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Virtual PC Virtual HD imagedynamic disk header (.vhd)

.vhd file signature | application/octet-stream

Windows Virtual PCVirtual Hard Disk file format[87]

Safe

Magic Bytes

Offset 0
63 6F 6E 65 63 74 69 78

Sources: Wikipedia, Gary Kessler

All Known Signatures

2 signature variants are documented for .vhd files across multiple sources.

Hex Signature Offset Sources
63 6F 6E 65 63 74 69 78 0 Wikipedia, Gary Kessler
63 78 73 70 61 72 73 65 0 Gary Kessler

Extension

.vhd

MIME Type

application/octet-stream

Byte Offset

0

Risk Level

Safe

Validation Code

How to validate .vhd files in Python

Python 
def is_vhd(file_path: str) -> bool:
    """Check if file is a valid VHD by magic bytes."""
    signature = bytes([0x63, 0x6F, 0x6E, 0x65, 0x63, 0x74, 0x69, 0x78])
    with open(file_path, "rb") as f:
        return f.read(8) == signature

How to validate .vhd files in Node.js

Node.js 
function isVHD(buffer: Buffer): boolean {
  const signature = Buffer.from([0x63, 0x6F, 0x6E, 0x65, 0x63, 0x74, 0x69, 0x78]);
  return buffer.subarray(0, 8).equals(signature);
}

How to validate .vhd files in Go

Go 
func IsVHD(data []byte) bool {
    signature := []byte{0x63, 0x6F, 0x6E, 0x65, 0x63, 0x74, 0x69, 0x78}
    if len(data) < 8 {
        return false
    }
    return bytes.Equal(data[:8], signature)
}

API Endpoint

GET /api/v1/vhd
curl https://filesignature.org/api/v1/vhd

See the full API documentation for all endpoints and parameters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a .vhd file?

A .vhd file is a Virtual PC Virtual HD imagedynamic disk header file. Windows Virtual PCVirtual Hard Disk file format[87]

What are the magic bytes for .vhd files?

The magic bytes for Virtual PC Virtual HD imagedynamic disk header files are 63 6F 6E 65 63 74 69 78 at byte offset 0. These bytes uniquely identify the file format regardless of the file extension.

How do I validate a .vhd file?

To validate a .vhd file, read the first bytes of the file and compare them against the known magic bytes (63 6F 6E 65 63 74 69 78) at offset 0. This is more reliable than checking the file extension alone, as extensions can be renamed.

What is the MIME type for .vhd files?

There is no officially registered MIME type for .vhd files. Systems typically use application/octet-stream as a generic fallback when handling this format.

Is it safe to open .vhd files?

Virtual PC Virtual HD imagedynamic disk header (.vhd) files are generally safe to open. They are classified as low risk because they primarily contain data rather than executable code. However, always ensure files come from a trusted source.