Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Disk2vhd VS Process Explorer

Compare Disk2vhd VS Process Explorer and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Disk2vhd logo Disk2vhd

Creates VHD (Virtual Hard Disk - Microsoft's Virtual Machine disk format) versions from...

Process Explorer logo Process Explorer

The top window always shows a list of the currently active processes, including the names of their owning accounts, whereas the information displayed in the bottom window depends on the mode that Process Explorer is in: if it is in handle mode you'lโ€ฆ
  • Disk2vhd Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-20
  • Process Explorer Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-21

Disk2vhd features and specs

  • Convenience
    Disk2vhd provides a simple and straightforward way to convert physical disks to virtual hard disks. This ease of use can save time and effort during the virtualization process.
  • Integration with Windows
    As a tool from Microsoft Sysinternals, Disk2vhd integrates well with Windows environments, ensuring compatibility and stability for Windows users.
  • Support for live systems
    Disk2vhd can create a VHD from a live system without requiring a reboot, which minimizes downtime and disruption for users or applications.
  • Compact VHDs
    Disk2vhd includes an option to create VHDs from only the used portions of a disk, resulting in smaller and more efficient virtual hard disks.
  • No installation required
    The tool is portable and does not require installation, making it easy to run Disk2vhd on any system directly without modifying the registry or installing additional software.

Possible disadvantages of Disk2vhd

  • Lack of advanced features
    Disk2vhd offers basic conversion functionality and lacks advanced features that may be required for complex virtualization scenarios, such as support for non-Windows systems or advanced configuration options.
  • Performance limitations
    Due to its simplicity, Disk2vhd might not perform as efficiently as more comprehensive virtualization tools, especially when dealing with large or heavily fragmented disks.
  • File size limitations
    Disk2vhd creates a virtual hard disk in VHD format, which has a size limitation of 2 TB per file, potentially restricting its use for larger disk conversions.
  • Limited platform support
    Disk2vhd is primarily designed for Windows environments and may not be suitable for use with other operating systems, limiting its versatility in heterogeneous IT environments.

Process Explorer features and specs

  • Detailed System Information
    Process Explorer provides in-depth information about system processes, including detailed CPU and memory usage stats.
  • Hierarchical View
    It shows processes in a tree structure, making it easy to understand parent-child relationships between processes.
  • Advanced Diagnostic Capabilities
    The tool offers advanced features like DLL and handle viewing, allowing detailed investigation of system issues.
  • Real-Time Monitoring
    It allows real-time monitoring of system performance, including CPU, GPU, and I/O activity, which is critical for diagnosing performance bottlenecks.
  • Integration with VirusTotal
    Process Explorer can integrate with VirusTotal to check the safety of running processes, adding an extra layer of security.
  • Free to Use
    Process Explorer is part of the Sysinternals suite, which is freely available for use, making it accessible for both individual users and organizations.

Possible disadvantages of Process Explorer

  • Complexity
    The extensive features and detailed information can be overwhelming for novice users who may find the interface complex to navigate.
  • Resource Intensive
    While generally lightweight, the comprehensive monitoring features can consume a noticeable amount of system resources, which might affect performance on older or less powerful systems.
  • Windows Only
    Process Explorer is designed specifically for Windows operating systems, limiting its use for those who work in cross-platform environments.
  • No Built-In Reporting
    The tool does not offer built-in reporting capabilities, requiring users to manually capture and document information.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    Due to its advanced features and detailed information, new users might face a steep learning curve before being able to fully utilize all its capabilities.
  • Limited Documentation
    While there are some resources available, the documentation can be sparse, making it difficult for users to find solutions to specific problems.

Analysis of Process Explorer

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Process Explorer is generally regarded as a good and reliable tool by both system administrators and other IT professionals. It is frequently recommended for its depth of features, ease of use, and the detailed process information it provides.

Why this product is good

  • Process Explorer is considered a valuable tool because it offers comprehensive insights into system processes, threads, and resource usage. It provides detailed information about which files and directories individual processes have open, the DLLs they have loaded, and more. Its ability to offer real-time data and powerful searching capabilities makes it invaluable for troubleshooting and performance monitoring.

Recommended for

  • System administrators
  • IT professionals
  • Software developers
  • Anyone interested in detailed system diagnostics
  • Users troubleshooting application issues

Disk2vhd videos

Disk2VHD and QNAP NAS - Turn your Local PC into a VM

More videos:

  • Review - SysInternals disk2vhd - Crear discos VHD desde mรกquinas fรญsicas

Process Explorer videos

Sysinternals Process Explorer Review + download link and method

More videos:

  • Review - Scan for Malware Using Process Explorer and Virus Total
  • Review - What Is?: Process Explorer?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Disk2vhd and Process Explorer)
Cyber Security
100 100%
0% 0
Monitoring Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Backup & Restore
100 100%
0% 0
Command Line Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Process Explorer should be more popular than Disk2vhd. It has been mentiond 289 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Disk2vhd mentions (55)

  • Imaging mounted disk volumes under duress (2021)
    I know TheFineArticle is in Linux land but for Windows people with this issue you might look at Sysinternals Disk2vhd.[0] It can be run from the online OS itself and it can store the resulting vhd on the same disk it is imaging (with space and disk performance constraints). I find it handy for turning my freshly superceded gaming machine into a VM on my new machine for easy access to files, before doing whatever... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Can I virtualize my CURRENT Windows10 install from Linux?
    I've had good luck with Sysinternals Disk2VHD. I've run it from live installs of Windows, saved the resultant VHD to another drive, then spun it up in Virtualbox. Source: about 3 years ago
  • What free software do you use to create a system image?
    A really quick and easy way to back up a a drive is to use the SysInternals Disk2VHD tool: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/disk2vhd. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Help with Reset & Backup On Win11
    In addition to individually copying important files and folders, use Disk2vhd from Microsoft Sysinternals. Check "Use VHDX" and "Use Volume Shadow Copy" and check all volumes the HDD contains but not any volumes from other disks. Create separate files if backing up multiple disks. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Creating an image/backup of a live Windows System but.... no restart, no VSC.
    Do it with https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/disk2vhd it has saved me many times with legacy OS. No restart needed. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

Process Explorer mentions (289)

  • Stats โ€“ macOS system monitor in your menu bar
    Unclear what you mean by programmable, but https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer is the bee's knees and you can set an option to have it take over taskmon.exe, launch on login, and put as many of the widgets in the taskbar as you fancy. I love it I've heard about running them directly from SMB but have never been the kind of person to try out such a stunt... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: What tools do you recommend for working on Windows?
    Always put all your portable programs in the "A:\MyPC\Programs\" folder. Always put all your documents in the "A:\MyPC\Documents\" folder. Put driver files and runtime libraries in the "A:\MyPC\Install\" folder. For all three, feel free to create subfolders as needed, either per topic, per group, or however your brain envisions data trees. You can find plenty of portable windows software in the links provided... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Hidden dependencies in Linux binaries.
    On windows, this is Dependency Walker versus ProcExp. Similar eye-goggling results. https://www.dependencywalker.com/ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Windows Explorer and Desktop Window Manager high RAM usage
    If you run Process Explorer (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer) and enable process tree view, you can see what processes are running under explorer.exe. That should give you a better idea of what's consuming that memory if you're genuinely concerned about this. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Roblox doesn't launch for months on PC
    If you have any suspicious processes running onto your computer, close them IMMEDIATELY. I suggest using Process Explorer, as it has a Virustotal which submits all Executables to virustotal under 70+ antiviruses. If any of the processes have 3+ detections, Close them down as anticheats will detect it and stop you from running Roblox. Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Disk2vhd and Process Explorer, you can also consider the following products

BackupChain - BackupChain Backup Software backs up your system, virtual machines, and databases while running.

Process Monitor - Monitor file system, Registry, process, thread and DLL activity in real-time.

OSFMount - OSFMount allows you to mount local disk image files (bit-for-bit copies of a disk partition) in Windows with a drive letter. You can then analyze the disk image file with PassMark OSForensicsโ„ข by using the mounted volume's drive letter.

htop - htop - an interactive process viewer for Unix. This is htop, an interactive process viewer for Unix systems. It is a text-mode application (for console or X terminals) and requires ncurses. Latest release: htop 2.

Rollback Rx - RollBack Rx is an instant time machine for your PC. A Comprehensive Windows System Restore solution that empowers users and IT administrators to easily restore their PCs to any previous state within seconds!

Autoruns - See what programs are configured to startup automatically when your system boots and you login.