Arsenal Image Mounter vs VHD Attach

Arsenal Image Mounter mounts disk image contents as complete disks in Windows, making disk-specific features accessible. Free Mode includes temporary write support, command-line executables, PowerShell modules, and tools to identify, unlock, decrypt, disable, or suspend BitLocker-protected volumes. Professional Mode can start virtual machines from disk images, physical disks, or remotely connected disks. It adds Recon Reports for triage and can expose NTFS metadata, slack, and unallocated space through file system driver bypass mode. Listed formats include raw and DMG; support for AFF4, E01, limited Ex01, and S01 depends on available libraries, alongside several virtual machine disk formats. Professional Mode connects to remote disks over a network using AIM Remote Agent. Arsenal recommends Windows 10 version 1703 or later, Windows 11, or Windows Server 2016/2019 x64 with.NET 10 on bare metal for full functionality. Linux support is described for a CLI and offline license activation. Free Mode costs nothing; paid plans start at $907 a year.

VHD Attach is a free Windows utility for attaching and detaching virtual disks. It adds Attach and Detach choices to the right-click menu for VHD files, and options can add a Detach choice to the hard-drive context menu. The program can attach virtual disks automatically when the system starts in full-access or read-only mode, and it can display disk information without attaching the disk. It supports Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and later, including Windows 10; older systems such as Windows Vista are not supported. On Windows 8 and Windows Server 8, it can also be used with ISO images and VHDX disks. Command-line parameters include /attach, /detach and /detachdrive. The source repository is published under the MIT License. A VHD stored at a network location may require a change to the service account so it can access that location. Automatic attachment of a BitLocker-enabled drive does not show its password prompt because mounting starts before the user interface appears.