libguestfs vs VHD Attach

libguestfs is a free library and toolset for working with virtual machine disk images. It can inspect and edit guest files, script changes, create or resize images, make backups, clone virtual machines and build them. The project says it can access almost any disk image, including those from VMware and Hyper-V, and images created by VMware, KVM, qemu, VirtualBox, Xen and other hypervisors; libvirt is not required. Its command-line tools include guestfish, a scriptable shell, and virt-rescue, an interactive rescue shell. The C library has bindings for many languages, with examples for C/C++, Erlang, Go, Java, Lua, OCaml, Perl, Python and Ruby. Guest filesystems are accessed through a Linux kernel in a qemu virtual machine, usually as a non-root user; sVirt with libvirt and SELinux can also be used. It runs on many Linux distributions and Mac OS X, while some virt tools have been ported to Windows. Non-Linux systems may require compiling from source and porting.

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.