Windows 10: Import Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10

How to: Import Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10

How to Import Hyper-V Virtual Machines


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.

You can use Exported virtual machines can be used for backup or as a way to move a virtual machine between Hyper-V hosts.

Import allows you to restore virtual machines. You don't need to export a virtual machine to be able to import it. Import will try to recreate the virtual machine from whatever is available. Importing a virtual machine registers the virtual machine with the Hyper-V host. A virtual machine export can be imported back into the host from which it was derived or new host.

This tutorial will show you how to import a Hyper-V virtual machine (guest) on your Windows 10 PC (host).

*note You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to import a Hyper-V virtual machine.

*note editions.


CONTENTS:

• Option One: To Import Hyper-V Virtual Machine using Hyper-V Manager
• Option Two: To Import Hyper-V Virtual Machine using PowerShell

Video by: Kari in TF Video thread






OPTION ONE [/i] To Import Hyper-V Virtual Machine 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 import a virtual machine to, and click/tap on Import Virtual Machine in the right Actions pane. (see screenshot below)



3. Click/tap on Next on the "Before you Begin" screen. (see screenshot below)



4. Click/tap on Browse, navigate to and select the folder (ex: "Windows 7 Ultimate") that contains the virtual machine (.vmcx file) you want to import, click/tap Select Folder, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshots below)



5. Select the virtual machine (ex: "Windows 7 Ultimate") you want to import, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshots below)



6. Select (dot) an import type you want to perform, click/tap on Next, and go to step 7 or step 8 below depending on what import type you selected. (see screenshot below)
[table][tr][td]Import Type[/td] [td]Description[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Register the virtual machine in-place[/td] [td]The current location of the Export files is where the virtual machine will be run from. When imported, the virtual machine has the same ID as it did at the time of export. Because of this, If the virtual machine is already registered with Hyper-V it needs to be deleted before the import will work. When the import has completed, the export files become the running state files and cannot be removed.[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Restore the virtual machine[/td] [td]You are given an option to store the VM files in a specific location or use the locations default to Hyper-V. This import type creates a copy of the exported file and moves them to the selected location. When imported, the virtual machine has the same ID as it did at the time of export. Because of this, if the virtual machine is already running in Hyper-V it needs to be deleted before the import can be completed. When the import has completed the exported files remain untouched and can be removed and / or imported again.[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Copy the virtual machine[/td] [td]This import type is similar to the Restore type in that you select a location for the VM files. The difference is that when imported the virtual machine has a new unique ID. This allows for the Virtual Machine to be imported into the same host multiple time.[/td] [/tr] [/table]





7. If you selected to "Register the virtual machine in-place"
A) Click/tap on Finish on the "Summary" screen, and go to step 9 below. (see screenshot below)





8. If you selected to "Restore the virtual machine" or "Copy the virtual machine"
A) If you like, you can specify new or use existing folders to store the virtual machine files. When finished, click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)



B) Browse to and select the folder where you want to store the imported virtual hard disks (.vhdx file) for this virtual machine, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)



C) Click/tap on Finish on the "Summary" screen, and go to step 9 below. (see screenshot below)

*note This may take a while to finish copying the virtual machine files and hard disk to the selected folder location(s).



9. The Hyper-V virtual machine (ex: "Windows 7 Ultimate") has now been imported to the selected Hyper-V host (ex: "BRINK-DESKTOP"). (see screenshot below)



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





OPTION TWO [/i] To Import Hyper-V Virtual Machine using PowerShell
*note For more details about the Import-VM command used in this option, see: Import-VM
1. Open an elevated PowerShell.

2. Do step 3 (in-place), step 4 (in-place) (restore) or step 5 (copy) below for the import type you want to perform.


3. To "Register the virtual machine in-place (use the existing unique ID)"
*note The current location of the Export files is where the virtual machine will be run from. When imported, the virtual machine has the same ID as it did at the time of export. Because of this, If the virtual machine is already registered with Hyper-V it needs to be deleted before the import will work. When the import has completed, the export files become the running state files and cannot be removed.
A) Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, press Enter, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)

*Arrow Import-VM -Path 'Full path of virtual machine .vmcx file'



Note Substitute Full path of virtual machine .vmcx file in the command above with the actual full path of where the virtual machine .vmcx file you want to import is located.

For example:
Code:

4. To "Restore the virtual machine (use the existing unique ID)"
*note You have the option to store the VM files in a specific location or use the locations default to Hyper-V. This import type creates a copy of the exported file and moves them to the selected location. When imported, the virtual machine has the same ID as it did at the time of export. Because of this, if the virtual machine is already running in Hyper-V it needs to be deleted before the import can be completed. When the import has completed the exported files remain untouched and can be removed and / or imported again.
A) Type the command below you want to use into the elevated PowerShell, press Enter, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)

(To use default Hyper-V folders to import and copy virtual machine .vmcx and virtual hard disk .vhdx files)
*Arrow Import-VM -Path 'Full path of .vmcx file' -Copy

OR

(To specify Hyper-V folders to import and copy virtual machine .vmcx and virtual hard disk .vhdx files)
Code:

Note Substitute Full path of .vmcx file in the commands above with the actual full path of where the virtual machine .vmcx file you want to import is located.

Substitute Full path of folder to copy .vhdx file in the second command above with the actual folder path where you want to copy the virtual hard disk .vhdx file of the virtual machine you want to import.

Substitute Full path of folder to copy .vhdx file in the second command above with the actual folder path where you want to copy the virtual machine .vmcx file of the virtual machine you want to import.

For example:
Code:

5. To "Copy the virtual machine (create a new unique ID)"
*note This import type is similar to the Restore type in that you select a location for the VM files. The difference is that when imported the virtual machine has a new unique ID. This allows for the Virtual Machine to be imported into the same host multiple time.
A) Type the command below you want to use into the elevated PowerShell, press Enter, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)

(To use default Hyper-V folders to import and copy virtual machine .vmcx and virtual hard disk .vhdx files)
*Arrow Import-VM -Path 'Full path of .vmcx file' -Copy -GenerateNewId

OR

(To specify Hyper-V folders to import and copy virtual machine .vmcx and virtual hard disk .vhdx files)
Code:

Note Substitute Full path of .vmcx file in the commands above with the actual full path of where the virtual machine .vmcx file you want to import is located.

Substitute Full path of folder to copy .vhdx file in the second command above with the actual folder path where you want to copy the virtual hard disk .vhdx file of the virtual machine you want to import.

Substitute Full path of folder to copy .vhdx file in the second command above with the actual folder path where you want to copy the virtual machine .vmcx file of the virtual machine you want to import.

For example:
Code:

6. When finished, you can close PowerShell.

*note This may take a while to finish copying the virtual machine files and hard disk to the selected folder location(s).

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 Move Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10
• How to Change Default Folder to Store Hyper-V Virtual Machines
• How to Change Default Folder to Store Hyper-V Virtual Hard Disks
• How to Rename Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10
• How to Delete Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10

:)

 

Windows 10 Hyper-V no longer recognizes VMs after Creator's Update

After the Creator's Update was installed on my Windows 10 Pro system Hyper-V disappeared. I had to re-install Hyper-V again. That wouldn't bother me so much if Hyper-V also didn't stop recognizing my virtual machines. The Hyper-V console no longer shows
any of my old VMs.

I tried the option to "Import Virtual Machine" from the Hyper-V console and pointed the import wizard to the folder where my .vhdx files are stored but I only get an error saying "Hyper-V did not find virtual machines to import from location".

I tried uninstalling the Creator's Update but got an error saying that the previous version files are not available and that the update cannot be undone.

How can I recover my virtual machines? The .vhdx files are still in the same folders and are the correct size.

 

Windows 10 guest virtual machine on a Surface Pro 4 using Hyper-V.

There is no such permit in the Windows 10 End User License Agreement. You will need to purchase an additional license to install in Hyper-V just like you would for a virtual machine.

Setup a Virtual Machine with Windows 10 Hyper-V - groovyPost

also

Share Your Network Connection with Hyper-V in ... - groovyPost

 

Finished!
Now to upgrade*Smile
Again...!

 

@Brink
Lots of valuable info, kudos both you & Kari.
This prolly aint the place, but in regards to 'keepin it clean' (file structure). I have all created/dynamic data on a different partition from OS (Win10P64); is there any recommended format w/regards to Hyper-V that could be advantageous? Have a top level for all VM's, /VMname with everything under (.vhdx, .vmcs, .vmcx) & don't know if this would be detrimental down the road...?
A tad different than a full-blown hyperVisr (ESXi) & now it seems this build on 10 is pretty sweet, thus curious on structure cleanliness.
...behavior mods for me - 'Save' 'Shutdown' & 'Turn Off' had to play with as no one said anything (yes I read Ben Armstrong's Virt Blog on turning off a VM here, referenced several times over the years *Eek).

*Biggrin Wish there was a way to 'Save' while using an RDP session (not using VM connection).
Sorry if this appears as cross-post . But I'll keep looking around, thx all fer sharing info...!

 

Hello @sos1043, *Smile

I prefer to keep my Hyper-V VMs on a separate hard drive that the OS drive as well. This way if I should have to reinstall Windows, all I have to do is import my VMs back afterwards.

I prefer to keep individual VM in its own separate folder with all of its files.

 

My thoughts and usage exactly. Thought I'd check.
Any quick notes on an RDP session opposed to the VM connection application, then 'Save'?

 

Not sure about the RDP option, but that would make a good question to post in a new thread to get feedback about.

 

Thank you Brink very useful tutorial.

 

I'm glad it could help matfx. *Smile