In Windows 7, Microsoft introduced a new way to back up your computer called Backup and Restore. It basically let you back up all your data to another location and gave you the option to create a system image as well.
How to Create or Set Up VHDs (Virtual Hard Drives) on Your PC
If you choose to create the system image file, you will end up with a large VHD file. This file can then be used to restore your entire system at a later time. This tool was so popular that they kept it in Windows 8 and Windows 10. If you go to the Control Panel, you will see an applet there called Backup and Restore (Windows 7).
The beauty of backing up your computer using this method is that, apart from being able to fully restore your computer later, you can attach this VHD file to any Windows 7, 8, or 10 computer and access the data just like a normal hard drive.
So if you just want to copy some files from your backup, it makes much more sense to mount the VHD file to your PC rather than restore the backup, which will wipe your computer first.
