Mount .vhd stored on ext3-NAS in Windows 7 without copying to NTFS Disk. Is this possible?

Solution 1:

Can you access your NAS from your Windows machine over CIFS/SMB?

If so, you can try mapping a drive to the SMB share, then in attach using DISKPART:

C:\> net use x: \\nas\share
C:\> diskpart
DISKPART> select vdisk file=x:\pathto\the_disk.vhd
DISKPART> attach vdisk
DISKPART> assign letter=y
DISKPART> quit
C:\> dir y:

Make sure nothing else is writing to this VHD at the time, and expect the performance to be dire.

Otherwise, is it a Linux-based NAS, and do you have root/terminal access to it?

If so, you might be able to mount the VHD locally on the NAS and then copy the files that you need to (a share accessible to) your Windows box:

~# (yum install|apt-get|ipgk install|your-package-manager) virtualbox-fuse
~# mkdir /mnt/vhd
~# vdfuse -w -f /pathto/the_disk.vhd /mnt/vhd
~# ls /mnt/vhd
~# cp /mnt/vhd/Partition1/the_file_you_want.dat /usr/share/the_share