How to Move a Hyper-V VM to a Different Folder

Read this quick guide to learn how to move a VM from its current folder to a new folder in Hyper-V.

Step 1: Prep the Destination Folder

When you create VMs, to keep it organized, it is best practice to have a folder to store VM files. Additionally, it is a great idea to have a folder for each VM.

If you create VMs using Hyper-V Manager, the process creates a folder for each VM. So, you do not need to manually create a folder for each VM.

Before you move the VM, create a folder with the VM’s name in the destination folder. In my example, I want to move a VM to drive D.

So, I created a folder called VMs. Then, I created a folder with the name of the VM.

Step 2: Move the VM to the New Folder

1. Open Hyper-V Manager, right-click the VM you want to move, and select Move.

2. Then, on the first page of the wizard, click Next.

To shop Hyper-V Manager displaying this first page next time, check the “Do not show this page again” checkbox.

3. On the “What type of move do you want to perform” page, select “Move the virtual machine’s store.”

4. Select the first option here. This option allows you to specify a folder to move the VM. Then, the wizard creates sub-folders as required – more on this later.

5. After that, enter the path to the VM’s folder you created in step 1. Use the Browser button to navigate to the folder and select it.

6. On the final page, review where the wizard will store the VM’s files, and if you’re happy with it, click Finish.

The wizard will create subfolders in the VM’s folder. See my screenshot below.

Step 3: Change the Default VM Path in Hyper-V Settings

In Hyper-V Manager, you can define where new VMs are saved. After moving existing VMs to the new location, it may be a great idea to set the new folder as Hyper-V’s default.

Here are the steps:

1. On the Actions pane of the Hyper-V Manager console, click Hyper-V Settings.

2. Under the Server section, the Virtual Hard Disk location is selected by default. Change the folder path (before Virtual Hard Disks) to the base folder you want to store VMs.

By default, Hyper-V stores VM HDDs in “C:ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsVirtual Hard Disks.” Replace “C:ProgramDataMicrosoftWindows” with the new folder path

3. After that, click Virtual Machines, then, replace the path with the new folder path. When you finish making the changes, click OK to save them and close the Hyper-V Settings.

Conclusion

Moving VMs in Hyper-V is a common admin task and in this guide, I discussed the steps to complete this. Additionally, I showed how to change the default path Hyper-V stores new VMs and their hard disks.

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