JeffB

No problem.

I actually created the both the primary VHDs and the differential VHDs through command prompt / diskpart... create vdisk file="v:\base file.vhdx" maximum=40960 type=expandable {apply image, drivers, etc.}attrib +s +h +r "v:\base file.vhdx"create vdisk file="v:\daily use.vhdx" parent="v:\base file.vhdx"create vdisk file="v:\gaming.vhdx" parent="v:\base file.vhdx" (That creates a 40 gig VHDx, located at V: Adjust as desired...) Then I use BCDEdit to add the entries to the boot menu. (I used to use EasyBCD, but it forces UEFI boot into the old fashioned text mode menu.) Hope that clarifies, let me know if more information is desired...

Thanks for the replies, and Happy Monday! That is a relatively fair assumption. Although, I could also be classified as an overly ambitious tweaker as well... Back when Win 7 was originally released, I jumped straight into running from VHD, before I even tried the OS in a "standard" setup. I have sunk many hours into tweaking Windows to Go, managing to get it up and running off of a VHDx as well, and made quite a snazzy USB drive. (I could boot to-go x86 as well as x64; and had a single Install.WIM for multiple versions of 7 and 8, both x86 and x64.) And then I wiped everything and started over. Sounds like I'm in for an adventure, in that case! I'll have to do some experimenting, and document the procedure for posterity. I'm personally a little paranoid about my backups, compared to the average computer user. I manually copy & keep backups of my boot VHDs, and my data lives on a separate data drive, RAID 1 with ReFS, that is backed up continually to the cloud and my wife's PC, as well as to a weekly rotating pair of external drives that I keep offsite... In a nutshell, my PC is setup thusly: Boot SSDData HDD (RAID 1, ReFS)Data HDD (RAID 1, ReFS) On my boot SSD is arranged like this: A small UEFI system partition with the boot entriesPrimary partition to house my VHDx filesMy VHDx files are laid out as indicated in the first post. Essentially, each is treated as a completely separate install of Windows, as far as the boot loader is concerned. Each VHDx has its own BCD entry, and switching between them is as simple as a reboot. Each boot, I can choose what VHDx to load in the standard BCD boot menu. To be perfectly honest, I primarily use two different ones, my "Daily Use" and my Gaming. It was a complete pain to have to configure my screens for multi-monitor gaming, and then reconfigure them for normal use. So I simply made a new VHDx that has the appropriate settings, and can switch quickly.

I have a history of jumping into "improvements" to my PC setup without first making sure that they are actually improvements... This time, I thought I would get some outside insight and advice, prior to the actual undertaking... I'll start with my current setup, and then outline the idea that is floating around in my brain. Comments and criticisms are welcome at any point in the process... Currently, I run my system from VHDX, primarily for the differencing, and as a space-saving measure (differencing disks are denoted by indentation level): "Base" vhdx, simply a blank vhdx, with the OS (8.1) applied via DISMHardware Base vhdx -> contains drivers & programs common to various boot scenariosDaily Use vhdx -> has Office & various other odds & endsGaming vhdx -> Screens setup for surround gaming, extraneous programs stripped outTesting vhdx -> useful for testing out new hardware / software(List expands & contracts as needed)VPC Base vhdx -> Drivers & programs common for VMsVMs (varies)To-Go VHDX -> I have a Win to go setup, very useful for the inevitable family & friends service calls. I run it as a VHDX for ease in un-doing any potential changes In the setup I am considering moving to, I would add a top level WIM file, and enable booting from WIM for all of the listed scenarios. I am also planning on moving from my single (x86) to-go to a dual x86 / x64 setup... I'm not terribly concerned about any potential speed hits, saving space on my SSDs (in my main PC, and for my to-go setup) is of more importance... Are there any "gotcha" scenarios I should be aware of? Any potential system breaking issues? I am currently working on updating my Windows 8.1 ISOs to update 1, then I am planning on slipstreaming any & all of the updates that are out so far... Thanks for reading, and any comments are much appreciated!