available partitions
ls -l ~/vhd_mount

You'll see block device files (Partition1, Partition2, etc.) in your mount point. To access these partitions:

# For NTFS partitions (requires ntfs-3g)
sudo ntfs-3g ~/vhd_mount/Partition1 ~/mnt/windows

# For FAT32 partitions
sudo mount -t msdos ~/vhd_mount/Partition1 ~/mnt/windows

If building vdfuse proves difficult, consider these alternatives:

• Use VirtualBox to attach the VHD and share via network
• Convert VHD to VMDK using VirtualBox commands: VBoxManage clonehd source.vhd target.vmdk --format VMDK
• Try commercial tools like Paragon NTFS for Mac

Common issues and solutions:

• Permission errors: Run commands with sudo
• Missing dependencies: Ensure all VirtualBox libraries are in place
• Architecture mismatch: Verify you're using the correct -arch flag (x86_64 for modern Macs)