Virtualization Import Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to import (restore) a Hyper-V virtual machines in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Hyper-V enables running virtualized computer systems on top of a physical host. These virtualized systems can be used and managed just as if they were physical computer systems, however they exist in virtualized and isolated environment. Special software called a hypervisor manages access between the virtual systems and the physical hardware resources. Virtualization enables quick deployment of computer systems, a way to quickly restore systems to a previously known good state, and the ability to migrate systems between physical hosts.

You can export a Hyper-V virtual machine to back it up, and import (restore) as needed. An export gathers all required files into one unit--virtual hard disk files, virtual machine configuration files, and any checkpoint files.

Importing an exported virtual machine registers the virtual machine with the Hyper-V host. You can import back into the host, or new host. If you're importing to the same host, you don't need to export the virtual machine first, because Hyper-V tries to recreate the virtual machine from available files. Importing a virtual machine registers it so it can be used on the Hyper-V host.

Hyper-V offers three import types:

• Register in-place – This type assumes export files are in the location where you'll store and run the virtual machine. The imported 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 works. When the import has completed, the export files become the running state files and can't be removed.
• Restore the virtual machine – Restore the virtual machine to a location you choose, or use the default to Hyper-V. This import type creates a copy of the exported files 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 intact and can be removed or imported again.
• Copy the virtual machine – This is similar to the Restore type in that you select a location for the files. The difference is that the imported virtual machine has a new unique ID, which means you can import the virtual machine to the same host multiple times.

Reference:

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

1 Open Hyper-V Manager (virtmgmt.msc).

2 Click/tap on Import Virtual Machine in the right "Actions" pane. (see screenshot below)


3 Click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)


4 Perform the following steps to select the virtual machine to import: (see screenshots below)

1. Click/tap on Browse.
2. Navigate to and select the folder (ex: "D:\VM Backups\Windows 11 Home") the virtual machine is located in.
3. Click/tap on Select Folder.
4. Click/tap on Export.

5 Select the virtual machine name (ex: "Windows 11 Home") to import, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)


6 Do step 7 (register in-place), step 8 (restore), or step 9 (copy) below for the type of import to perform for the virtual machine.




























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





1 Open Windows Terminal (Admin), and select Windows PowerShell.

2 Type the command below into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Substitute <Full path of VMCX file> in the command above with the actual full path of the VMCX file you want to import.

For example:
Import-VM -Path "D:\VM Backups\Windows 11 Home\Virtual Machines\41557B90-5884-4F1F-9384-D44D64CB1FD0.vmcx"

3 You can now close Windows Terminal (Admin) if you like.





1 Open Windows Terminal (Admin), and select Windows PowerShell.

2 Type the command below into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Substitute <Full path of VMCX file> in the command above with the actual full path of the VMCX file you want to import.

Substitute <Full path of folder to store VHD> in the command above with the actual full path of the folder you want to import the virtual hard disk(s) into.

Substitute <Full path of folder to store Virtual machine> in the command above with the actual full path of the folder you want to import the virtual machine configuration files into.

For example:
Import-VM -Path "D:\VM Backups\Windows 11 Home\Virtual Machines\41557B90-5884-4F1F-9384-D44D64CB1FD0.vmcx" -Copy -VhdDestinationPath "D:\Virtual Machines\Windows 11 Home" -VirtualMachinePath "D:\Virtual Machines\Windows 11 Home"

3 You can now close Windows Terminal (Admin) if you like.





1 Open Windows Terminal (Admin), and select Windows PowerShell.

2 Type the command below into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Substitute <Full path of VMCX file> in the command above with the actual full path of the VMCX file you want to import.

Substitute <Full path of folder to store VHD> in the command above with the actual full path of the folder you want to import the virtual hard disk(s) into.

Substitute <Full path of folder to store Virtual machine> in the command above with the actual full path of the folder you want to import the virtual machine configuration files into.

For example:
Import-VM -Path "D:\VM Backups\Windows 11 Home\Virtual Machines\41557B90-5884-4F1F-9384-D44D64CB1FD0.vmcx" -Copy -VhdDestinationPath "D:\Virtual Machines\Windows 11 Home" -VirtualMachinePath "D:\Virtual Machines\Windows 11 Home" -GenerateNewId

3 You can now close Windows Terminal (Admin) if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink