VX_ File – What is .vx_ file and how to open it?

VX_ File Definition and Usage

A VX_ file is a Compressed Virtual Device Driver File. It is a compressed file format used by Microsoft’s Virtual PC software to store virtual device drivers. Virtual device drivers are software programs that allow a computer to interact with hardware devices. When a virtual machine is created in Virtual PC, the VX_ file is used to install the necessary drivers for the virtual devices that are included in the virtual machine.

Advantages and Deployment

VX_ files are compressed, which means that they take up less space on disk than uncompressed files. This can be important for virtual machines that are stored on small disks, such as USB flash drives or solid-state drives. VX_ files are also easy to deploy. They can be copied from one computer to another and installed in Virtual PC without any additional configuration.

VX_ files are an important part of Virtual PC. They allow virtual machines to access the hardware devices that are available on the host computer. Without VX_ files, virtual machines would not be able to function properly.

Method 1: Using Microsoft Virtual Machine Manager

Microsoft Virtual Machine Manager is a software tool developed by Microsoft for managing and deploying virtual machines. It is primarily used in enterprise environments for managing large-scale virtual infrastructures. The VX_ file extension is primarily associated with Microsoft Virtual Machine Manager, and it contains compressed virtual device driver files used by virtual machines created and managed using the software.

To open a VX_ file using Microsoft Virtual Machine Manager, you will need to have the software installed on your system. Once installed, you can follow these steps:

1. Launch Microsoft Virtual Machine Manager and create a new virtual machine or open an existing one.
2. In the virtual machine’s settings, navigate to the Hardware tab.
3. Under the Device Options section, click on the “Add Device” button.
4. Select the “Hard Drive” device type and click on the “Browse” button.
5. Locate and select the VX_ file you want to open and click on the “OK” button.
6. The VX_ file will be added as a virtual hard drive to the virtual machine. You can now boot the virtual machine to use the device driver contained in the VX_ file.

Method 2: Extracting Contents Using a Third-Party Tool

If you do not have Microsoft Virtual Machine Manager installed or if you need to extract the contents of the VX_ file, you can use a third-party tool like 7-Zip or WinRAR. These tools allow you to decompress and extract the contents of the VX_ file, which can include device driver files, application files, or other data depending on the purpose of the virtual machine it was created for.

To extract the contents of a VX_ file using a third-party tool, follow these steps:

1. Install a decompression tool like 7-Zip or WinRAR on your system.
2. Right-click on the VX_ file and select the “Extract” or “Decompress” option from the context menu.
3. Select the destination folder where you want to extract the contents and click on the “OK” button.
4. The contents of the VX_ file will be extracted to the specified folder. You can now access and use the extracted files as needed.

VX_ File Format

The VX_ file format is a proprietary file format utilized by Microsoft for compressing virtual device driver files within the Windows operating system. Virtual device drivers are utilized to emulate hardware devices within a virtual machine or a hypervisor-based environment. The compression algorithm employed within the VX_ file format is designed to significantly reduce the file size of virtual device drivers, enabling their efficient storage and transfer.

Features and Usage

VX_ files play a crucial role in virtual machine management. They enable administrators to easily deploy, manage, and update virtual device drivers within virtualized environments. By leveraging the VX_ file format, administrators can optimize storage space, reduce data transfer costs, and streamline the overall management of their virtualized systems. Additionally, VX_ files facilitate the sharing of virtual device drivers between different virtual machines and operating systems, enhancing flexibility and portability in virtualized environments.

Other Extensions