How to share a virtual machine

By Ed Bott

If you've created a virtual machine using Hyper-V in Windows 10, how do you reuse that VM on another Windows 10 PC?

Don't even think about trying to move the configuration and data files from one PC to another manually. Many of those files are in protected locations that aren't easy to access in File Explorer.

The classic Hyper-V option for this task is to export the VM from the old PC and then use the Import command on the new location, but there's now an easier way. Beginning with Windows 10 version 1709, you can use the Share command to package a running VM in a single compressed file for easy transfer.

Open the VM and then, in the Virtual Machine Connection window, click Action > Share. (Even easier, use the Share button at the right side of the toolbar or press Ctrl+H.)

Pick a target for the exported file (a USB-based portable hard drive is a big help here). Then, copy that file to the new PC and double-click. It takes a minute or two to extract the compressed files, but when that's done you can complete the transfer by clicking the big blue Import Virtual Machine button.

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