Create a Virtual File System

If you want to try out different file system types or simply make a file system that is more portable (in other words, not tied to a physical disk), you can create a virtual file system. A virtual file system is one that sits within a file on an existing file system. You can format it as any file system type you like, move it around, and use it from different computers.

Virtual file systems are useful for such things as creating live CDs or running dedicated virtual operating systems. In the example that follows, you create a blank 500MB disk image file, format it as a file system,