Export Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10  

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    Export Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10

    Export Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10

    How to Export Hyper-V Virtual Machines in Windows 10
    Published by Category: Virtualization
    19 Apr 2020
    Designer Media Ltd

    How to Export Hyper-V Virtual Machines in Windows 10


    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 Hyper-V's export and import functionality to quickly duplicate virtual machines. 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.

    When creating an export of a virtual machine, all associated files are bundled in the export. This includes configuration files, hard drive files, and any existing checkpoint files.

    This tutorial will show you how to export a single or all Hyper-V virtual machines (guests) on your Windows 10 PC (host).

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


     CONTENTS:

    • Option One: To Export Hyper-V Virtual Machine(s) using Hyper-V Manager
    • Option Two: To Export All Hyper-V Virtual Machines using PowerShell
    • Option Three: To Export a Single Hyper-V Virtual Machine using PowerShell



    Video by: Kari in TF Video thread






    OPTION ONE

    To Export Hyper-V Virtual Machine(s) 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 export a virtual machine from, select one or more virtual machine(s) in the middle pane to export, and click/tap on Export in the right Actions pane. (see screenshot below)

    You can press and hold the Ctrl key and click/tap on any virtual machine(s) to select them to export, then release the Ctrl key when finished selecting.

    Export Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10-export_hyper-v_virtual_machine-1.png

    3. Click/tap on Browse, navigate to and select the folder (ex: "My Virtual Machines") that you want to export to, click/tap Select Folder, and click/tap on Export. (see screenshots below)

    Export Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10-export_hyper-v_virtual_machine-2.png

    4. The virtual machine(s) will now be exported. It may take a while to finish. (see screenshots below)

    Export Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10-export_hyper-v_virtual_machine-3.png
    Export Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10-export_hyper-v_virtual_machine-4.png

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






    OPTION TWO

    To Export All Hyper-V Virtual Machines using PowerShell


    For more details about the Export-VM command used in this option, see: Export-VM

    1. Open an elevated PowerShell.

    2. Copy and paste the command below into the elevated PowerShell, and press Enter.

    Get-VM | Export-VM –Path 'Full path of folder to export to'

    Substitute Full path of folder to export to in the command above with the actual full path of the folder location you want to export the virtual machines' files to.

    3. When finished, you can close PowerShell if you like.
    Note   Note
    This may take a while to finish exporting the virtual machine(s) to the specified folder location.







    OPTION THREE

    To Export a Single Hyper-V Virtual Machine using PowerShell


    For more details about the Export-VM command used in this option, see: Export-VM

    1. Open an elevated PowerShell.

    2. Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, press Enter, and make note of the name (ex: "w10 build 14379") of the virtual machine you want to export. (see screenshot below)

    get-vm

    Export Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10-get-vm_powershell.png

    3. Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

    Export-VM -Name 'Name of virtual machine' –Path 'Full path of folder to export to'

    Note   Note
    Substitute Name of virtual machine in the command above with the name of the virtual machine from step 2 above.

    Substitute Full path of folder to export to in the command above with the actual full path of the folder you want to export the virtual machine to.

    For example: Export-VM -Name 'w10 build 14379' –Path 'D:\My Virtual Machines'


    Export Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10-export_hyper-v_virtual_machine_powershell-1.png

    4. The virtual machine will now be exported. It may take a while to finish. (see screenshots below)

    Export Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10-export_hyper-v_virtual_machine_powershell-2.png
    Export Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10-export_hyper-v_virtual_machine-4.png

    5. When finished, you can close PowerShell if you like.


    That's it,
    Shawn






  1. Posts : 27,162
    Win11 Pro, Win10 Pro N, Win10 Home, Windows 8.1 Pro, Ubuntu
       #1

    Great tut Shawn!
    I had to figure it out myself awhile back when I upgraded my 2nd internal to a 1TB SSD using 485GB for my VM's(need room to grow, besides having more machines, plus on an SSD they boot even faster than the host, lacking, normally, most of the peripherals ).
    Thankfully Hyper-V is relatively intuitive(relatively).
    But I was talking to Kari, and he taught me, it is also important to have the backups, for the fall you nuke your VM & all checkpoints, so you can retain not only the VM, but the activation too.
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 27,162
    Win11 Pro, Win10 Pro N, Win10 Home, Windows 8.1 Pro, Ubuntu
       #2

    @Brink & @Kari,
    I just saw this new post: Windos just Trashed 1TB data External HDD - Windows 10 Forums and I am sooooo glad that after the tutorial and the video, plus Kari explain to me, how important a back up to an external disk is, and not just using Export to move the folders to another or new disk is.
    Thanks again you Over Geeks

    information   Information
    ***(this was also posted with the link, to show others, why this is so important)***
    Don't delay VM geeks, do it today, if you don't have a backup, or else, you could end up like this poor member
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 70
    Windows 10 Pro, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
       #3

    Thanks guys,
    I managed to export my vm using option [3]. For some reason option [1] does not work for me. When I try to export using Hyper-V Manager, I can browse to the target folder on my local drive and click export. Then the mmc.exe including the Export thread goes to (Not Responding) and I can only kill the the whole mmc process.
    I have recorded a dump file if anybody would be willing to have a look.
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 68,652
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #4

      My Computers


  5. Posts : 27,162
    Win11 Pro, Win10 Pro N, Win10 Home, Windows 8.1 Pro, Ubuntu
       #5

    GalaxyGe said:
    Thanks guys,
    I managed to export my vm using option [3]. For some reason option [1] does not work for me. When I try to export using Hyper-V Manager, I can browse to the target folder on my local drive and click export. Then the mmc.exe including the Export thread goes to (Not Responding) and I can only kill the the whole mmc process.
    I have recorded a dump file if anybody would be willing to have a look.
    You really might want to think about exporting, to either a 2nd internal, or much better; an external USB for backing up.
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 70
    Windows 10 Pro, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
       #6

    Export Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 10


    No worries Cliff, I did export to local but then copied it to my NAS backup for safety. But as you say it's so critical I will do another copy to my out-of-house second USB treasury chest...
    I will have to read the article above.. is there absolutely no way to get ones Windows activation back if that UUID is lost? What if I just take a note of the UUID on a piece of paper... could one not call MS and get the key unlocked?
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 27,162
    Win11 Pro, Win10 Pro N, Win10 Home, Windows 8.1 Pro, Ubuntu
       #7

    GalaxyGe said:
    No worries Cliff, I did export to local but then copied it to my NAS backup for safety. But as you say it's so critical I will do another copy to my out-of-house second USB treasury chest...
    I will have to read the article above.. is there absolutely no way to get ones Windows activation back if that UUID is lost? What if I just take a note of the UUID on a piece of paper... could one not call MS and get the key unlocked?
    @Kari, @Superfly, or @Brink can answer those questions netter than me.
    But that taking note of your UUID/GUID, doesn't work like that,
    It's a 128 bit number generated by Windows to identify your "hardware" be it bare metal or virtual. You can't just enter it somewhere, and call it a day.

    As for calling Microsoft, about the key if you lose your VM, the above three members, I mentioned above, can clarify that.
    But it would just be easier to have a backup, and if you wish to get rid of the VM and start over, deactivate the key using
    Code:
    slmgr /upk 
    then deleting the machine, and re-creating one(this also works if you buy a new PC and prefer to use the retail key on the new one, and let the old PC revert to the OEM version).
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 15,441
    Windows10
       #8

    Cliff S said:
    @Kari, @Superfly, or @Brink can answer those questions netter than me.
    But that taking note of your UUID/GUID, doesn't work like that,
    It's a 128 bit number generated by Windows to identify your "hardware" be it bare metal or virtual. You can't just enter it somewhere, and call it a day.

    As for calling Microsoft, about the key if you lose your VM, the above three members, I mentioned above, can clarify that.
    But it would just be easier to have a backup, and if you wish to get rid of the VM and start over, deactivate the key using
    Code:
    slmgr /upk 
    then deleting the machine, and re-creating one(this also works if you buy a new PC and prefer to use the retail key on the new one, and let the old PC revert to the OEM version).
    That does not work for digital licences.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 15,441
    Windows10
       #9

    GalaxyGe said:
    Thanks guys,
    I managed to export my vm using option [3]. For some reason option [1] does not work for me. When I try to export using Hyper-V Manager, I can browse to the target folder on my local drive and click export. Then the mmc.exe including the Export thread goes to (Not Responding) and I can only kill the the whole mmc process.
    I have recorded a dump file if anybody would be willing to have a look.
    Actually, the export tool does not do anything more sophisticated than copying the vhds and the vm file (.vmcx files). You can manually back the up using file explorer.
      My Computer


 

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