Windows 10: Change Hyper-V Virtual Hard Disks Folder in Windows 10

How to: Change Hyper-V Virtual Hard Disks Folder in Windows 10

How to Change Default Folder to Store Hyper-V Virtual Hard Disks


Hyper-V enables running virtualized computer systems on top of a physical host. These virtualized systems (aka: guests) can be used and managed just as if they were physical computer systems, however they exist in a virtualized and isolated environment.

A virtual machine in Hyper-V consists of a few files that account for its virtual hardware configuration and the virtual storage (VHD and VHDX files). By default:

• The virtual machine configuration files are stored in "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V".
• The virtual hard drives are stored in "C:\Users\Public\Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks".

When you create a virtual machine in Hyper-V Manager, you are able to select to use these default locations or specify a folder location on a per virtual machine basis.

If you like, you could change these global default locations within your hosts to make it easier to use your locations by default instead when creating new virtual machines.

This tutorial will show you how to specify the default folder to store virtual machine hard disk files when creating a new Hyper-V virtual machine in Windows 10.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to change the default folder for Hyper-V virtual machine configuration files.


CONTENTS:

• Option One: To Change Default Hyper-V Virtual Hard Disks Folder using Hyper-V Manager
• Option Two: To Change Default Hyper-V Virtual Hard Disks Folder using PowerShell

EXAMPLE: Hyper-V Virtual Hard Disks folder








OPTION ONE [/i] To Change Default Hyper-V Virtual Hard Disks Folder using Hyper-V Manager
1. Open Hyper-V Manager.

2. Select the Hyper-V host (ex: "BRINK-DESKTOP") in the left pane you want to change the default folder to store Hyper-V virtual machines for, and click/tap on Hyper-V Settings in the right Actions pane. (see screenshot below)



3. Click/tap on Virtual Hard Disks in the left pane, click/tap on the Browse button on the right, navigate to and select the folder you want to use, click/tap on Select Folder, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshots below)



4. When finished, you can close Hyper-V Manager if you like.





OPTION TWO [/i] To Change Default Hyper-V Virtual Hard Disks Folder using PowerShell


Note For more details about the Set-VMHost command used in this option, see: Set-VMHost


1. Open an elevated PowerShell.

2. Type the command you want to use below into the elevated PowerShell, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)
(Current Hyper-V host)
*Arrow Set-VMHost -VirtualHardDiskPath 'Full path of folder'

OR

(Specific Hyper-V host)
*Arrow Set-VMHost -ComputerName 'Hyper-V host name' -VirtualHardDiskPath 'Full path of folder'



Note Substitute Full path of folder in the commands above with the actual full path of the folder you want to store Hyper-V virtual machine hard disks in.

Substitute Hyper-V host name in the second command above with the actual host name (ex: "BRINK-DESKTOP') you want to change the default virtual hard disks folder for.

For example:

Set-VMHost -VirtualHardDiskPath 'D:\Virtual Machines'

OR

Set-VMHost -ComputerName 'BRINK-DESKTOP' -VirtualHardDiskPath 'D:\Virtual Machines'








3. When finished, you can close PowerShell.

That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• How to Setup and Use Hyper-V in Windows 10 for OS Virtualization
• How to Export Hyper-V Virtual Machines in Windows 10
• How to Import Hyper-V Virtual Machines in Windows 10
• How to Change Default Folder to Store Hyper-V Virtual Machines
• How to Move Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10

:)

 

Hyper V Import Virtual Machine

There is separate default folders for Virtual Machines and Virtual Hard Disks

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V

This folder contains all settings for each Virtual machines.

Have you changed that folder?

C:\Users\Public\Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks

This folder contains only virtual disks. On your case it's changed to E:\HyperV\...

When you want import VM you need to search it from that first location.

You can check this location from Hyper-V settings.

If you can't import existing VM's you can create 3 new Virtual Machines.

When creating those select option Use existing Virtual Disk and point disks from E:\HyperV\...

 

Can't remove Hyper-V Virtual Hard Drive partition

Hi Robert,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

I understand that you are facing an issue when you are trying to remove the Hyper-V Virtual Hard Drive partition. This partition is just a virtual partition that is created by using the space within your physical hard disk, so that
it can be used within Hyper-V. Since you are no longer using Hyper-V and you wish to remove the Virtual Hard Drive partition, I would suggest you to follow the steps below and check if it is helpful to you.

Steps to remove the Virtual Hard Drive partition using Disk Management:

1. Press the Windows key and
   R key, this will open the Run dialogue box for you.
   
2. Type diskmgmt.msc and press
   Enter, this will open the Disk Management Window for you.
   
3. Your Virtual Hard Drive will be indicated by a ‘blue’ drive beside the
   Disk n (n is the disk number to which the VHD is associated), select the allocated
   Volume, right-click and select Delete Volume. You can check the picture below for your reference.
   
   
   
   
4. You will receive a prompt, click on
   Yes. This will delete the volume allocated to the Virtual Hard Drive and the space allocated will now be turned into an
   Unallocated space.
   
5. To detach the Virtual Hard Drive completely,
   right-click on the Disk and select Detach VHD.
   
6. You will receive a prompt, you may click on the check box to
   Delete the virtual hard disk after removing the disk. Click on
   OK.
   

This will remove the Hyper-V Virtual Hard Drive partition from your system.

If the issue still persists, I would suggest you to post your query in IT Pro

TechNet forums, where we have support professionals who are well equipped with the knowledge on the issues with Hyper-V and Virtual Hard Drive to assist you with your query.

Regards,

Aaron Summith

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

Moving Hyper-V to Another Disk

1. Export the virtual machines to the drive where you want to move them (tutorial).
2. When all VMs have been exported, delete them in Hyper-V Manager.
3. When Hyper-V Manager is empty, not showing any VMs, import the previously exported VMs (tutorial). In Option One Step 6 of the tutorial, you need to select Register the virtual machine in-place, or if choosing Option Two in tutorial, select Step 2.

Easy!

 

Importing Virtual PC -> Hyper V

Thank you. I followed the instructions below, and when I go to hit the action menu to install Integration services, of course, there is no such option under the Action Menu. The instructions seem so simple but I'm still missing something...

Step 4: Install or upgrade integration services

Hyper-V includes a software package for supported guest operating systems that improves integration between the physical computer and the virtual machine. This package is referred to as integration services. To learn more, see Integration
Services.

This step can't be automated or done within a Windows PowerShell session.

To install integration services

• 
  Open Hyper-V Manager. From the Server Manager Tools menu, click Hyper-V Manager.
  
• 
  Connect to the virtual machine. Right-click the name of the virtual machine and click Connect.
  
• 
  From the Action menu of Virtual Machine Connection, click Insert Integration Services Setup Disk. This action loads the setup disk in the virtual DVD drive. Depending on the guest operating system installed, you may
  need to start the installation manually.
  
• 
  After the installation finishes, all integration services are available for use.
  

 

Hyper-V Virtual Machine not recognised

The folder where your VM is do you see a .vhd file?

Here is a great article step by step on how to import VM into hyper-v.

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/conte...