Windows 10: how to delete lost detached virtual hard drive

Hello,I created a vhd and then by mistake, detached and did not delete as I should've. Now the space given to the drive is being taken but I can not locate the virtual memory drive i created to reattach and delete or just delete if possible.TIA!

:)

 

how to delete lost detached virtual hard drive

Hi there!

To delete a lost detached Virtual Hard Drive (VHD) that you can't locate, follow these steps:

Open Disk Management:

Press Win + R, type diskmgmt.msc, and press Enter.

Check for the Detached VHD:

Look through the list of drives and partitions to see if the VHD is still listed. Sometimes, the VHD might still show up even if it's detached.

Use Diskpart Utility:

Open Command Prompt as an administrator by typing cmd in the Start menu, right-clicking it, and selecting Run as administrator.

Type diskpart and press Enter to open the Diskpart utility.

List All Virtual Disks:

In Diskpart, type list vdisk and press Enter. This command will list all virtual disks that are available.

Select the VHD:

If your VHD appears in the list, select it by typing select vdisk file=<path to your VHD> and press Enter. Replace <path to your VHD> with the actual path where your VHD is stored.

Delete the VHD:

With the VHD selected, type delete vdisk and press Enter to delete the VHD.

Free Up Disk Space:

If you cannot find the VHD through Diskpart, you may need to manually locate and delete the VHD file from your file system. Common locations are C:\, C:\Users\<YourUsername>, or wherever you initially created and saved the VHD.

Reclaim Space:

Once deleted, the space previously occupied by the VHD should be freed up. You can verify this in Disk Management.

If you still have trouble locating the VHD file, try performing a system-wide search for .vhd or .vhdx files:

Search for VHD Files:

Open File Explorer and use the search bar to look for *.vhd or *.vhdx.

Delete the Located VHD:

If you find the file, simply delete it to reclaim the space.

Feel free to ask if you have more questions or need further assistance!

Best,

Gyula

 

how to delete lost detached virtual hard drive

Hello,

I created a vhd and then by mistake, detached and did not delete as I should've. Now the space given to the drive is being taken but I can not locate the virtual memory drive i created to reattach and delete or just delete if possible.

TIA!

 

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