An existing VHD or VHDX may hold files from an old virtual machine or a planned archive. If you only need to inspect that archive, attaching it read-only gives you a clearer boundary than opening it as a writable disk.

Use an image you own or are authorised to access, stored on healthy media. It must not be in use by a running virtual machine. Keep the original archive available and identify the exact file before using any disk-management command.

Select the image, then attach it read-only

With authorised administrator access, open a command window and start DiskPart by entering diskpart. The following example selects one existing image; substitute its actual full path:

select vdisk file="D:\Images\OfficeArchive.vhdx"
attach vdisk readonly

Read the response to the selection before proceeding. Microsoft documents that readonly makes write attempts to the attached image return an error. Stop if selection or attachment fails; do not continue with commands aimed at a different disk.

Inspect the resulting volume in File Explorer when Windows can read its filesystem. Confirm a known folder or document identifies the intended archive. If Windows asks to initialise or format anything, stop: those actions do not belong to inspecting an existing archive.

Extract working copies and finish cleanly

Copy required files into a separate working folder outside the image. Open those copies for editing and check their contents. Keep source paths and archive dates in your notes so an old version is not mistaken for the current project.

A mounted image does not remove encryption or account-access requirements. If a needed file cannot be read, preserve the message and resolve the authorised access method rather than changing permissions indiscriminately.

When finished, close files opened from the image. In DiskPart, select the same image path again and enter detach vdisk, then exit. Detaching removes its appearance as a local disk; it does not delete the image file.

Verify that the extracted working copies remain accessible and that the archived image is still present at its recorded location.

Sources: Microsoft virtual disk management; Microsoft select vdisk; Microsoft read-only attachment; Microsoft detach vdisk.